A picture is worth a thousand words. A great adage, and a simple sentence to hold dear to one’s heart whilst wandering through life attempting to enjoy every moment to its fullest. Right about now, you’re wondering exactly what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks I’m talking about. Well, humor me for a few minutes, and I’ll share with you what precisely it is that my little ol’ brain is thinking.
I grew up in a household where photography was always present. My father regularly had a camera handy when there was a holiday or vacation taking place around him. Perhaps he used this as a way to escape being on the other side of the lens, seeing as he totally loathed having his picture taken, but I choose to think of it as a way that he showed the world his view of the life swirling on around him.
Even before I was a wink of a thought, my father took photography classes and practiced seeing the world from a different angle. Luckily, he handed most of the photos from this brief period of time down to me, which I treasure dearly. This one of our family friend is one of my absolute favorites. It captures every memory I have of this person, and is how I choose to remember them always in my mind as well as my heart. And then there is this one, which is one of several photos taken on butchering day, which constantly serves as a reminder to me of where I am from. I will never be a city girl, no matter how hard I try, because it just isn’t in my bones. My marrow is made from stronger stuff. My heart knows what it is like to grow, tend, and eventually slaughter or reap ones food.
My father chose to pass his love of photography on to both my brother and I by always ensuring that we had our own camera and film, so that we could capture our own view of the world. Many years later I can honestly admit that most of these pictures sucked. You have to remember this was way back in ancient times, when you only had twenty-four shots per roll of film, so you tried your best to make every single one of them count, and if you were really lucky, you might possibly get one passably decent shot out of an entire roll. Perhaps that’s why many of those early photographs are missing from my photo albums today.
No matter how many of those pictures are filling a landfill today, I am still grateful that I took each and every single one of them. You see, when you take a picture, you not only put it on film, but you also tell your brain to capture it and hold onto that memory as well. So my head is filled with shots of random things that might not seem all that special to someone else, but will always be a part of my memories. Which when you think about it, will almost always be better than the photos from those years that are actually left in existence for you to look back upon.
I’m guessing that you particularly would be most interested in a few of the pictures from my childhood that actually do remain for your viewing enjoyment. Well here you go; I’m more than willing to indulge you and your sadistic request for my humiliation. There is this one of my brother and I at the beach digging a hole, which if you know my family is a rarity indeed. My parents did not “DO” the beach, which meant every four years or so, we would get an hour to enjoy the sand while on our way to visit my father’s friends up North. And then of course there are the pictures of the truly great creatures in our lives, such as Ben, our depressed and eventually suicidal dog, and Meow, my first and never to be forgotten best furiend.
So what does all this have to do with cake? Not much, besides the fact that this month I actually remembered to photograph the cake, before allowing people to hack away at it, unlike last month. Now my brain won’t have to work so hard to remember it, how wonderful it was, and how happy it made the people who wolfed it all up with broad smiles on their faces. These pictures are truly worth a thousand words; a thousand yummy, scrumptious, marshmallow drizzle covered words. And yet, somehow even those marshmallow drizzle covered words can’t top this embarrassingly, terrible, horrendous picture of me in a bathing suit. That last one was a freebee, don’t expect it to happen again anytime soon in the foreseeable future.
Cake:
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Irish Butter, Room Temperature
- 3/4 Cup Water
- 1/3 Cup Cocoa
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Instant Espresso Coffee
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Chocolate Extract
- 1/4 Cup Whipped Cream Vodka
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
- 1 Cup Semi-Sweet Miniature Chocolate Chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Liberally spray and flour a Bundt pan; set aside.
- Over medium heat, combine the butter, water, cocoa, salt, and espresso. Cook until the butter is completely melted; set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of flour with the chocolate chips; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, sugar, and baking soda.
- Slowly whisk the cocoa mixture into the flour.
- Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, chocolate extract, vodka, and sour cream. Mix until evenly combined.
- With a silicone spatula, fold in the flour-coated chocolate chips, and then pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 1 hour before transferring it to a cake plate.
Marshmallow Drizzle:
Ingredients:
- 1 Packet of Unflavored Gelatin
- 1/2 Cup Cold Water
- 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup Light Corn Syrup
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
Directions:
- On medium speed, whisk together the gelatin and water for 1 minute.
- In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Place the mixture over high heat and cook until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Do not stir the mixture while it is on the stove.
- Add the hot mixture slowly to the gelatin and water; mix for 1 minute on low speed.
- Add the vanilla; mix for 10 minutes on medium-high speed.
- Drizzle or pour the mixture over the cooled Bundt cake.
Graham Crack:
Ingredients:
- 4 Graham Cracker Sheets
- 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and place the graham crackers edge to edge in the middle of the cookie sheet; set aside.
- Over medium-high heat, combine the butter and sugar in a saucepan. Cook until the mixture begins to turn a light to medium golden brown, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat, whisk in the vanilla, and then pour the mixture over the graham crackers.
- Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, being careful not to burn the graham crackers.
- Allow to cool completely before crumbling into small crack pieces.
- Top the marshmallow coated cake with the graham crack, using your hands to press the mixture lightly into the drizzle.
Suggestions:
- After you add your cake batter to the Bundt pan, make sure to tap it a few times on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles before baking.
- I make the graham crack a day or two ahead of time, so that it is easier to break into small pieces. You will most likely have a little bit leftover, which will make an excellent ice cream topper or late-night snack.
- There will be a ton of marshmallow drizzle, but you will most likely lose some of the sticky mixture to the bowl, your utensils, your hands, and unfortunately your counter top. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge or freezer. When you are ready to use it as an ice cream topping or cookie filling, simple warm it up in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds.
Improvements:
- Use 1/2-cup of finely crushed graham crackers in place of 1/2-cup of all-purpose flour.
- Use a kitchen torch to toast the marshmallow drizzle before adding the graham crack.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Irish Butter, Room Temperature
- 3/4 Cup Water
- 1/3 Cup Cocoa
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Instant Espresso Coffee
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Chocolate Extract
- 1/4 Cup Whipped Cream Vodka
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
- 1 Cup Semi-Sweet Miniature Chocolate Chips
- 1 Packet of Unflavored Gelatin
- 1/2 Cup Cold Water
- 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup Light Corn Syrup
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 Graham Cracker Sheets
- 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Liberally spray and flour a Bundt pan; set aside.
- Over medium heat, combine the butter, water, cocoa, salt, and espresso. Cook until the butter is completely melted; set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of flour with the chocolate chips; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, sugar, and baking soda.
- Slowly whisk the cocoa mixture into the flour.
- Whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, chocolate extract, vodka, and sour cream. Mix until evenly combined.
- With a silicone spatula, fold in the flour-coated chocolate chips, and then pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 1 hour before transferring it to a cake plate.
- On medium speed, whisk together the gelatin and water for 1 minute.
- In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Place the mixture over high heat and cook until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Do not stir the mixture while it is on the stove.
- Add the hot mixture slowly to the gelatin and water; mix for 1 minute on low speed.
- Add the vanilla; mix for 10 minutes on medium-high speed.
- Drizzle or pour the mixture over the cooled Bundt cake.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil and place the graham crackers edge to edge in the middle of the cookie sheet; set aside.
- Over medium-high heat, combine the butter and sugar in a saucepan. Cook until the mixture begins to turn a light to medium golden brown, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat, whisk in the vanilla, and then pour the mixture over the graham crackers.
- Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, being careful not to burn the graham crackers.
- Allow to cool completely before crumbling into small crack pieces.
- Top the marshmallow coated cake with the graham crack, using your hands to press the mixture lightly into the drizzle.
#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.
- Autumn Bundt Cake by The Freshman Cook
- Caramel Apple S’mores Bundt by Taking on Magazines
- Carrot Graham Mini Bundts with White Chocolate Chips and Marshmallow Glaze by Passion Kneaded
- Chocolate Bundt with Marshmallow Graham Filling by Basic N Delicious
- Chocolate Graham Cracker Bundt Cake with Roasted Strawberry Marshmallow Filling by Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Cookie Crumble Peanut Butter S’more Bundt Cake by Baking in Pyjamas
- Deconstructed S’more Bundt Cake by Cali’s Cuisine
- Graham Cracker Bundt Cake S’mores by Magnolia Days
- Graham Cracker Bundt with Chocolate Ganache and Toasted Marshmallow Frosting by Food Lust People Love
- Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Bundt with Marshmallow Topping by Our Good Life
- Inside Out S’mores Bundt Cake by Liv for Cake
- Key Lime S’more Bundt Cake by Patty’s Cake
- Mexican Chocolate S’more Bundt Cake by Tartacadabra
- Nutella Glazed S’more Bundt Cake by I Bake He Shoots
- Nutella S’mores Bundt Cake by Brunch with Joy
- Oreo Grasshopper S’more Bundt by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Pretzels Crown in a S’more Bundt Cake by Los Chatos Chefs
- Pumpkin S’mores Bundt by Living the Gourmet
- Pumpkin S’mores Bundt Cake by How to Philosophize with Cake
- S’moreo Caramel Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
- S’mores Bundt Cake by From Gate to Plate
- S’mores Bundt Cake by La mejor manera de hacer
- S’mores Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes
- S’mores Graham Cracker Bundt Cake by The Spiced Life
- Salted Marshmallow and Graham Crack S’more Bundt Cake by Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
