Well, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and Easter is just days away, so I really don't have a reasonable explanation as to why I would feel the need to create such a dark and intense dessert followed by moody and borderline-ominous photos. The thing is, that just seems to be my frame of mind these days: well, not moody and ominous, but dark, rich, and chocolate-loving. In this case, my inspiration for the flavours of the cake came solely from a jar of dark chocolate covered espresso beans (the ones in the photos) that I bought a few weeks ago because, well, as you may have guessed if you follow my tweets on twitter, that I am often yearning for good coffee, chocolate, and caffeine in general. Sure, some may call that an addiction, but I prefer to call it a deep and passionate love affair.
So, as any self-respecting chocolate and coffee addict would do, I decided to go ahead and try a chocolate espresso bundt cake and top it with a dark chocolate cinnamon glaze. If you happened to catch my recent post about the Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Vanilla Bean Glaze, you'll remember that I am quite taken with bundt cake pans, even though my collection was pretty sad at a whopping 1 pan. Since then, I've added 2 more bundt pans to my collection, and couldn't wait another day to get bundting. In this case, it's actually an official Kugelhopf pan, which I really love, but the final cake took on a slightly less intricate shape, simply because the batter didn't fill up the entire pan. I really didn't mind, since it appears a bit more simple.
The cake itself is a rich, deep dark, chocolate cake kept moist with butter and sour cream. The method of warming the butter and cocoa on the stove first, then whisking in the remaining ingredients, was a first for me, but I feel it was a success, and it was kind of a welcomed change. I decided to add some cinnamon to the dark chocolate glaze because I love the combination of espresso and cinnamon; it's reminiscent of my beloved triple-lattes sprinkled with cinnamon, but it also adds a neat, almost Mexican, dimension to the cake. I should add, though, that the flavour of the espresso powder and cinnamon in the glaze is subtle, and really just boosts and enhances the amazing flavour of the dark chocolate, both in the cake and glaze. If you'd like a little extra sparkle, adding a sprinkle of Gold or Silver Edible Glitter on top also highlights just how dark and luxurious this cake really is!
That's also why I feel it's really important to use the best quality chocolate you can. I made this cake a few days ago, and just tried it today for the first time (once I finally had the chance to photograph it!). I was really surprised at how amazingly moist it was, and the flavours really came together nicely, I imagine even more so than day 1. I suppose that's one of the many wonderful things about bundt cakes, and one of the reasons why they are quickly becoming a favourite on my love-to-bake list.
From a photography perspective, you may have noticed that, up until now, I tend to love taking bright, white backgrounds, and uber-happy baked-good photographs. Well, that certainly hasn't changed, but I've secretly always been absolutely smitten with dark, moody food photographs, however, as I discovered today, they definitely require a mental shifting of gears. Perhaps it's mainly because I have never attempted it before, and because I'm pretty new to food photography, but it was tricky at first. In the end, I found it most effective to underexpose the photos a bit and to avoid too much incoming window-light. I'm not sure if that's how the pros would do it, but it's what I found worked for me to achieve the look I was going for.
I also found that boosting the photos in Photoshop (I always start with The Pioneer Woman's "Boost" action), really helped to bring the depth to the photo. Speaking of the pros, I have some serious professional food-photographer crushes these days, such as John Cullen, Tina Rupp, Jim Norton (who actually shot some of my work recently!) --they have all mastered this type of photography, among others, which is why I consider each of their portfolios the ultimate food-photography inspiration. This photo above makes me think of a ghostly tea party, of sorts. Now that I think about it, perhaps the vibe of this photo shoot is a side-effect of the hauntingly beautiful Black Swan we watched late last night by candlelight and the pattering sound of rain outside.
I hope you're having a not so dark-and-ominous weekend, but that you enjoy this cake (most definitely not a dark-and-ominous experience.).
Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze
For the Cake:
- 1 cup 2 sticks(227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup 60 g high quality dark Dutch process cocoa
- 1 tablespoon 15 g instant espresso powder dissolved into 3/4 cup water
- 2 cups 400 g granulated sugar
- 1 cup 240 ml sour cream
- 1 tablespoon 15 ml vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 cups 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon 5 g baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon 4 g salt
For the Glaze:
- 4 oz 114 g high quality bittersweet chocolate
- 1/3 cup 76 g unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1/2" pieces
- 1-1/2 teaspoons 7.5 ml light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon 3 g ground cinnamon
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a 10-12 cup bundt pan or Kugelhopf pan.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; add cocoa, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the espresso water and remove from heat.
- Add the sugar, sour cream, vanilla and eggs to the warmed cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add all at once to the first mixture, whisking until well blended.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch and has slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Carefully loosen the cake with a knife and invert onto a large plate.
For the Glaze:
- Place the chocolate, butter, corn syrup and cinnamon in a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir the mixture using a rubber spatula until melted and smooth.
Assembly of the Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze:
- Pour warm glaze over bundt cake. Keep covered in a cake-keeper at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- A sprinkling of Edible Gold or Silver Edible Glitter adds a little extra twinkle to the dark chocolate glaze as well!
Sweetapolita's Notes:
- I used my favourite cocoa powder, Cacao Barry Cocoa Powder - Extra Dark, for this cake along with Callebaut Chocolate - Pure - Bittersweet - 1 kg).
- I baked the cake in the Nordicware Kugelhopf Bundt Pan (love this pan).
