Chocolate and salted caramel baby bundt cakes

Posted on 5 March, 2016

I don’t know about you, but put me near a wheel of cheese, a plate of crackers and a bowl of chips and you’d better send someone down to the shop for more supplies.

Same goes for dumplings. As many of you know (and some of you have witnessed), my current record stands at 30 in one sitting. What?? They’re SMALL.

So I guess you could say I’m a savoury kinda girl (food-wise, at least). But every now and then I do love to indulge in a little something sweet.

Literally.

When it comes to desserts, all I need is a few tasty mouthfuls and I’m happy. I mean, finishing off a great meal with a delicious dessert is the best. Unless you overdo it and end up feeling sick (Hands up! We’ve all been there).

Enter, mini desserts.

I know I’m a little biased (pun intended), but everything mini is pretty much amazing, right? And these chocolate and salted caramel baby bundt cakes are no exception.

There’s something about a bundt cake that’s so classic and comforting. It just looks like the kind of goodness that Nigella would serve you at the end of one of her fabulous dinner parties, along with a pair of comfy slippers and a dainty glass of dessert wine (wait, is it just me who has this fantasy?).

The mixture for the cakes isn’t anything fancy – just you’re good old fashion chocolate cake recipe.

I do like to use dark chocolate with sea salt through it though, along with cocoa powder so they’re not over-the-top sweet. Because it appears that my salted caramel sauce obsession is showing no signs of slowing (quite the opposite). So naturally, I decided to drizzle that silky liquid gold over the top to bring sweetness and a pinch of saltiness. 

I actually made these once and one of the kids at the party swiped a bunch of them and proceeded to hide in the corner and lick all the salted caramel off, leaving the cakes behind.

I wasn’t sure whether to be offended on behalf of the cake, or take it as confirmation that salted caramel is in fact the most addictive substance on earth. Either way, I was impressed by her commitment to getting as much of it into her face as humanly possible.

Making them mini requires nothing more than a mini bundt pan or two and a pretty serving platter or cupcake stand to display them on. So if you’re looking for something super cute to serve your guests next time you have people over – or a little sweet treat that you can enjoy after dinner without needing to un-button your pants – these little beauties are just the ticket.

They taste pretty damn good heated up with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and a drizzle of salted caramel the day after too. Just sayin.

Chocolate and salted caramel baby bundt cakes recipe

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Makes: 16

Note: You’ll need two mini bundt trays with 16 bundt moulds total (they usually have 12 per tray).  Or if you only have one mini bundt tray you can just make 12 and use slightly less mixture.

Ingredients

Bundt cakes

2 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
120g dark caramel sea salt chocolate, melted
1 cup vegetable oil
75g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups caster sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup créme fraîche
Icing sugar to dust

Salted caramel sauce

200g caster sugar
125ml cold water
100g unsalted butter, cubed
50ml thickened cream
50ml crème fraîche
1 tsp flaked sea salt

Instructions

For bundt cakes

Preheat oven to 170°C (160°C for fan-forced). Spray the mini bundt cake tray moulds with oil to grease. Sift and mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In another large bowl, add oil, vanilla paste and sugar to melted chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Using a stand mixer on low speed or mixing by hand with a wooden spoon, incorporate butter, then crème fraîche and milk. Finally, mix in the egg and the egg yolk one at a time until batter is smooth. Gradually add dry mixture to wet mixture, mixing on low speed or by hand until well combined. Pour cake batter into greased mini bundt tray moulds and cook for around 15 mins.

Check they are ready by inserting a skewer into the middle. If it comes out a little bit sticky but not wet they’re ready. Remove from the oven and let them sit in the tin in a cool place for about 20 minutes before carefully turning them out onto a wire rack to cool.

For salted caramel sauce

While cakes are cooling, make the salted caramel sauce by placing the sugar into a large saucepan and pouring in the water, making sure all the sugar is covered.

Cook over medium heat for around 7-10 minutes or until the sugar starts to brown. Do not stir it at all while it’s cooking or it will crystallise.

Once the sugar starts to turn a dark amber colour (not dark brown), remove from heat and whisk in the butter until it’s all incorporated. Next, stir in the cream and crème fraîche mixture and add the salt. You can add more salt to your taste if you like (be careful tasting, it will be hot!).

To serve

Arrange bundt cakes on a platter or board and dust with icing sugar. Drizzle with warm salted caramel sauce right before serving.

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Read this recipe in full and more in our latest edition of Magazine: The Celebration Issue. Click here for a list of stockists where you can pick up the magazine for free all across Canberra!