Chocolate cake

This will be my first time making cake since I started doing serious baking. No instant cake mix. All from scratch, based on KAF all purpose baking cookbook's chocolate mint cake recipe. This is one of the very few times that I am following the recipe closely.

Recipe: Chocolate cake (make 12 mini bundt cakes)

Ingredients:
Cake:
- 2+1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1+3/4 cups sugar
- 2 TB cornstarch
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
- 1/4 cup buttermilk powder
- 1 tp baking powder
- 1 tp baking soda
- 1 tp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tp vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot water
Chocolate glaze:
- 3 oz chocolate chips
- 1 TB brown sugar
- 2 TB butter
- up to 1/2 cup half-and-half
- pinch of salt
Mint glaze:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 TB water
- 1/2 to 1 tp creme de mente

Procedure:

To make cake:
1. Mix sugar, flour, cornstarch, coca, buttermilk powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Sieve the dry ingredients to mix thoroughly.
3. Partition into 2 parts, about 2+1/4 cups each. To be prepared in 2 batches.
4. To the first batch, add 1 egg, 1 tp vanilla, 1/4 cup + 2 TB water. Mix with a spoon until generally mixed. Then beat with an electrical beater at medium speed for 2 minutes.
5. When smooth, add 1/2 cup hot water. Mix with a spoon until the water is absorbed. Then beat with electrical beater at low until a thin batter is formed.
6. Grease and flour a cake pan. Pour into bundt cake pan.
7. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
8. Do toothpick test. If toothpick comes out clean, then done.
9. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out on rake to cool further.

To prepare chocolate glaze
1. On low stove setting, heat chocolate chips, butter, salt, brown sugar with about 1/4 cup half-and-half until chocolate dissolves. Add half-and-half in small quantity until the mixture is liquid enough to pour freely.
2. Allow to cool a little. Then spoon onto bundt cake top. Allow to drip over all sides.
3. Let cool at least 2 hours.

To prepare mint glaze
1. Mix sugar, water and creme de mente and heat until all dissolved.
2. Apply with a brush.

Results:
2:24pm, all ingredients for the cake:

2:49pm, all dry ingredients mixed:

2:53pm, dry ingredients separated into 2 halves, about 2+1/4 cups each:

2:56pm, batch 1, adding 1 egg, 1 tp vanilla, 1/4 cup + 2 TB water, 1/4 cup oil:

2:59pm, beaten on medium setting for 2 minutes:

3:06pm, added 1/2 cup hot water and beaten to smoothen:

3:12pm, poured into mini cake pans, greased and dusted with flour:

3:13pm, to bake at 350F:

3:36pm, baked 23 minutes:

3:36pm, toothpick coming out perfectly clean:

4:09pm, cakes turned out after cooling 30 minutes:

4:09pm, height of cakes:

4:09pm, bottom of pan:

4:22pm, batch 2, with 1 egg, 1 tp vanilla, 1/4 cup and 2 TB water, 1/4 cup oil:

4:22pm, pans greased and dusted with flour:

4:25pm, beating batter before adding hot water:

4:26pm, beaten and thick:

4:34pm, added 1/2 cup water, mixed and poured into pan:

4:34pm, to bake at 350F:

4:42pm, started preparing chocolate glaze:

4:48pm, diluting chocolate with half-and-half:

5:04pm, applying thick glaze on a cooled cake:

5:05pm, two cakes glazed:

5:59pm, chocolate glaze drying 1 hour:

7:50pm, chocolate glaze dried 3 hours:

5:05pm, batch 2 ready after 29 minutes of baking:

5:36pm, batch 2 cooling:

5:42pm, sugar and mint glaze:

6:00pm, mint glaze drying:

5:59pm, mint glaze drying:

7:50pm, mint glaze dried 2 hours:

9:11pm, more chocolate glaze to cover those already with mint glaze:

Next day, 12:07am, dried 3 hours:

Observations:

1. Since this is my first time, I have no idea how big the cake is. As it turns out, it's good to make 2 pans of mini bundt cakes.
2. My first experience with the chocolate glaze is somewhat out-of-control. The chocolate seems to be much thicker than I'd like it to be when I follow the recipe. So I add 4 times as much half-and-half, with about 2 TB of butter. The result turns out really good. However, the glaze does not set quickly as I imagine. So I drop the idea of glazing everything with chocolate. Instead, I use a simple sugar mint glaze, which gives a fast result.
3. The chocolate glaze takes about 2 hours to fully dry out. When it finally dries up, it looks absolutely beautiful.
4. My second attempt with chocolate glaze is less spectacular. I am too hasty to apply the glaze. It's not smooth.