It’s hard to resist the sweet siren call of a big, beautiful bundt cake. But when the bundt cake in question is made with Colavita olive oil, filled with a velvety Perugina chocolate buttercream and topped with a chocolate olive oil ganache? Resistance is futile. And who would want to resist a cake like this?
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease and dust with cocoa powder a 10-inch bundt pan, and place it on top of a baking sheet.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add the eggs, yogurt, milk, Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and vanilla extract. Using the paddle attachment, beat the mixture on low for a few moments to moisten the ingredients, then increase the speed to medium-high. Beat for 2 minutes, pausing to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth and lump-free. It will be a fairly liquid batter.
Pour the batter in your prepared cake pan, and place the bundt pan (still on the baking sheet) in the oven.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and chocolate until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes on medium speed.
Stir in the salt, and add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing each addition on low so as to avoid a sugar snowstorm in your kitchen, then increasing the speed to high as the sugar is moistened. This will be a rather stiff buttercream.
In the top of a double boiler set atop simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth and cohesive.
Let the mixture sit at room temperature, whisking or stirring every 20 minutes or so, until it has set enough to ice your cake. This can take between 1 and 2 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. If the mixture becomes too firm, beat it with a hand or stand mixer to smooth it out again.
Line the inside of the same bundt pan you used to bake the cake with plastic wrap, taking care to cover every portion of the inside of the pan with a slight bit of overhang.
Spoon the buttercream into the lined bundt pan, taking care not to upset the plastic wrap. Spread the buttercream so that it is as smooth and even as possible. Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until the buttercream is very firm.
Meanwhile, using a serrated knife, gently slice off the top third of the bundt cake. You will not need this portion of the cake, so you can put to the side (see ideas for using this cake in the recipe notes).
Once the buttercream has become quite firm, gently invert the buttercream on top of the cake (let the plastic stay on top for the moment). Gently press the buttercream into the cake to seal them together. Gently Peel off the plastic. The buttercream should rest fairly flush on top of the cake. Place the entire cake back in the freezer for about 20 minutes, so that it will be completely firm when you ice it.
Ice the cake with your prepared ganache topping, spreading smoothly and confidently as the ganache will begin to firm quickly as it makes contact with the cold buttercream. Place special emphasis on covering up the “seam” between the buttercream and cake on the sides, so that the cake.
Garnish as desired. Keep this cake chilled, but serve at cool room temperature.
Servings 8