Happy July 4th, friends!
It’s shaping up to be a rainy holiday, so our fireworks-watching will have to wait. No matter. We’ll save the barbecuing for later and carry on indoors with a big slice of red velvet bundt cake! It’s a little less literal than my red + white + blue concoction from last year’s 4th, but silver crystal sugar on dark chocolate ganache will always remind me of fireworks against a night sky.
The usual topping for this cake is made with cream cheese (no surprise there, right?), but this time I decided to break tradition and completely enrobe the cake in dark chocolate ganache. I can never leave well enough alone, so on went a crown of whipped cream and bunches of chocolate curls (and that’s the royale part!).
If you’re new to making chocolate curls, then clickety-click over to my video. With a little practice, you’ll be curling like a pro! Nowadays, it’s one of my favorite pastimes (along with crystallizing rose petals and stamping chocolate ).
(It’s the little things- always and ever!)
There’s something about the look, feel, and flavor of this cake… It makes me want to throw a midnight dessert tasting and invite my three closest girlfriends anyone who understands the magic of dark chocolate and the drama of red velvet together. Care to join me?
Red Velvet Bundt Cake Royale
Source:Cake portion adapted from the cookbook Kiss My Bundt
Yield: 12 servings
Prep: 1 hour 30 minutes; total time about 2 hours 15 minutes
Red velvet
bundt
1 1/4 cups vegetable
oil
1 cup
buttermilk
2 eggs
3 tablespoons
red food coloring
1 teaspoon
white vinegar
2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups
flour
1 3/4 cups granulated
sugar
1 teaspoon
baking soda
3/4 teaspoon
salt
1 tablespoon
unsweetened cocoa powder
Glaze
9 oz. dark
chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup
heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp.
corn syrup (light or dark)
Toppings
2 cups
whipped cream
Chocolate
curls
Silver
crystal sugar
- Preheat
oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a large
bundt pan, or spray it with a flour-based cooking spray such as Bake Easy or
Baker’s Joy. - In a large
bowl, beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and
vanilla with an electric hand mixer at medium speed.In a separate bowl whisk
together the flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa powder. - Add the
dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, in three additions. Pour the batter
into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes in an aluminum pan or about 40
minutes in a dark non-stick pan. The cake is ready when a toothpick tester
comes out clean. Remove from oven and let
cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Place wire rack inside a large jelly roll pan
with a lip. Let stand at room
temperature while you make the glaze. - For the
glaze, place heavy cream in a large microwaveable bowl. Heat in the microwave at 40 second intervals
until very hot but not boiling (you can do this on the stove top if you don’t
have a microwave). Stir in chopped chocolate. Let stand for 3 minutes then begin gently stirring mixture. You can use a whisk, but do not whisk
vigorously as it will create air bubbles in the finished glaze. When chocolate and cream are thoroughly mixed
and smooth, add corn syrup. Stir until
combined. Transfer to a 4-cup measure with a pour spout. *Note: Corn syrup can
be omitted if desired. It is used to
give the glaze an extra glossy appearance. - Pour glaze
over entire surface of the cake. Allow the cake to stand until the glaze
dripping subsides. Lift the rack from the jelly roll pan and pour excess
chocolate in the pan back into the 4-cup measure. Rewarm glaze for 20-30 seconds in the
microwave if it has thickened. Stir, then pour a second coat over the entire
surface of the cake. When dripping
subsides repeat warming and pouring process a third time (the more times you
cover with chocolate, the thicker the surface becomes). Transfer the cake to a serving plate or cake
stand using a large spatula on one side of the dessert and a hand supporting it
on the other side. - Pile whipped cream
into the center of the bundt cake and top with chocolate curls and silver
crystal sugar, if desired. Store covered loosely in the refrigerator. Allow slices to stand at room temperature 5-10 minutes before serving.
A cake fit for a king or queen! What a classy presentation.
Cheers,
Rosa
This is a spectacularly elegant cake! How do you come up with these decadent recipes?!
Much Love and Desserts,
Ashley D. Matthews
Oh my word, Heather. This is a work of art!!
I like your chocolate version way better than the typical red velvet cake. Happy 4th of July!
So perfect and beautiful!!! Would love a piece right now! 😀
Way too pretty!! How did you cut into this beautiful cake? 🙂
I want that glaze so, so, bad right now! Oh my!
So stunning! Totally beats fireworks 😉
Oh my! I am so with you. I love the dramatic look of dark chocolate and red velvet together. This bundt cake looks absolute amazing! I just need a bundt pan. I think that's what I'm going to ask for Christmas this year 🙂
Oh and Happy 4th of July! 🙂
That looks gorgeous!!!
Wow yum!
Wow – this is magical! It looks like something from a Swiss patisserie. gorgeous!
This cake is so incredibly beautiful, I almost don't want to eat, except that I want to eat the whole thing.
Too pretty! Happy 4th!
Count me in! Looks decadent!
I would join you for a slice of this at any hour of the night! Looks absolutely gorgeous 🙂
So pretty! What a celebration cake! 🙂
Looks awesome!! <3
Ella
Gorgeous cake! Looks delicious 🙂
http://www.thisbakergirlblogs.com
I would definitely like to be a part of that dessert tasting:-)
I can always come here to see really unique desserts, which is a real feat considering everything's been done (it seemed…). But you manage to turn things around and refresh them in such a unique and beautiful way.
Heather, your creations just scream personality every time. For so long now, I've followed your blog and ached to bake many a mere imitation /homage -just hampered by lack of metric weights. Oh please PLEASE embrace grams! A UK edition of your book would go down a treat too -almost as nicely as this awesome red velvet edition. Chocolate always wins it.
Amazing!!
Looks perfect for a party!
That is insanely amazing. WOW.
Gosh your chocolate curls are so perfect. I love that pop of red in the cake.
This gorgeous cakes belongs of the cover of a magazine!
What a magnificent looking cake! As a chocoholic, I love this modification of a classic red velvet cake. Delish!
That is stinkin' gorgeous, Heather!
Me, me! Pick me for your tastings!!!
Can you get fat looking at a photograph because I think I just ate like 5 (really big) slices of that amazing cake in my head?!
I know you use them all the time, but I just can't get over your chocolate curls. So cute! Yet so tantalizing!
I think my heart skipped a beat when I saw this.
This is a real showstopper! I'd love to to come to your midnight dessert tasting party:)
This looks soo rich and lovley
This looks FABULOUS! One of my friends has never had red velvet cake because she hates cream cheese frosting, so I might have to make her this (or in some kind of cupcakes form)!
What a gorgeous cake! You never disappoint with your skills!
Made this and it looks delicious but won't be served until a party tomorrow. But my chocolate curls…..not even close. I followed every step in your video and all I got was chocolate shavings!!!
Just sent you a comment about the glaze not turning out, but I figured it out. It wasn't supposed to be a glaze (DUH!) it's ganache. I added more cream and it's perfect now! Thanks for the great inspiration and recipe!