In celebration of my three month blog anniversary (YAY!), I am posting the recipe to one of my all-time favorite chocolate cake creations to date. I actually made these for my Dad’s birthday (it’s belated, but we had so many other sweets that weekend he wanted to delay the dessert I made him to another weekend). Typically, his dessert has to involve two things: chocolate and nuts. I typically end up making him a chocolate cake of sorts. This year, I was inspired to create mini “Bundtlette” cakes because I figured they would be the perfect portion size and easy for sharing/storing. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE making large cakes and full-size Bundt cakes as well, but these definitely were easy for serving and super fun to decorate! I am already contemplating making a different version for Easter. The batter recipe for these cakes is one-of-a-kind and an experiment that turned out way better than I expected. The cakes literally taste like you are eating a cloud – they are not dense in any way, and it’s kind of incredible. I wasn’t really going for a specific texture when I created these, because typically all cakes I have made turn out to be on the denser side (especially with chocolate). It was a super pleasant surprise! So, if you are into chocolate, nuts and dessert, I think you should give this a go. Enjoy!

Makes 18 Bundtlette Cakes (Using this pan)

Recipe by © Alysha Melnyk 2018

*Special Thanks to Sam Melnyk for Crafting the Glaze*

Kitchen Tools:

Liquid Measuring Cup

Measuring Spoons

Dry Measuring Cups

Whisk

Large Sauté Pan

Mixing Bowl

Wooden Spoons

Sheet Pan

Double Broiler Setup

Bundtlette Pan (*See link above)

Cooling Rack

Sifter

Ingredients:

For Cake:

1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Sliced

1 Cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 Cup Dark Cocoa Powder

1 Teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt (*Or Sea Salt)

1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Teaspoon Pure Almond Extract

2 Cups Unbleached Cake Flour (*Plus Some Extra for Coating Pan)

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Cup Thick Yogurt or Sour Cream (*I used Siggi’s Chocolate Triple Cream Skyr)

2 Large Eggs, Mixed

For Nuts:

1/2 Cup Raw Pecans

1/2 Cup Raw Cashews

1/2 Cup Raw Almonds

1/2 Cup Raw Hazelnuts

1/2 Cup Raw Walnuts

1/2 Cup Raw Pecans

Coconut Oil (*To Spread on Baking Sheet)

For Glaze:

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

1 and 1/2 Cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

8 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

For Topping:

Powdered Sugar (*For Sprinkling)

Instructions:

1. Place large sauté pan on medium/medium-low heat, add in unsalted butter slices and chocolate chips. Melt everything together, using a wooden spoon or whisk to mix (*be careful not to burn).
2. Next, incorporate dark cocoa powder, Himalayan salt, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract into the sauté pan, mixing to fully combine.
3. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.
4. Next, in a large mixing bowl combine cake flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder.
5. Pour in the chocolate mixture from the sauté pan into the mixing bowl and mix everything to combine (mixture will be thick).
6. Next, mix in yogurt of choice and then whisked eggs. Hand mix everything using a spoon until fully incorporated.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Make sure oven trays are centered but separate (that way you can bake mixed nuts at the same time).
8. While oven is heating, flour and then fill the Bundtlette pan (each Bundtlette should be halfway full of batter). Since batter is thick, use spoon to place batter in the pan.
9. Next, spread a thin layer of coconut oil over the sheet pan and place mixed nuts on top, tossing to incorporate.
10. When oven is ready, add nuts on bottom middle shelf and cakes on top middle shelf.
11. ***For the nuts – bake for 6 minutes (toss) and then bake for another 6 minutes (12 minutes total). You may want to bake these for less time if you don’t like your nuts too toasted (maybe around 8 minutes to 10 minutes total). Set aside when complete (sprinkle with salt if desired).
12. ***For the Bundtlettes – bake for 15 minutes total on top middle shelf, then sit on heatproof counter space to cool for 10 minutes.
13. After 10 minutes, gently flip pan over the cooling rack (using oven mitts) and shake to release cakes (should slide out easily).
14. Pan should still be clean, so just dust with flour again and repeat the process to bake the rest of the Bundtlettes (my pan made 6 at a time so I repeated this process 3 times).
15. While the rest of the Bundtlettes are cooking, use a double broiler setup and combine coconut oil, chocolate, vanilla extract, and peanut butter, mixing until melted and smooth. Sift in powdered sugar (to avoid clumps) and mix until well combined. Set aside for cakes.
16. Once all cakes are done, drizzle icing all over and top with nuts, then sift powdered sugar on top.
17. Enjoy! 🙂

***Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.***