Flux Gourmet: Chocolate Bundt Cake

Written By Amber Carvaly

The Movie: Flux Gourmet

Category: Horror/Comedy

Running Time: 111 minutes

No Spoilers Blurb: A group of experimental performance artists, known for their process of "sonic catering" (where they extract disturbing sounds from various foods) take up residency at a remote artistic institution, run by an enigmatic director. An outsider is tasked with recording the day-to-day rituals of the group, only to discover that he is slowly becoming part of their collective himself.

 

Why I like it

It's been awhile since I've written about a horror movie and so last night as I tried to wind down after a long week I turned on Shudder and this popped up on my feed, Flux Gourmet. I saw the words ‘gourmet’ and ‘culinary’ and figured that this was an obvious choice!

Gourmet Flux is.... weird. Weird and funny. From the NYT, "the film isn’t so much an allegory or fantasy as a witty philosophical speculation on some elemental human issues. We are animals driven by lust, hunger and aggression, but also delicate creatures in love with beauty and abstraction. Those two sides of our nature collide in unexpected, infinitely variable ways.”

I’m not sure everyone is going to like this film and as I sit here I struggle with what short elevator pitch I should give you on why you should watch it. I suppose that overall I found this to be really beautiful to watch. The soundtrack is fascinating as the premise incorporates the sounds of cooking into a horrifying musical soundtrack. The narrator is humble beyond words and is poetic in describing the messy relationship of the band he has been hired to document. Oh, and ummmm there is a lot of talk about passing gas so just as a heads up it feels like the thing one should know going into this. I suppose I find it funny but it’s not a funny bathroom humor type thing, more of a sweet jesus we’ve all been in this place where our stomach feels like it’s in literal horrendous knots and will someone please just end us so we don’t have to suffer the indignation and embarrassment of a body that has turned on us.

So yeah, I guess I have little to offer other than it’s gorgeous and, ummm fart?

 

The Recipe:

Ingredients

CAKE

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

  • 8 ounces vegan chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

  • 1 cup soy milk, or full fat coconut milk, other milk

  • 1 teaspoon refined coconut oil, optional for a shiny ganache

 

Directions

Instructions

MAKE THE CAKE

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a non-stick 10-12 cup bundt pan.

  • Stir the soy milk and vinegar together in a glass measuring cup and set aside to curdle. This is your vegan buttermilk.

  • In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well to combine.

  • Now add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and milk/vinegar mixture. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer (or stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

  • Lower the speed and carefully pour in the hot coffee, continuing to mix into the cake batter until combined. The batter will seem very runny at this point but it will bake up perfectly.

  • Pour into the greased bundt pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.

  • Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack. Let cool completely before glazing.

PREPARE THE GANACHE AND GLAZE THE CAKE

  • Add the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to a medium sized bowl. Place the soy milk in a glass measuring cup or microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute, watching to make sure it doesn't bubble over.

  • Pour the warm milk over the chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Do not stir yet!

  • After 2-3 minutes, whisk the chocolate and milk together until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add the teaspoon of coconut oil if using and stir in to make the glaze shiny.

  • Let it cool for 15 minutes or so, until it's thick enough to pour over the cake without being too thin. I like to stick the bowl in the freezer or fridge, stirring every few minutes to speed this up. Don't let it sit for too long or it will become too thick.

  • Make sure to place a piece of parchment paper under the cake on the rack to catch any drips. Drizzle generously over the cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides. Cut and serve.

 

Sources:

Cooks, Nora: Chocolate Vegan Bundt Cake, Nora Cooks

Scott, A.O.: ‘Flux Gourmet’ Review: Mastering the Art of Fringe Cooking, The New York Times

Amber Carvaly
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