Chocolate Stout Bundt - Day #20 of I Like Big Bundts

 Chocolate Stout Bundt

It's Day #20 of I Like Big Bundts...where we are spreading the love the bundt. A curvy cake that is awesome. November 15th is National Bundt Day!

Hello! It's Mary the Food Librarian and I'm in the kitchen. I've been in the kitchen for the last two days baking items for my friend's wedding tomorrow. I've asked my friend Susan to guest post today's Bundt! Susan is a librarian as well and can be found posting pretty photos and documenting life in downtown LA on her blog and on twitter too. She like waffles. And she likes Bundts cake. #cool

From Susan, Guest Blogger...
I've always loved baking. I like to take a bunch of powders and liquids that don't taste very good by themselves and make something delicious. I don't get a chance to do as much baking as I'd like, so I jumped at the chance to do this guest post for Mary while she is up to her elbows in wedding baking. The perks of being a librarian!

I've had my eye on this recipe for Chocolate Stout Cake for a while, and decided to make it in the autumn. Fall is a subtle season in Los Angeles, not given to showy displays like other parts of the country. The leaves on a few of the trees fade in color and don't fall so much as get swept away by Santa Ana winds. Even though summer decided to come back around this week, I decided to keep to my original plan.

The recipe calls for a cup of stout. The obvious choice is Guinness, and I visited Galco's to get a single bottle. Galco's had a dizzying array of different kinds of stouts, so I changed up and decided to go with Espresso Stout from Hitachino Nest, at least partly because of the adorable owl on the label.

Like Mary, I'm not really a fan of frosting. For me, it stems from childhood trauma: At a friend's birthday party, I was pretty excited about getting the piece of cake that had a purple elephant entirely made of frosting. As an adult, I look back and realize that the elephant probably wasn't supposed to be eaten, but as an eight-year-old I thought I'd won the cake lottery. It still makes me a little nauseous to remember the experience.

I decided to try a ganache glaze for the first time ever, and instead of using the ganache that was included with the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, I made this one from Martha. I was a little nervous about pouring it on, so I made a fake cake with a piece of bread to experiment with pouring the glaze. Science!

The practice ganache glaze

I still managed to add it to the cake when it was too warm and runny, creating a chocolate soup in the bottom of the cake plate. Mmm... chocolate soup.

The cake is rich and super-chocolatey; the stout gives it a nuttiness and depth that is a surprise, and the sour cream makes it moist. I'd definitely make this again.

Thanks for letting me visit and play along with 30 Days of Bundts! - Susan

National Bundt Day is just around the corner! Have you picked out your Bundt recipe for November 15th? Get your Bundt on with cards and buttons from JustJennDesigns!

Susan, Thank you so much for guest posting this delicious Bundt! Now it's back to the kitchen for me! And yes, to those who have asked, I'll have a massive wedding dessert bar post after I recover. Have a great weekend! - Mary the Food Librarian

Recipes:
Chocolate Stout Cake from Smitten Kitchen
Martha's Ganache