Brave new blog

I love to make things in the kitchen. When I'm not in the kitchen, I'm thinking about baking, cooking, researching recipes, learning kitchen science, and planning dinner parties in my head (don't tell my boss).  And now I have a blog.  Let's jump right in, shall we?

I started off baking cupcakes because they're awesome: regular cupcakes are the perfect individual serving, mini-cupcakes are calorie-less (its true!), all cupcakes are cute.  But creating cupcakes that elicit an ego-boosting reaction are a lot of work. And since I'm currently a full-time pencil pusher, sometimes the last thing I want to do once I get home is wait for a batch of cupcakes to cool completely before playing around with icings and finishing decorations.  And then there's the cleanup. That's the stuff that weekends (or much shorter commutes) are made of.

So recently I've (re)discovered bundt cakes.  They're quick, (usually one bowl and you're done) and fulfill a sweet craving with just as well as a cupcake.  But they're not always easy.  As with any cake, you want the end result to be moist and flavorful.  I've got that last part down, but what I can't yet seem to get perfectly is the moistness. Last week I baked a dark chocolate bundt cake with chocolate chips and rum-soaked cherries. The resulting cake was delicious! And so moist that the cake fell apart once removed from the pan. (That didn't mean it wasn't completely devoured in a few short days).  Yesterday I attempted a replication that would make it out of the bundt pan in one piece and retain it's moistness and delicate crumb. FAIL! For various reasons (probably relating the type of pan I used...matters for another post) the top and bottom of my bundt were kind of tough and chewy, while the center was as rich and moist as it should be.

I could have thrown it out, choked it down, or pawned it off on my roommates or colleagues.  But I wanted to fix it! And so, I glazed.  I whipped up a quick chocolate glaze with what I found laying around in my baking cupboard, drizzled it on top of the cake and let it pool at the bottom.  That was 3 hours ago, and now my once tough cake top has become soft, sticky and oh-so moist! I decided not to post a photo, as it's an ugly piece of cake (weeknight, remember). But now it's something I'm proud to serve, rather than pawn off!


Empty cupboard chocolate glaze:
I scavenged my cupboard for this glaze once I got home from work, and I didn't find much.  I also didn't measure everything out (I'm a big proponent of the "little of this, little of that" style of cooking), so I'm guessing after the fact!

1.3 oz dark chocolate
1-1.5 TBSP Earth Balance shortening (I didn't have butter; if you do, use it!)
2 or 3 TBSP confectioners sugar
2ish TBSP soymilk

Over medium-low heat, melt the chocolate and shortening, whisking constantly once melted. Add a tablespoon of the soymilk, (keep whisking!) and take off heat. Add confectioners sugar, the remaining soymilk and whisk to combine.  Put back on the stove, on low heat, and whisk until everything is combined and very few small clumps, if any.  Turn off stove and let the glaze cool for 5-10 minutes before drizzling onto the cake! FYI, this is also delicious drizzled over strawberries.