Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake for National Bundt Day

Today is National Bundt Day! Did you know that? Well, I certainly was not aware of that, until Yummy Chunklet mentioned about National Bundt Day, and The Food Librarian! Thank you, Yummy Chunklet! So I'm baking this cake to celebrate National Bundt Day which falls on 15th November. Mary from The Food Librarian is organizing a Round-Up for only Bundts! A perfect excuse for me to bake another bundt and to use my new cookbook! (wink!)

This is another lovely recipe from the book "Cake Simple". Chocolate and Mint, they are certainly meant for each other!

I love bundt cakes, as they are simple and elegant, and since I do not like overly sweet desserts, I seldom iced or glaze my cakes, and mostly bundt cakes do not need any "dressing" to make them taste good! Well... sometimes there is an exception, like this cake, tastes extra delicious with the ganache!

My daughter has been asking for mint chocolate cake a number of times. So I made this, and it is really, really good! The cake is moist, soft with lovely texture, the mint and the chocolate all comes together in each spoonful. I made the ganache, using some mint leaves from my garden. Though, I think that if you do not have any mint leaves, you can just omit them out, since the cake itself is full of the mint flavour, you would not miss out on the mint! As you can see from the first picture above, I did not pour all the ganache on the cake, reserving it for individual serving instead! And as usual, I reduced the sugar for the cake! 

This is a cake to bake for chocolate and mint lovers! If you are not, then you will be after having this!

Yum!

I took a peek at The Food Librarian and was amazed that Mary is baking a bundt cake each day for the month of November! That will be 30 Bundt Cakes! Wow! Go take a look! You will be amazed! And drool! And will want to get your bundt pan out to start baking!  :o)

To view my other bundt cake bakes, please click on the recipes for the link;
Apple Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Brown Sugar Bundt Cake
Chocolate, Walnut and Prune Cake
Citrilicious Cake
Coconut Cake
Cranberry Creme Fraiche Bundt Cake
Lemon Bliss Cake
Lemon Soaked Ginger Pound Cake
Marble Cake
Nutty, Chocolaty, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Whipping Cream Cake

Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake

(adapted from "Cake Simple" by Christie Matheson)

Serves 10-12

Melted butter for greasing the pan

3/4 cup (75gm) cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the pan

1 ounce (28gm) semisweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup (180ml) boiling water

1 cup (200gm) granulated sugar (I use 140gm)

1 cup (220gm) packed dark brown sugar (I use 150gm)

1-3/4 cups (210gm) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (240ml) buttermilk (I substitute with 3/4 cup homemade yoghurt mix with 1/4 cup milk)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil

mint chocolate ganache

fresh mint leaves for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C/Gas 4). Brush the inside of a 10-cup (2.4L) Bundt pan thoroughly with the melted butter and dust it lightly with cocoa powder. (Use a pastry brush to help distribute the cocoa powder and tap out any excess).

Put the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Whisk until the chocolate is thoroughly melted and the mixture is uniform. Let cool to room temperature.

Whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, peppermint extract, vegetable oil, and melted chocolate mixture on low speed until thoroughly combined.

With the mixer still on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until all the dry  ingredients have been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-low, and mix for another 3 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely. Spread the cooled cake with the ganache and garnish with fresh mint leaves. The cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Mint Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces (115gm) semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream

15 to 20 fresh mint leaves

pinch of fleur de sel

Put the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small nonreactive saucepan over very low heat, combine the cream with the mint leaves and heat for about 10 minutes. Do not let the cream boil. Strain the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand for about 3 minutes, until the chocolate has melted. Add the fleur de sel and whisk until the mixture is smooth uniform. The ganache will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before using.