Here we are at week 12 already! I can hardly believe it!
Truthfully, I made week 12 early, so that I could have a little break from the weekly baking and blogging at a time when my schedule was a little hectic! It just so happens, a friend needed cake for her birthday – the timing couldn’t have been more perfect!
She said, “I’d like something with a little dark chocolate, a little caramel, maybe ‘almond joy-ish’?” And I responded with an idea I’d been wanting to try! The Samoa Bundt.
Friends, it did not disappoint. Here’s what I did: I baked up the Chocolate Cake donut bundt, with extra chocolate chips. I cooked up some caramel sauce and I toasted some coconut, and this is what happened:
Okay, so here’s the recipe, just in case you need a little of this in your kitchen…
For the cake:
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup cocoa powder (nestle)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup boiling water
caramel sauce
½ cup mini chocolate chips (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
toasted coconut (for topping)
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
measure the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt into a large mixing bowl. Give the mixture a stir with a wire whisk to combine all the ingredients.
To a separate bowl add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla and whisk them together with a fork. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir them together with a rubber spatula to combine.
Set your kettle to boil and once it’s boiled, measure out one cup of boiling water.
Add the boiling water to the cake batter in a slow stream, whisking as you add it. Continue adding the boiling water and whisking until the boiling water is all combined and the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan – sprinkle mini chips over the batter and gently stir in. Bake at 350 degrees 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 30-40 minutes. Prepare the caramel sauce while it cools. (the recipe is below.) Poke holes in the cake and pour about a third of the carmel sauce over the holes. Let rest for another 10-20 minutes or so, and then dump out of pan.
Once the cake is completely cool, toast your coconut at 375 for about 7-8 minutes. Then take the caramel sauce (warm it, if necessary) and paint it with a pastry brush, covering the cake. Next, take the toasted coconut and press it gently into the caramel sauce on the cake. Drizzle over the coconut with more caramel, then sprinkle a little more coconut and drizzle just a bit more caramel and add a few mini chocolate chips to the top. Frankly you can do any version of this decorating, this is just what I thought sounded good!
Easy Creamy Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 – 3/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions: Add butter, brown sugar, water, and salt to medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Bring to boil for 5 minutes (it will bubble a lot!), stirring occasionally.Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk and vanilla. Add additional evaporated milk to reach desired consistency.
daily portion 