TWD: Mocha-Walnut Marbled Bundt

I'm extremely pleased with this bake even before baking it! How's that possible? Because this week's pick by Erin of When in Doubt.... Leave it at 350 (pages 180-181 of the book) gave me

the perfect reason to get a solidly good bundt pan! I have muffin pans, round and square cake pans of all sizes, mini-bundt pans (but they don't count!), cute little tartlette pans - remember these?

 So now it's time to add the Bundt to the collection. I'm so pleased with my new Nordicware bundt pan! - my "Bundt of steel" (and this doesn't require arduous physical workout!) And even more delighted with this beautiful bundt cake that slid smoothly out of the pan - no cracks, no sticking to the sides of the pan, perfectly-domed with clean, sculpted ridges! What a marvel! Sorry, all ye experienced "Bundters" out there, please excuse this silly enthusiasm over a mere pan; I am a virgin Bundter after all. I am just simply awed by this - hubby took this photo - looks like an "angelic" cake, halo effect and all!

Sight, smell then taste. That's the order of how this cake captivated me. The rich chocolaty and buttery aroma of the cake hot off the oven made waiting such a torture. As hesitant as I was to cut into its perfect structure, 

once the knife cut through the dense, tight yet soft crumbs, I knew I was in for a treat!  I didn't even bother with the chocolate glaze; the cake was mighty good on its own. I love this sort of texture - very similar to poundcake but the swirls - oh those marbly swirls make them so much more exciting! I layered rings of chocolate and vanilla, then just zig-zagged a knife around the batter once. I will definitely try the ginko pattern the next time, the "next time" being in the very near future since this cake was such a hit at D's office and he didn't have enough to share - I only gave him 8 pieces and saved the rest of moi!.

This is certainly another excellent Dorie recipe. Do remember to drop by TWD to see what others say.