Chocolate-Cinnamon Bundt Cake

After spending much of the summer away from the oven (largely due to summer weather and/or travel), I am happy both for cooler fall weather and for being at home on a regular basis.

This cake is a little overdue, but it's for a colleague's birthday, which was last week. While browsing through the new issue of Bon Appetit, I was inspired by the recipe for Chocolate-Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Mocha Icing. I was a little concerned that the recipe called for a large Bundt pan but seemed to have too little potential volume, but the cake ended up having a satisfying height. Still, I think that if I make this again, I might try it in a slightly smaller pan.

Otherwise, while the taste testing remains, the cake seems like a winner. The aroma is amazing (predominantly cinnamon but with hints of coffee).

Bundt Cake

Usually when a new magazine arrives, I turn the pages, think "Hey, I need to make this one at some point," then put it aside and forget about it. When the October 2007 issue of Bon Appétit arrived, I took a look at the dessert feature by Julie Hasson and had to make Brown Sugar and Chocolate Chip Pound Cake with Maple-Espresso Glaze later that day. I ended up bringing the cake along for our weekend in New Hampshire for the Reach the Beach relay, and we managed to devour most of it in a couple of days. It seemed to be a big hit. From a baker's perspective, the only minor quibble I had was that the chocolate chips seemed to sink in the batter. Maybe next time I'll make it with mini-chips.