Orange and Chocolate Bundt Cake

Guys, June was such a roller coaster of a month for me, On one hand I was trying to finish projects and embrace the end of financial year plus school holidays like a whizz (talk about balancing motherhood with work), on the other hand I had exciting news to share.

I have been nominated for an AusMumpreneur award that celebrates Australian Mums in business. While I’m being evaluated in the Judges’s category, I need YOUR votes for the People’s Choice awards.
When I started my blog in 2013, only a few months after I came to Australia little did I know that one day this would become my greatest happiness and my source of earning a living. With two sleeping toddlers and 9 pieces of luggage we came to this beautiful country to start a life from scratch. From a life of comfort to a new life filled with uncertainty and adventure. Prior to that I was heading an unit in a multinational bank where I had worked for 7 years. Needless to say, the initial years were tough, trying to adjust to a new lifestyle while balancing parenting with no help. Sugar et al. became my personal fight for survival, my medium of creative expression, my hope of financial independence. When my twins slept, I baked. Before they woke up, I would practice photography. I would watch videos on YouTube and read books when I could find time and try to apply them until I had good grasp over it. I didn’t even realize when I fell in love with food styling and photography.

Soon my humble blog started to get recognition from he media, brands and publications and I started to get paid opportunities for photography. My blog is my labour of love but most importantly it stands for something that I’d like to share with everyone. Hope! Never to give up when life throws challenges at you. And over and above everything never underestimate yourself. Often, we don’t believe in our own capabilities but when we do, magic happens!
If you like my work and believe in my journey, please click here and vote for me. You will find my name (Sonali Ghosh) under the Influencer Award (no 4). It would mean a lot to me.

Regarding this awesome cake, I was cleaning my cupboard and found my old bundt cake pan that was gathering dust for a few years. With citrus season in full swing in Australia it was not hard to pick flavours for the cake. My favourite part though is the glaze. So silky and delicious!
My pan is a large one so my cake turned out to be shorter in height than I would expect. But it still looked impressive and tasted amazing.

Orange and Chocolate Bundt Cake
Serves 10-12

225 g unsalted butter
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa
1 cup water
2 cups plain flour
1 and 3/4 cup caster sugar
1 and 1/2 tbsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp finely grated orange zest
2 tbsp orange liqour (optional)

Orange Sour Cream Glaze
1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
orange food colour (as per your desired shade)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C for fan forced ovens)
Grease the inside of the bundt cake pan really well. You may want to flour it as well (I did not need to do this as my pan is of a great non-stick quality)
In a medium saucepan, place the butter, cocoa and water together and warm over low heat until butter is melt. Stir and remove from heat to cool to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, place the flour, sugar and baking soda. Mix to combine. Add the melted butter mixture gradually while whisking to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time and whisk till blended. Add the sour cream, orange zest and orange liquor (if using) and whisk until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes (depending on the size of your pan) or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake come out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then slightly loosen the sides and the centre with a blunt knife. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, glaze with orange sour cream glaze.

To make the sour cream glaze, sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add sour cream and orange juice. Stir until well combined. Add the food colour and mix till fully blended.