How to Philosophize with Cake: Confetti bundt cake with whipped chocolate ganache frosting (#BundtBakers)

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Confetti bundt cake with whipped chocolate ganache frosting (#BundtBakers)

vegan confetti bundt cake with whipped chocolate ganache frosting

Has it been a month already? Apparently so, because it is time for another BundtBakers post, this time featuring sprinkles. August’s host is Terri, the blogger at Love and Confections—who evidently has terrific (ayy) taste, because, well, sprinkles.

I mean, how can you not love them?

They are the nostalgia-inducing flecks of color in confetti cake; the chocolate hailstorm found on slices of toast throughout the Netherlands; the hundreds-and-thousands that turn regular bread into fairy bread for New Zealanders and Australians everywhere and—occasionally—people in the United States too (for whatever reason, putting sprinkles on bread hasn’t caught on yet over here).

Yeah, the mass-produced kind found in supermarkets might taste kind of weird and chemically (I hate to use that word, but it’s the only way to describe it); they might have a long and unpronounceable list of ingredients including ten types of food coloring; they might make anyone consuming said sprinkles look like someone with the culinary tastes of a five-year-old...but still they remain relevant, and so we find creative ways to get our sprinkle fix without sacrificing our foodie sensibilities.

Take the popularity of the uber-trendy Momofuku Milk Bar’s confetti cake. In the (similarly uber-trendy) Milk Bar cookbook, wherein pastry chef Christina Tosi divulges her trade secrets, which surprisingly hasn’t led to any pseudo-Milk Bar fraud (or has it?), Christina talks at length about how her confetti cake formula was based on the particular flavor of a boxed cake mix. This is, of course, a brilliant strategy. When was the last time a pretentious, sprinkle-shunning, traditionally French bakery / patisserie went viral with the speed and intensity of the Milk Bar? Like, never?

People like the food of their childhoods, trashy and sprinkle-laden as it may be. And I’m not trying to talk shit. I’m joining in by saying I was raised to love McDonald’s French fries and Dairy Queen sundaes. Maybe our family’s bad fast food habits were temporary, but the love of sprinkles is forever.

So short of picking up a box of Pillsbury Funfetti^TM cake mix, I tried to tap into that nostalgic, childhood-birthday flavor with the cake for this month’s BundtBakers challenge. (Okay, it’s not really a challenge for me to bake up a relatively simple cake and eat it with the greatest possible enthusiasm, but you know what I mean.) I settled on another recipe from Vegan Desserts—ant hill cake. This cake, the author writes, was a family favorite at the local diner when she was growing up; and while the hemispherical white cake studded with brown sprinkles, topped with chocolate frosting and plenty more chocolate jimmies, might seem unimpressive to the cake-weary (well I never!) foodie, it was captivating to the younger audience. And now, many years later, a vegan version! Another testament to the power of nostalgia.

But while the chocolate sprinkle-filled cake sounds good, I am more interested in rainbow sprinkles. So I modified the cake to fit a bundt pan and also switched up the sprinkle color for a cake that looks like it’s on the way to a kid’s birthday party.

It really does look like that, doesn't it?

While the cake is chock-full of sprinkles, I found the frosting was my favorite part. Hot damn it is good. I could eat it with a spoon. Just give me a bowl of that sweet, sweet whipped ganache and I will be happy as a kid in a ball pit (does that analogy work?). You can be sure I will ~~steal~~ use the recipe myself sometime soon.

Kinda looks like a giant doughnut too.

Okay, I’m done talking. Here’s the recipe.

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Confetti bundt cake with whipped chocolate ganache frosting

Adapted from Vegan Desserts by Hannah Kaminsky

Ingredients

Confetti bundt cake

85 grams • vegan butter, softened • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons

134 grams • granulated sugar • 2/3 cup

244 grams • nondairy milk • 1 cup

15 grams • apple cider vinegar • 1 tablespoon

4 grams • vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon

304 grams • all-purpose flour • 2 ¼ cups

8 grams • baking powder • 2 teaspoons

2 grams • baking soda • ½ teaspoon

2 grams • salt • ¼ teaspoon

240 grams • rainbow sprinkles • 1 ¼ cups

Whipped chocolate ganache frosting

170 grams • dark chocolate, finely chopped • 6 ounces

60 grams • nondairy milk • ¼ cup

112 grams • vegan butter, softened • ½ cup

120 grams • powdered sugar • 1 cup

Rainbow sprinkles, to decorate

Directions

Start by preheating oven to 350 degrees F and greasing a bundt pan.

Place vegan butter and sugar together in an electric stand mixer until lightened in color and fluffy. In a measuring cup, whisk together milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Let stand until curdled, about 3 minutes. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

Add about a third of the flour mixture to the stand mixer and mix on low speed just until combined. Add half of the liquid mixture. Repeat and finish off with the remaining flour mixture. Be sure not to over-mix. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.

Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and even out the surface with a rubber spatula. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, start by melting together chocolate and milk in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring consistently so it doesn’t burn. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Pour chocolate mixture into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and add vegan butter in cubes. Beat until the mixture is smooth. Add powdered sugar in one go and whip for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightened in color and fluffy.

Frost the cooled cake with whipped ganache frosting. Top with additional sprinkles. Slice and devour.

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Just glorious.

Before you depart, check out the other fabulous bundts people have made this month.

BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely bundts by following our Pinterest board.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.