Slices of this chocolate bundt cake spent the better part of the past week in the car with me. Each piece, wrapped in parchment, was tucked between the Ak-Mak crackers and a jar of almond butter. It is a fine travel cake, one that can handle a day or two in the car- blizzards, bumps in the road, hairpin turns, and all. Topped with a generous sweep of chocolate buttermilk icing, it’s unfussy, and ready to frost straight from the pan.
Chocolate Bundt Cake: Key Ingredients
Flours: I make this bundt cake with an equal blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flours. Whole wheat flour brings a bit of heartiness and added structure (and flavor!) to the cake.
Sugars: This cake gets tempered sweetness and a moist, tender texture from maple syrup and dark brown sugar.
Stout: I use dark stout beer in the batter. It’s the wildcard ingredient that lends a malty base note and depth of flavor. Go for a not-too-hoppy porter or stout. Beyond that, chocolate porter or chocolate stout would both be good choices. I know many of you can get your hands on a Guinness, which is totally fine as well.
Yogurt and Melted Butter: The core liquids in this bundt cake batter help deliver a rich, flavorful cake that is effortlessly sliceable and a bit less decadent than typical versions (without sacrificing deliciousness!).
What If I don’t have a Bundt Pan?
For those of you who don’t have a bundt pan, no problem! You can bake this cake batter in a wide range of pans. It makes great little cakes, and loaf cakes, and cupcakes. You know the drill, adjust the baking time, and bake until the sides of the cake start to pull away from the pan a bit, and a tester/knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
This cake travels beautifully wrapped in parchment paper or waxed paper bag. A stretch of common string secures the wrapper in place.
Chocolate Bundt Cake: Variations
Coffee Version: A number of people over the years have asked about making a version without beer. You can use I cup of strong coffee in place of the 1 cup of reduced beer.
Chocolate Bundt with Olive Oil: Laura mentions, “ made this cake tonight with 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, which I mixed in with the yogurt egg mixture, instead of butter and it turned out delightful. Next time I might add thick pieces of dark chocolate into the batter, too.”
I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we have! It was just the thing to unwrap on a picnic table underneath a grove of sky-scraping redwood trees.
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