Mexican Chocolate Bundt Cake

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This recipe is from my Rebecca Rather cookbook…yet again.  I think that I might end up cooking my way through this book eventually!  This cake was chocolatey and moist with just a hint of cinnamon.  Rather suggests you use high quality cocoa (such as Scharfen Berger) but I had to settle for Hershey’s.  I would like to do a side by side taste test sometime to see how much and what kind of a difference it would make.

The cake is baked and topped with a thick chocolate pecan glaze.  I found my glaze to be a little too thick and overwhelming.  I would probably cut back on it next time, or try to thin it out.  I’d also try not mixing the pecans in the glaze, but sprinkling them on top of the glaze instead.

Here is the cake!  The first one was taken right after pouring the glaze on, hence the glassy sheen!  The second was taken the morning after.  This dessert does look as beautiful in the morning as it did the night before.  I sprinkled a few extra toasted pecans on top.  It was just so monotonously brown.

I always seem to have problems with bundt cakes sticking in the pan even after greasing AND flouring.  Rather recommends Baker’s Joy for this cake.  I have never used Baker’s Joy, so I decided to give it a try.  It was great!  The cake came out clean and easy.  Hardly a speck of cake in the pan afterward!  Lovely.  I probably won’t become a constant user of Baker’s Joy because I kind of enjoy the process of greasing and flouring some pans, especially round cakes pans.

I found this recipe on epicurious also, but the glaze is a bit different.  The recipe in the cookbook calls for cocoa powder while the epicurious recipe calls for chopped bittersweet chocolate.  Yet another variation I will have to try someday.

Here is the epicurious recipe.  I will have to type up the one from the cookbook and post it later.

Mexican Chocolate Cake Gourmet | April 2004

Adapted from chef Rebecca Rather
Rather Sweet Bakery & Café, Fredricksburg, TX

At the bakery, Rather makes both cupcakes and bundt cake with this recipe. The hint of cinnamon in the batter is a nod toward Mexican chocolate, which often contains cinnamon and spices.

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 2 hr  Makes 10 to 12 servings.

ingredients

For cake
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon saltFor glaze
2 cups chopped pecans (71/2 oz)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
5 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: a 9-inch tube pan or 12-cup bundt pan

preparation

Make cake:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter cake pan well and dust with flour, knocking out excess.
Melt butter (2 sticks) in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in cocoa. Add water and whisk until smooth, then remove from heat. Whisk in separately sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl, then sift again into cocoa mixture and whisk until just combined (don’t worry if there are lumps). Pour batter into cake pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 45 to 55 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Cool cake in pan on a rack 20 minutes, then loosen edges with a thin knife and invert onto a plate. Make glaze:
Spread pecans in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and bake until fragrant and a shade darker, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool pecans slightly in pan on a rack, about 5 minutes. Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, then stir in half-and-half and confectioners sugar. Add chocolate and cook, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and salt. Cool glaze until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Spoon glaze over top and sides of cake (cake will still be warm) and spread with a small offset spatula or knife to cover completely. Cooks’ note:
Cake (with glaze) can be made 2 days ahead and kept at room temperature in a cake keeper or covered with an inverted bowl.

Melt butter (2 sticks) in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in cocoa. Add water and whisk until smooth, then remove from heat. Whisk in separately sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl, then sift again into cocoa mixture and whisk until just combined (don’t worry if there are lumps). Pour batter into cake pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 45 to 55 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Cool cake in pan on a rack 20 minutes, then loosen edges with a thin knife and invert onto a plate.
Make glaze:
Spread pecans in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and bake until fragrant and a shade darker, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool pecans slightly in pan on a rack, about 5 minutes. Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, then stir in half-and-half and confectioners sugar. Add chocolate and cook, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and salt. Cool glaze until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Spoon glaze over top and sides of cake (cake will still be warm) and spread with a small offset spatula or knife to cover completely.
Cooks’ note:
Cake (with glaze) can be made 2 days ahead and kept at room temperature in a cake keeper or covered with an inverted bowl.
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