Chocolate and Vanilla Polka Dot Bundt - #BundtBakers

This month's Bundt Bakers is a particularly fun one - hidden surprises. I've been meaning to do a Bundt with a filling or another type of surprise since the second month of Bundt Bakers. However, each month, I've found an excuse to go in another direction. When Anshie chose this month's theme, I was excited. I had a million ideas! I couldn't wait to bake. However, I knew that I had two other cakes to make this month so I needed to keep things simple. The simplest thing to do would be to pull out my never-used Babycakes Cake Pop Maker and bake a polka dot Bundt. Easy, right? Not when my brain is involved.

Flavours? Colours? I have a health-related anniversary next week so I'm big on all things teal (and grey) right now. But what about that pesky brown ring the cake pop maker is likely to leave? What about the batter itself? If the batter isn't thick enough, the balls might float. Same batter for the cake and balls? I was driving myself and my friends crazy. Eventually, I just had to stop and bake. Chocolate balls. Vanilla for the rest.

The first thing that I noticed when I took my cake out was that all my careful ball placement was for naught. The little bastards floated! Then I tried to remove the cake from the pan and it just would not move. I stuck a spatula in. Tried a table knife. Took a shot of rum. No movement! But at least I was laughing and quoting movie lines.

I eventually got it out and poured over a fudge sauce. While this sauce is absolutely delicious on cake (and ice cream!), I do not recommend pouring it over your cake before serving. It causes a bit of a mess when it's time to slice the cake because it doesn't set like a glaze or ganache. I got chocolate everywhere while slicing. But I'm also a bit of a klutz so there's that. I used it because I was hiding the part where my cake stuck and I really wanted that sauce. Nothing else. I'm not completely satisfied with my polka dots. I wish they hadn't moved! However, them moving led to each slice being different. Some showed one dot, some two, and others showed three.That, I did like.

But enough of my rambling. You, dear reader, have lots of hidden surprises to look at today. Scroll down to see the list!

Chocolate and Vanilla Polka Dot Bundt

Recipe by: Kelly   Adapted from: Babycakes Cake Pops Instruction Manual

Yield: One 9 inch Bundt

Ingredients Cake Balls 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 3 tablespoons cocoa 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup buttermilk 3 tablespoons oil 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cup hot coffee Vanilla Cake 3/4 cup butter 1 1/2 cup sugar 3 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 1/4 cup flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup milk

Directions Cake Balls - Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Add the coffee and continue mixing until the coffee is evenly incorporated.  Fill each reservoir of the cake pop maker with a tablespoon of batter. Bake 3 1/2 - 4 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.  Vanilla Cake - Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time then add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Starting and ending with the flour mixture, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture.  Add approximately a cup of batter to the bottom of the pan and then add a third of the cake balls. Cover the balls completely with about another cup of batter then add another layer of balls. Cover those balls and then add a third layer of balls. Cover with the remaining batter.  Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be careful though, you may hit an already cooked cake ball when you test!

Notes It's probably best to under-cook the balls slightly. However, removing undercooked balls from the cake pops maker is not the easiest! In lieu of that, I'd probably soak the balls in some sugar syrup the next time. They weren't dry but I could tell they were more done than the rest of my cake. Plus, sugar syrup would make my balls heavier and reduce the floating. I'll post the fudge sauce and link to it separately.

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#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. The theme for April is "Hidden Surprise" - Bundt cakes with fillings or stuffing. There was no constraint on filling and flavor choices.The only requirement was that the cake be filled/stuffed inside. Anshie from SpiceRoots was our host for this month. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.