Ready, Set, Weekend With Simply Beautiful Eating

Do you ever bring sweet treats to your doctor's office when you go for a routine appointment? I DO!

The issue is....all of the front desk office staff know what I do part time and that is....bake....a lot.

Every few months, I bring a little something for this crew and to be honest, they WAIT FOR IT. I also time my appointment strategically after lunch. This way, it's a great excuse to HAVE DESSERT on an otherwise mundane patient swamped afternoon.

When I baked this cake last week, I posted it on Instagram prior to me leaving the house. Within minutes I received a comment from one of my favourite receptionists at this office...."HOPEFULLY THAT IS THAT COMING TO US?

So here's the thing. My baking usually causes a bit of a delay to my doctor's schedule. How you ask?

Well, I walk in with the goods and it is quickly taken away to the "back room". The waiting area is usually full at this point.

Where's the doctor?

Eating cake.

Where is he now?

Eating another piece of cake.

Who is waiting to see him?

ME and about 5 other people.

My apologies to those who have to wait and wait and wait and wait because of ME and my sweets.

When I decided to make this, it was a last minute effort to use what I had hanging around the house. I quickly opened my pantry and found a bunch of ingredients that would come together to create a super moist and decadent dark velvet cake with a heavenly white chocolate ganache drizzle.

Bundt cakes happen to be my favourite to make simply because of the pan. It's a one shot deal. Make your batter, plunk it in and bake. Then drizzle with just about anything because really? This is an idiot proof way to decorate a cake. No crumb coating or fondant needed. Just pure unadulterated CAKE.

And if you're like me, I'm not really crazy about wasting time decorating and futzing around with cakes. Let me just unleash my bundt and be done with it.

One thing is for sure.

Sometimes it pays to sweeten the lives of those who take such good care of you.

Dark Velvet Bundt Cake With White Chocolate Ganache

- 1 1⁄4 cups vegetable oil - ¾ cup buttermilk - ¼ cup espresso or coffee, cooled - 2 eggs - 1 tablespoon red food coloring, (I use organic from Whole Foods) - 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar - 1 teaspoon vanilla - 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour - 1 3⁄4 cups sugar - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 3⁄4 teaspoon salt - 1 1⁄2 tablespoons cocoa powder - 1 3.5 oz package Hersheys Instant Chocolate Pudding - White Chocolate Ganache Recipe for Drizzle - See below

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2) Grease and flour bundt pan. 3) In stand mixer combine oil, buttermilk, espresso (or coffee), eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. 4) Mix at medium speed until well blended. 5) In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Gradually add to wet ingredients (slowly so they don't explode in your face). Beat until smooth (about 2 minutes on medium high speed). 6) Pour into prepared pan. Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for 15 minutes, then turn out onto cake plate to finish cooling. 7) Prepare ganache recipe below and drizzle on cooled cake.

White Chocolate Ganache

- 1 cup chopped white chocolate - bar or chips is fine - ¼ cup heavy cream

1) Place a medium size saucepan filled with 1 inch of water on the stove and bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. 2) Place chocolate in a heat safe bowl that fits over the saucepan ensuring that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Melt the chocolate slowly over the water, stirring constantly. 3) In a separate small saucepan, heat heavy cream. DO NOT BOIL, otherwise it will scorch. 4) Add melted chocolate to heavy cream and stir to blend. It should look nice and glossy. 5) Let cool slightly and drizzle over cake.

See ya next week! debi@simplybeautifuleating