Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Valentine's Day fell on Friday and I made chocolate-covered strawberries again — it had become my Valentine's tradition, the one I made for Mama and MawMaw Shirley and Destiny and whoever else I wanted to say something tender to without words. This year I added a second confection: chocolate truffles with a cocoa powder coating, each one the size of a large marble, intensely dark chocolate inside. I had been working on them since January. The technique was exacting — ganache to the right consistency, rolled fast while cold, coated while the chocolate surface was still slightly tacky. But they were right. They were very right.

Tanya had submitted her poems to a third journal — a regional literary magazine that published adult writers as well as students. Waiting is the part of creative work that nobody tells you about adequately, I think. The work is done and then you send it out and then you wait and the waiting has nothing to do with how good the work is and everything to do with external timing that you cannot control. I tried to tell her that. She said she knew. She was still waiting. I said that was fine. She said knowing something was fine and feeling it were different experiences. I agreed completely.

I started thinking about what happened next in terms of school — not immediately, but the shape of things. Next year was junior year, which was when college preparation became serious. AP classes, SAT prep, activities that would constitute a portfolio of who I was. I was already doing most of those things. But the intentionality of it was going to need to increase. I was not anxious about this. I was organizing myself around it the way I organize myself around everything: lists, timelines, clear goals. I find preparation calming. I always have.

All that time I spent in January perfecting ganache for the truffles — learning exactly when it was fluid enough to pour and thick enough to cling — I realized the same knowledge applied somewhere even more forgiving and celebratory: a bundt cake. This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache lets that technique breathe, draped over something warm and spiced that you can share at a table with people instead of gifting one marble-sized piece at a time. It felt like the right reward for the work I had already done. When you understand ganache, you want to use it everywhere.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
For the chocolate ganache:
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz good-quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour a 10- to 12-cup bundt pan, making sure to coat all the ridges thoroughly to prevent sticking.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt until evenly blended.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract until smooth and fully combined.
Bring the batter together. Gradually fold the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula, stirring just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
Bake. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips over the surface. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the ganache. Once the cake is fully cool, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it begins to simmer — do not let it boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let sit undisturbed for 2 minutes, then add the butter and stir slowly from the center outward until the ganache is completely smooth and glossy.
Check consistency and glaze. The ganache should be pourable but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Let it cool at room temperature for 5 to 8 minutes if needed to reach that consistency. Place the cooled cake on a rack set over a parchment-lined baking sheet and slowly pour the ganache over the top, letting it drape naturally down the sides.
Set and serve. Allow the ganache to set at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Serve at room temperature for the richest flavor and texture.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache — When the Ganache Has to Be Just Right