I didn’t grow up with chocolate cake. Now before you start shedding tears for me and screaming insults at my mother for depriving me of one of life’s greatest pleasures, let me try to explain. Rarely did cake ever even make an appearance in our household, unless of course, it was of the pineapple upside down or angel food variety. In short, The Delawders were not cake people. To be even more specific, The Delawders were not icing people. Life without cake wasn’t a hardship.
Several years later, somewhere around middle school, chocolate cake would stumble occasionally into my life. I wasn’t impressed. I learned to avoid chocolate cake like the plague. For some reason, chocolate cake always seemed to taste like cardboard to me; bland and unappetizing, it almost always left me wanting for something more. I’m guessing this was due to box mix varieties and cheap ingredients. Whatever the reason, I grew quite comfortable declining any slice that was waved in front of me.
Fast forward several years later to my chance encounter with a flourless chocolate waffle that was presented to me at a local restaurant while celebrating my birthday with friends. All of a sudden, chocolate cake wasn’t so bad. Sure, I know a chocolate waffle and chocolate cake aren’t exactly the same y’all, but in this case, they’re pretty similar; only one actually tastes like chocolate. I was instantly hooked.
For this month’s “Healthy Cheat, Sneak, or Substitute” themed #BundtBakers challenge from Andrea of Adventures in All Things Food, I decided to share my idea of what chocolate cake should be. First of all, it should taste like chocolate, and secondly, there shouldn’t be a lick of icing anywhere near it. To me, there is no other version of a chocolate cake that can compare.
So is it a stretch to say that this cake is healthy? Well hell yes; just take a gander at the ingredient list that starts out with a cup of butter. Did I sneak anything into this cake? Not really folks; unless you count a couple of stray cat hairs as an addition. If anything, I made this cake even less frou-frou than I was tempted to, so that anyone could make it with the ingredients they were sure to have on hand. The only way I can even pretend that this cake fits this month’s theme is to point out that I substituted eggs in place of flour in this recipe.
Realistically, this cake is more of a soufflé than anything, but don’t let that scare you away from making it. You’re sure to have all of the ingredients in your pantry or fridge, and if not, you can find them at any market. In addition, the directions are almost too easy to be believed, and surely not a challenge to even the worst baker. So get your butt in the kitchen and impress your friends and family with THE BEST chocolate cake they’ll ever taste. One that doesn’t actually taste like cardboard.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 8-oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, Chopped
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Espresso Powder
- 6 Eggs, Separated
- 1 Cup Cocoa Powder
- Powdered Sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large Bundt pan with 1-tablespoon unsalted butter; set aside.
- Melt the chocolate and butter over low temperature in a medium saucepan.
- Whisk in the sugar, vanilla, salt, and espresso powder; set aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and beat for 4 minutes on medium-high speed; set aside.
- Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture one at a time.
- Sift the cocoa into the chocolate mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour the batter into a Bundt pan and bake for 30 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, before flipping it out onto a serving plate or cake stand.
- Once the cake has cooled for 30 minutes, dust it with powdered sugar.
Suggestions:
- When you first take the cake out of the oven it will almost fill the Bundt pan, however, it will quickly deflate as it cools. Do not be alarmed; this is normal.
- Make sure to gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter.
- This cake is best served warm.
Improvements:
- Serve topped with whipped cream or ice cream.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon to the cake batter.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 8-oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, Chopped
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Espresso Powder
- 6 Eggs, Separated
- 1 Cup Cocoa Powder
- Powdered Sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large Bundt pan with 1-tablespoon unsalted butter; set aside.
- Melt the chocolate and butter over low temperature in a medium saucepan.
- Whisk in the sugar, vanilla, salt, and espresso powder; set aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and beat for 4 minutes on medium-high speed; set aside.
- Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture one at a time.
- Sift the cocoa into the chocolate mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour the batter into a Bundt pan and bake for 30 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, before flipping it out onto a serving plate or cake stand.
- Once the cake has cooled for 3o minutes, dust it with powdered sugar.
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.
- Almond Bundtlettes by Beatriz at I Love Bundt Cakes
- Avocado Mini Bundts by Kelly at Passion Kneaded
- Black Forest Tomato Bundt Cake by Shilpi at SimplyVeggies
- Choco-flower Apple Bundt Cake by Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Chocolate Beet Bundt Cake by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Easy Orange Bundt Cake by Nichole at Cookaholic Wife
- Fall Fruits Bundt Cake by Rebekah at Making Miracles
- Flourless Chocolate Bundt Cake by Colleen at Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Secret Spice Yoghurt Cake by Jane at Jane’s Adventure in Dinner
- Tunnel of Fudge Cake by Bee at The Queen of Scones
- Vanilla Bean Malt Bundt Cake by Felice at All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Whole Wheat Banana Bundt Cake byAnshie at Spiceroots
