Chocolate cake

Cup of Yum
1. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature (except for the water).
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C (conventional oven). Grease a 12 cup bundt pan, making sure to get all the nooks and crannies. Dust the inside of the pan with cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, place the white sugar, large eggs, sour cream, milk, vanilla, salt and vegetable oil. Whisk until smooth.
4. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda together. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. You can sift all the dry ingredients directly into the wet ingredients as well.
5. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until mixed through.
6. Add the hot water or hot coffee and whisk until the water is mixed well into the batter. Do not over mix the batter.
7. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Keep the pan on a baking tray to make it easier to move the pan around.
8. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest for 10 - 15 minutes.
10. Flip the cake out onto a cooling rack. Let the cake cool to room temperature.
11. Once the cake is cooled, cover the cake with plastic wrap / cloth napkin / or the bundt cake pan, until you're ready to pour the glaze.
12. Place the cake on the wire rack, and then place the wire rack on a baking tray. When the ganache and cake have cooled, you can pour the ganache carefully over the cake.
13. Allow the glaze to set, then move the cake onto a platter.
14. Serve the cake just as is, or with whipped cream.

Chocolate glaze (make this while the cake is baking)

1. If you’re using chocolate bars or larger chocolate chips, chop the chocolate into smaller pieces and place them in a medium-sized bowl. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and set aside as well.
2. Place the heavy cream and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium high heat and stir to dissolve the salt.
3. Heat until the cream is starting to simmer.
4. Remove from the heat and pour the heavy cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for about 30 seconds and whisk to create a smooth ganache.
5. While the ganache is still warm, add the butter and whisk until the butter is melted and mixed through the ganache well.
6. If the ganache looks “curdled” or split, use a stick blender to blend the ganache until it’s smooth and shiny again.
7. Let the ganache cool to room temperature (about 72 - 76°F). While the ganache is cooling, periodically whisk it to make sure that the ganache is not lumpy.
8. The warmer the ganache, the thinner the glaze will be (and the cooler the ganache, the thicker the glaze). Depending on how thick or thin you want the glaze to be, you may have some glaze leftover.
9. You can store any leftover ganache to make hot chocolate or chocolate milkshake later!