Chocolate and Blackberry Bundt Cake

A chocolate cake that even this non-chocolate person loves.

You never know what can come from a chance meeting but after crossing paths with Stephanie Hansen on the hottest day of the year at the Minnesota State Fair, I found myself on one of the coldest days of the year, loading up my stand mixer, a tub of ingredients, and three Bundt cakes to drive three and a half hours for my second adventure into baking on camera. When I was asked to be a guest on “Taste Buds with Stephanie,” there was no scenario or polar vortex in this world that would keep me from answering her invite with an eager “absolutely!”

This episode was all about chocolate which, if you know me, is a little ironic since I am not the biggest chocolate person in the world but again, I was excited and set my own taste buds aside for the opportunity. When Stephanie said it should be something that a home cook could easily create, I immediately landed on a Bundt cake. With Nordic Ware’s USA headquarters based in Minnesota, Bundt cakes are a staple here and despite cakes notoriously not being my thing, I do love a good Bundt cake.

For this cake, I wanted to use ingredients to help boost that chocolate flavor. Coffee is a very common way to do this but another way is by using red wine. To further enhance those chocolate notes, I chose to use blackberry wine from a winery local to me in LaPorte, MN called Forestedge Winery. I have participated in their annual art fair in recent years and knew their blackberry wine would help bring out those bright berry notes found in dark chocolate. Wine also provides an acidity to this cake which helps in both flavor as well as creating a tender and moist crumb.

I will admit that this cake is a bit involved for a Bundt cake but I promise it’s worth the extra effort. It is topped off with a silky ganache that Stephanie praised for it’s mouth feel. I always like to add a bit of butter to my ganache when using it to top a cake like this and I even added a splash of raspberry liqueur to again enhance those berry notes found in chocolate. If you’ve been looking for a new chocolate cake recipe, I hope you’ll give this one a try!

Happy baking from the land of ten thousand bakes,

- Nicole

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Chocolate and Blackberry Bundt Cake

While I often use a scale for my baking, I find when talking with most home bakers, that is still far away from being the standard. So for this recipe, having been created with home cooks/bakers in mind, I have used volume measurements.

Ingredients

For The Cake:

• 1 3/4c all purpose flour

• 1 1/2t baking soda

• 1t salt

• 1/2c blackberry wine, room temperature

• 1/2c sour cream, room temperature

• 2T raspberry liqueur, room temperature

• 4oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

• 1/4c dutched cocoa powder

• 1/2c hot water

• 1 1/4c + 1/2c granulated sugar, divided

• 4 large eggs + 2 egg yolks, room temperature

• 3/4c unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened

For Dusting the pan:

• 2T vegetable shortening, melted

• cocoa powder for dusting

For the ganache:

• 8oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

• 1c heavy cream

• 3T unsalted butter, cubed and softened

• 1T raspberry liqueur

• 1t vanilla extract

• 1 pint of blackberries for topping

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Prepare Bundt pan by brushing the inside with melted shortening and dusting with cocoa powder. Make sure pan inside incompletely coated for a clean release. In a medium pot, heat 1” of water until simmering.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, combine wine, sour cream and raspberry liqueur. Set aside.

3. When your water has begun simmering, combine chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and hot water in a heat proof bowl. Place bowl on top of the pot of simmering water, turn the heat down to low and using a rubber spatula, constantly stir chocolate mixture until melted and combined. It will resemble a thick frosting when it is ready. Remove bowl from heat and stir in 1/2c sugar until mixture is smooth and glossy.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add your eggs and egg yolks. Whisk on low for 30 seconds until combined. Add remaining 1 1/4c sugar and whisk on high until light and fluffy and tripled in volume. This will take 2-3 minutes.

5. Switch to a paddle attachment and pour in your chocolate mixture. Mix on medium until well combined, about 1 minute, scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add your butter a chunk at a time, allowing 10 seconds between each addition. Once all the butter has been added, scrape down the bowl and make sure there are no visible butter chunks. Mix on medium for another 30 seconds. Mixture will be lighter in color and texture.

6. Add your flour mixture in three separate additions, rotating with two additions of the wine mixture. Beat on medium speed and scrape down the bowl after each addition of flour. After your final flour addition, mix on medium for 30 seconds. Give the bowl a final stir by hand.

7. Spoon your batter into the prepared Bundt pan, giving it a couple taps and smoothing out the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a tester comes out with only a few loose crumbs.

8. Let your Bundt cool for 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan. Allow Bundt to cool completely before topping with ganache and berries.

9. Once your cake is cool, make your ganache by placing your chocolate in a heat proof bowl. In a small pan, heat your heavy cream over medium heat until bubbles form all around the edge of the pan. Pour hot cream over chocolate. Add your butter and let everything sit for 2 minutes. It is important to let ingredients sit before stirring to help prevent splitting.

10. Combine your mixture by taking a whisk and starting at the center, slowly whisk until mixture the begins to combine then slowly work to the edge of the bowl. Once the ganache is combined and smooth, gently whisk in your liqueur and vanilla. Allow mixture to cool to desired consistency before pouring/spreading onto cake.

11. Using a spoon or pastry bag, drizzle or pipe your ganache on top of your cake. Top with fresh blackberries and enjoy!