TWD: Mocha-Pecan Marbled Bundt Cake

When I'm particularly nervous or anxious I like to bake. When my mind is going 100 mph and I am in the process of working myself up into a major dither, I like to bake. Just imagining the butter and sugar together, and the perfect pale yellow creaminess that ensues soothes me more than just about anything. I suppose I'm lucky because eating the final result doesn't always appeal to me, it's the process of baking -- the alchemy -- that makes me feel so much better. Unfortunately, I haven't had as much time as I'd like to bake lately (the irony is that I've been posting a lot this month -- less baking = more posting). With that in mind, I'll just note at the outset, this cake soothes me. I loved making it from beginning to end.

If ever a cake were going to soothe, it would be a bundt cake, wouldn't it? Maybe it's because I associate bundt cakes with my dad and Sunday evenings, but I think that bundt cakes are incredibly homey. My dad isn't a big cake baker, but he would make bundt cakes every now and again. I can't even remember the flavor of bundt cake that he would make (I don't think they were the tastiest cakes -- shhhh), but I can remember  little pre dinner discussions of what sort of dessert (my mom lacks a sweet tooth!) we should have. Of course, as a member of the y-chromosome group, my dad gravitated towards things like cobblers, puddings, and pies. But my sister and I like cakes and cookies (read:  fussy, time-consuming desserts) so a bundt cake was usually the middle of the road for the dessert lovers in our family. 

 

I made this cake in lieu of the coconut tea cake this week because I didn't have the proper ingredients (namely the coconut milk) for the aforementioned cake. As you might guess, the ingredient list for this cake is fairly standard; this is great because it means you can whip it up at will. I substituted pecans for walnuts simply because I happen to love pecans and I thought it would be a nice flavor in the cake. To be honest, the only real hassle concerning the making of this cake is brewing the coffee (and a measly 1/4 cup at that). The next time I make this cake I'll just be sure to hold a little bit of my morning coffee over and that should solve the coffee brewing hassle.

The cake is supposed to be swirl or a marble of vanilla batter and mocha batter. You're supposed to make a little less than half of the batter mocha flavored. I accidentally flavored the part that was supposed to be vanilla (the lion's share, if you will) with the mocha mixture. So, my "swirl" is a little wonky. It's not so much a swirl as a big glop. Dorie describes the swirling (as opposed to the marbling?) as creating a ginko pattern. Oh lordy. I know what ginko leaves look like because they turn a very showy and vivid yellow in the fall, but I've never really given thought to their shape before, and I certainly didn't feel up to creating it with cake batter! I just stuck my knife in, swirled sparingly, and crossed my fingers. I didn't end up with a ginko leaf. Nope. I think mine looks sort of like a cresting wave. If you turn your head all the way to the side and squint your eyes then you can kind of see the cresting wave. 

You know what? The swirl doesn't really matter because this cake is seriously tasty. I gave up chocolate for Lent, but I had a little bite of this cake (purely for tasting purposes) and it is seriously yummy. It's moist and I really like the mocha flavor of the cake. I made at the ganache glaze from BFMHTY to coat the cake with and I thought it was a great addition to the cake. I liked this cake too much to share it, so I wrapped it up to cool in my freezer until Sunday when I'll enjoy it again. Erin of When in Doubt Leave it at 350 chose this cake. Thank you, Erin! This is a great cake, and I can't wait to have another piece.