Do you like big Bundts? I know I do. I really wanted to participate in The Food Librarian’s I Love Big Bundts this year, but I couldn’t get my act together. National Bundt Day is November 15, and if you ask me it should be a national holiday. The best I’ve done in a month was last April, when I made seven Bundt Cakes.

I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’d returned to the first Baked cookbook – over two months. Too many recipes, too little time. I’ve had this Bundt cake tagged for quite a while now (always looking for an excuse to use a pretty Bundt pan). The chocolate part of the cake is rich with the addition of cocoa powder and dark chocolate. I like that there’s sour cream in the batter, to keep it moist. And I like that the cake is unadorned – the way a good Bundt cake should be, in my opinion. The cake should be able to stand on its own.

I used really good chocolate again – Valrhona cocoa powder and Amano Moroba 70%. Indulgent, yes, but since the chocolate needs to be the star, I decided it was worth it. The cake isn’t too sweet, perfect for a breakfast treat or with a cup of tea in the afternoon. And the marble swirl is so pretty. Check out The Food Librarian for pretty pictures of the cake baking action and the recipe..

• Marble Bundt Cake (Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, p. 36)