Peppermint Chocolate Ganache Glazed Dark Chocolate Bundtlettes

I know, more dessert. I usually try to intersperse more savory meals inbetween the baked goods, but I had a really good reason for this. Actually 4 really good reasons. First, I made 2 of my kids’ favorite meals the past week. Favorite meals usually means dishes that have been on this site before. First, this Chicken Divan, which I have been slowly creating more and more from scratch, and when I have that completely mastered I will share it with you again. And second, this Vietnamese Pork Bun, which my children love so much they actually will take it to school and eat every last bite by whatever means necessary–i.e., the flimsy plastic spork they hand out to the kids (and my kids never take leftovers!).

And what were the other 3 reasons, you ask?

I have to apologize to my niece and goddaughter, Grace, who is too young to partake of chocolate but who is every bit as cute as the other 3. And that beauty on the bottom? That is Sophie, whose birthday we were celebrating. Her fall break was a full week (!!) so they came for dinner one night this week because we had been unable to make it to her birthday celebration in Indiana. She requested something chocolate, and I immediately thought of all of my flower bundtlette pans (this Nordic Ware Bouquet Pan and an older version of this Nordic Ware Platinum Rosebud Baking Pan); kids love individual desserts and little girls especially love flower shaped desserts. Not to generalize or anything! Lily, that hysterical cutie pie at the top, assures me I am correct about this.

I have made many chocolate bundt and pound cakes that I have loved, but my mind immediately went to this sour cream chocolate cake, that I posted long before I understood anything about blogging or photographing food. I leave these kinds of posts up, honestly, because they are part of me and my blogging journey, but they are definitely not polished or professional! Ironically, speaking of both polished and professional, I got my fingerprints on this cake before I photographed it, but we’ll just call the smudges charming imperfections, ‘kay?

When Sophie and her siblings arrived, I asked her if she would prefer a plain chocolate cake dusted with powdered sugar or a cake glazed with peppermint dark chocolate. This is how I know we are family: around here, the only kids who eat mint chocolate are mine. But every single niece and nephew eagerly voted for peppermint chocolate. As did my sister in law. And my husband. Maybe it is why we married them! Among other reasons of course. Ahem.

My ganache was a tad thicker than I wanted it to be. On the one hand it was indulgently thick and scrumptious, but on the other hand, it did not drape over the cakes very nicely. I used Green and Black’s Organic Mint Dark Chocolate bars, but you could easily use any good dark chocolate and add peppermint oil. I literally while writing this post realized I did not send my brother any (he could not come because of work and I had meant to send him a cake) so I hope he is not reading this with steam coming out of his ears! Because guys these cakes were the bomb. Really yummy. And if you don’t like mint, either dust with powdered sugar or make a dark chocolate ganache. But if you don’t like mint, I am afraid you cannot join my family.

5 from 1 vote

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Peppermint Chocolate Ganache Glazed Dark Chocolate Bundtlettes

Adapted from a recipe posted online on a cooking bulletin board that originated with Cook's Illustrated

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: cake

Keyword: chocolate, peppermint

Author: TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

For the cake:

• ¾ cup (2 1/4 oz) natural cocoa
• 1 t double Dutched extra dark cocoa powder optional (for color)
• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped (I used 71% Scharffen Berger)
• 1 t instant espresso powder
• ¾ cup water boiling
• 1 cup sour cream room temperature (I used half reduced fat sour cream and half spoiled heavy whipping cream)
• 1 ¾ cups (8 3/4 oz) AP flour
• 1 t salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 12 T 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), room temperature
• 2 cups (14 oz) packed light brown sugar
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs room temperature

For the ganache:

• 7 oz mint dark chocolate chocolate chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. Grease and flour your bundtlette pans--you will have 12 cups of batter, so 12 bundtlettes was perfect for my pans. Check the pan for how much batter it will hold. Set aside.
2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; preheat oven to 350 F.
3. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
4. Combine cocoa, chocolate, and espresso powder in medium heatproof bowl; pour the boiling water over it and whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature; then whisk in sour cream.
5. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar in 4 additions, beating for 30 seconds after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and beat on medium high speed for 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
6. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing about 30 seconds after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl periodically.
7. On low speed, add half of the chocolate mixture and 1/3 of the flour mixture. Mix until mostly incorporated and repeat, using up the chocolate mixture. After that has incorporated, mix in the remaining flour mixture. When it is mostly incorporated, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then beat on medium high speed for about 15-20 seconds.
8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.
9. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center bundtlette comes out with only a few crumbs attached, 23-26 minutes. Be certain to keep an eye (and nose!) on the cakes, especially if using a smaller pan, as I have found this cake to be sensitive to over-baking.
10. Cool in pans 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack; cool to room temperature.
11. While it is cooling, prepare the glaze: heat the cream just until it starts to boil. Take it off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit for about one minute, and then whisk smooth.
12. Let the ganache cool a little and thicken a bit. Place wax paper under the cooling rack the cakes are on. When the cakes are cool, pour the ganache over the tops of the cakes. If a lot of dripping ganache pools under the cakes, remove the wax paper, replacing it with clean wax paper, and squeeze the ganache out of the wax paper onto the cakes to glaze with a second layer. Repeat as often as you want and still have ganache pooling to use.
13. Let set for a bit, preferably until completely set, but if you have small kids who cannot wait, it is completely understandable!

As always, affiliate links were used in this post, and also as always, they are only used for items I would be discussing and linking to in any case.