Christmas baking: a failure and a success

Probably almost 10 years ago, I got the Barefoot Contessa's "Parties!" book as a gift, and immediately earmarked her chocolate orange bundt cake to try. For whatever reason, I never made it. As I was flipping through my cookbooks for something fancy to make on Christmas, I came across it again. Every holiday season, I like to use certain ingredients - on Thanksgiving I always make something with fresh cranberries, and on Christmas, I love to have something with oranges. This cake would be perfect for my preference for oranges on Christmas.

As I mixed the batter, I was pleased how perfectly it was coming together. It smelled fantastic. I just knew it was going to be a homerun. I popped it in the oven, set the timer, and left to go on an errand, instructing Eric to take it out when the timer buzzed. He did, and I came home about 10 minutes later. I tested the cake with toothpicks and they came out clean. I tapped the top of the cake and it seemed cooked. I am always nervous unmolding a bundt cake and this day was no exception. It seemed kind of stuck in the pan, so I put it in the oven a bit longer. Took it out. Tried unmolding; same problem. Put it back in the oven for 10 more minutes. Again, same problem. Now I was getting really nervous.

When I finally got it unmolded it was completely cooked on the top and bottom edges and completely raw inside. I actually stuck in back in the oven as a last-ditch attempt to rescue it; but it didn't work. I had to throw the entire thing away. What a waste! (Google "barefoot contessa chocolate orange bundt" for the recipe.)

Anyway, I had used up almost all my butter, flour, and chocolate but I still wanted to make something for Christmas. Ina's bundt cake called for an orange glaze and a chocolate ganache - each of which I had already made - so I wanted to incorporate those somehow. I turned to Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi" for help. Eureka - I found something. Her Double Chocolate Marble Cake. I altered it a little bit to accommodate the glaze and the ganache and I am pleased to say it came out wonderfully. A dense (but not dry) cake with a good mix of chocolate and interesting spices (I used cardamom as she suggested, plus the orange glaze, and topped with the chocolate-espresso ganache). Holiday was saved :)  THIS link is a good adaptation; I used vanilla extract and skipped the white chocolate portion - even Dorie says you can leave it out - and it was a hit. I will definitely make this again, leaving out the glaze and the ganache to make it more of an "everyday" cake instead of something decadent for the holidays.