If there was ever a post of mine that was doomed even before I began baking or cooking, it’s this one. For starters, this was supposed to be a full-sized regular bundt cake. . . But it was in the 80’s today here in Seattle and remember, I don’t have any air conditioning in the house. . so what did I do? I baked MINI bundt cakes instead of a regular sized one because I was not about to have the oven on for one hour. 20 minutes was good enough and manageable for me.
80’s? Some of you are saying, “What?!” That’s nothing. Well, all I can say is that the Pacific Northwest has made me soft and I am very used to the cool weather. And when you don’t have A/C, it feels more like 90 something.
Secondly, this poor little bundt cake is part of Bundt-a-Month and this is CARAMEL JULY so, you guessed it, we are baking bundts using caramel! Now, just to be clear- the doom part does not come in regarding the taste. . because boy these little bundts are delicious! If you like salted caramel, you must bake this. The doom part comes in for me because I was not happy with my photos, particularly the caramel on my little bundt cakes. I was hot and tired and just couldn’t get these photos right. I’m not even sure that this photo looks appealing . . but hoping you’ll hang with me for a while to read the recipe and check out all of the other stunning, gorgeous, delicious bundt cakes with caramel down below.
In fact, if this recipe were not a part of my baking group, I would not have posted this baby. I would have re-baked it and tried again with the photos. . maybe on a cooler day and when the sun was working with me a little more.
Oh well. It’s all good. I got to reward myself with 2 little bundt cakes. Salted Caramel. Word up.
I hope you enjoy!
Chocolate Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel for #BundtaMonth
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup brewed coffee
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder + additional for dusting the bundt pan if desired
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- non-stick cooking spray for the bundt pan
For the caramel:
- ¼ cup 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons evaporated fat-free milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- maldon sea salt or other coarse sea salt to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Brew the coffee. While the coffee is brewing, spray your bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray and then dust with cocoa powder (for extra insurance if needed). Do this well to ensure the mini bundt cakes come out of the bundt pan. Knock out any excess powder.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter for 20 seconds. Mix with the coffee and cocoa powder. Stir with a wire whisk. Once everything is combined, add the sugar and whisk until it has dissolved. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
- In another medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. And lastly, in a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla.
- Whisk the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Slowly add the flour mixture and continue to mix. Once all of the ingredients have been combined you are left with a batter with the consistency of a slightly thick soup.
- Pour the batter into the mini wells of the bundt pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the bundt pan from the oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Once cooled, gently run a butter knife or fork around the sides of each cake to gently loosen from the pan. You can either remove with the knife or fork or place a wire rack on top of the bundt pan and flip it to release and catch the mini bundt cakes. Let cool on a wire rack.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and the evaporated milk; allow to cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar; stir with a whisk until smooth. Let cool slightly before drizzling on your mini bundt cakes. Sprinkle on some maldon sea salt and serve.
Cake recipe from my now trusted chocolate cake recipe here. And used the same caramel from my Salted Caramel Brownies.
Bundt-a-Month July!
It’s all caramel today, so make sure you check out all of the fabulous recipes below!
Brown Butter Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Icing by Holly from A Baker’s House
Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Icing by Carrie from Poet In The Pantry
Caramel Apple Bundt Cake by Rachel from I Love My Disorganized Life
Caramelized Apple Bundt Cake by Lora from Cake Duchess
Caramel Pound Cake by Veronica from My Catholic Kitchen
Chocolate Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel by Alice from Hip Foodie Mom
Double Glazed Caramel Mocha Bundt by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
Dulce de Leche Bundt Cake by Renee from Magnolia Days
Dulce de Leche Swirl Pound Cake by Anuradha from Baker Street
Orange Caramel Bourbon Bundt Cake by Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes
Salted Butterscotch Caramel Bundt Cake by Laura from The Spiced Life
Salted Caramel Mini Apple Cake Bundts by Anita from Hungry Couple
Snickers Bundt Cake by Karen from In The Kitchen with KP
Toffee Pecan Bundt Cake with Caramel Drizzle by Anna from From My Sweetheart
Vanilla Bean Salted Caramel Bundt Cake by Kate from Food Babbles
Here is how you can be a part of Bundt-a-Month:
- Simple rule: Bake us a bundt using caramel
- Post it before July 31, 2013
- Use the #BundtaMonth hashtag in your title. (For ex: title could read #BundtaMonth: Caramel Swirl Bundt)
- Add your entry to the Linky tool below
- Link back to our announcement posts
Even more bundt fun! Follow Bundt-a-Month on Facebook where we feature all our gorgeous bundt cakes. Or head over to our Pinterest board for inspiration and choose from hundreds of Bundt cake recipes. Connect with Bundt-a-Month on Facebook and Pinterest!
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I completely get this, Alice. When we lived in Paris, we didn’t have air conditioning. For three looooong summers, my little girls and I spent a lot of time in a children’s wading pool in the backyard. Forget turning the oven on. Stove top or nothing, baby.
That said, I think you are too hard on yourself. Those little Bundts are precious.
chocolate and caramel is a winning combination! i love the idea of mini bundts and i’ll be sure to try your recipe. thanks for baking along, Alice! 🙂
Guess we are always our own worst critic. Your mini Bundts look beautiful to me. And I bet the salted caramel is fantastic. Thank you for sharing the recipe, Alice =)
You’re nuts, Alice! Those bundts are adorable and now I need a mini bundt pan to try making these! Chocolate and caramel rocks together!
Karen,
you are too sweet! thank you!
Oh, I’m so sorry you were unhappy with your pictures. I hate when that happens but from the outside looking in, these little bundts look oh so very tempting. I would kill for one of them right now and your picture still made me drool so I call that success. And I hope it cooled down in Seattle!
awh, thanks so much Kate! I really appreciate the comment! 🙂
I think you nailed those mini bundt cakes, they look so pretty and perfect to me:) Love how the glaze and salt crystals pop out and grab you in. Yum, chocolate and caramel together sound fantastic too!
I´m digging these little cakes, no matter what you think of the pics. Salted+caramel is one of the best things to ever enter my food radar. They look so wonderful Alice! And being hot is always tremendously annoying.
Sorry you were disappointed with your efforts but I think your Bundts look great and can only imagine that they tasted wonderful as well! Baking in the heat of summer is challenging but whoever ate these gorgeous little Bundts with you surely appreciated your hard work.
Oh I love these baby bundts, Alice! And your photos showcase them so well! You know, I first thought to make a chocolate caramel cake. It’s got to be one of my favorite classic flavor combos. But I’ve had to bake chocolate cakes with some other groups recently, so I decided to switch it up. Now I regret that decision. Because I’m sitting here wishing I could have two of your pretty little cakes also! Hang in there….because despite your heat…your cakes look fabulous!
Thank you Anne! I still wanna know how you did that caramel pattern on your bundt! free hand or with a pattern? I love it!
Awe, it’s not so bad. It’s chocolate cake with drippy glaze. How bad can that look, anyway? And I have no doubt they’re delicious. Why no AC? I’d never survive. 🙂
Anita,
Here in Washington, the PNW, you really don’t need it, EXCEPT for the summer and even then, they say you don’t really need A/C except for a few weeks. . otherwise, here in Seattle, the weather is always really cool and when you do get hot, you just open a window. This was also a very unfamiliar concept for me, moving here from Los Angeles. . but so far, other than days where I’m baking and it’s hot, it’s been ok. 😉
Also, just to give you some context, we moved here a year 1/2 – 2 years ago and bought a brand new house and still no A/C in the house, just the heater. A lot of houses here don’t have A/C.
I love chocolate and caramels.. I have some mini bundt pans! Now I can make this!
Love, love, loe this combination of salty and sweet! Can’t wait to try these. Pinning!
Alice, you so crazy – these look phenomenal. You need to give yourself credit when it’s due! Mmm….my eyes are rolling into the back of my head thinking about this rich thick caramel glaze covering moist chocolate cakes and flecked with crunchy tasty bits of sea salt… Do you watch the Simpsons? You know that sound Homer makes when he thinks about food? Yeah, I’m making that sound right now.
I’d consider myself lucky to have 80F at home, lol. But these days, the weather has been getting nicer. Fingers crossed. These mini bundt cakes look so tasty, especially with salted caramel! I’m so into this now. Yum!!
Oh now, your little bundts look mighty fabulous and tasty to me.
If I didn’t have air conditioning and it was 80 degrees outside I would have to check in to a hotel. I’m so spoiled with the A/C. I really can not imagine baking in the heat. Kudos to you for hanging in there and sharing your bundt with the group!
These look incredible. What a clever idea about deciding to bake mini bundt cakes as opposed to a full-sized one to decrease oven time!
Are you kidding me? They look fantastic! We all know how hard it is to turn the oven on during the summer–you’re a hero for doing it! Stop being so hard on yourself. You’ve done well. 🙂
I think everyone is in the middle of a heat wave. Your mini Bundts look lovely, great job with this month’s theme.