Sour Cherry-Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

I think I've mentioned on the blog that my Mom's 60th birthday was back in July, and we had a big family gathering in Ohio to celebrate.  As part of the celebration, my aunt, my sister, and I made two fantastic birthday cakes -- both of them featuring coconut and chocolate in some way, since that's what Mom loves! This is the first birthday cake, and it was my personal favorite.  I'll post my mom's favorite later this week.

Cake #1 features a delicate coconut cake filled with bright bursts of flavor from sour cherries.  If you don't have access to sour cherries, another fruit would also work well here -- sweet cherries, apricots, or raspberries come to my mind as good substitutions.  After the cake cools, a simple chocolate ganache is drizzled over top for a decadent finish.  I loved how moist and flavorful the cake was, and of course you can never go wrong by adding a little chocolate!  Definitely a great way to celebrate, especially since Bundt cakes are perfect for serving a crowd.

Sour Cherry-Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake (adapted from From My Sweet Heart, original recipe here)
Makes one cake, serving at least 8-10

2-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup chopped sour cherries (be sure to pit them first!), drained of excess liquid
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Chocolate glaze, see below

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and generously butter a bundt pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, half-and-half, and vanilla. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Beat in the flour mixture and coconut milk mixture in alternating additions (flour-milk-flour-milk-flour).
5. Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 60 minutes.
6. Let cool completely before removing from the pan.  When the cake is cool, glaze with the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until steaming but not boiling, and then pour over the chocolate chips.  Let sit for a minute, and then slowly whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy.  Let cool to room temperature, and then whisk again to make sure everything is incorporated before using.