"Are mini bundt cakes the new cupcakes?" asks Jen Murphy, Food & Wine's travel editor. Well, I think they could be. Bundt cakes are just as fun and versatile as cupcakes, and according to Murphy's article, Andrew Sessa, who just opened Bundt, a Bakery, says he thinks mini bundts are cuter than cupcakes, and I have to agree.
I would absolutely love to find pans for mini bundt cakes that come out the same size as mini cupcakes. While my mini bundt pans are smaller than regular-sized bundt pans, they're still large enough to be a filling dose of cake for one or the just right amount of dessert for two.
If you read my blog regularly or even if you just stop by from time to time, you've probably noticed my affection for mini foods. I just think it's better to make mini things because you're more likely to convince people to try something if it's small and because they give you more options. So after I came across the recipe for chocolate-cinnamon bundt cake with mocha icing in the September issue of Bon Appetit, I knew I'd be making miniature versions of it.
The cakes, studded with mini chocolate chips, came out incredibly moist, even though there's no sour cream or yogurt in the batter. The espresso powder in the cake batter and in the mocha icing added another dimension of flavor to these. And the cinnamon in the cakes paired so well with the chocolate, as cinnamon usually does.
I am a huge fan of this recipe. I even left some cakes unglazed and sprinkled others with confectioner's sugar. That's the versatility of minis; you don't have to serve them all the same way. While I preferred the ones with mocha glaze, they were all delicious.
If you like cinnamon, chocolate, and coffee, you'll want to head over to BonAppetit.com for the recipe.
A day after I made these cakes, I received the fall 2009 issue of Entertaining from Cook's Illustrated, and would you believe there's a recipe in there for "The Best Chocolate Bundt Cake"? I plan to find out if that claim is true!
I also recently made yellow bundt cake, and I love pistachio bundt cake, but these chocolate ones are my favorite. What's yours?