Sweet Saturday!

Happy Saturday, my dear friends! I hope you're having a gorgeous weekend. :o)

I'm ecstatic that I had some crafty time last night, but I wasn't able to complete my card to post along with this recipe today. (I'll be back with it tomorrow!) Instead, all I have for you is a delicious cake. I hope you forgive me. ;)

With spring and warmer weather's arrival, many of us yearn for fruity desserts. However, sometimes you still need chocolate. I hadn't made a bundt cake in quite some time, so I started my search there. Oh the joy of stumbling upon a recipe for Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze. Oh my.

Yes, I made a mess with the glaze... but everyone likes having a little extra to scrape off the bottom and put with their piece. ;) I couldn't resist letting it pool as much as it wanted. The majority of this went to work with my sweetheart as a little blessing to his coworkers, which is probably a good thing. I easily could have cleared it out myself this weekend. ;) The cake is rich, dark, chocolatey, and super moist. The glaze is a marvelous pairing of chocolate with a hint of cinnamon. My mom appropriately classified the topping as having a Mexican dimension to it, just as the recipe's creator stated. As is often the case in baked goods, by the time the baking is complete the espresso flavor turns subtle and primarily serves to enhance the chocolate's intensity. I will tell you that if you're a coffee lover, you MUST taste some of the batter while filling the pan. It tastes like pure chocolate espresso! If you want more of a coffee kick to the finished product, you can brush some coffee/espresso on the top of the cake while it's still warm. I love the elegance and ease of bundt cakes, which makes them a great option for the outdoorsy days of spring and summer. No huge amount of preparation time needed. :o)

This rich cake received rave reviews from all and I will certainly be making it again. If you try it, I hope you love it as much as we did! Have a blessed day, my sweet friends! I'll be back tomorrow with a card bursting with summery love. :o)

Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter
½ cup Dutch process cocoa
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, dissolved into ¾ cup hot water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

For the glaze:
4 ounces good quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use semi-sweet)
⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
1½ teaspoons light corn syrup
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350º F. Butter and flour a 10-12 cup bundt pan.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add cocoa, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the espresso water and remove from heat. Add the sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs to the warmed cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add all at once to the first mixture, whisking until well-blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until it feels firm to the touch and has slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Carefully loosen the cake with a knife and invert onto a large plate.

To make the glaze, place the chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and cinnamon in a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir the mixture using a rubber spatula until melted and smooth.

Pour the warm glaze over the bundt cake. Keep covered in a cake-keeper at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Source: slightly adapted from Sweetapolita