Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Butter your Bundt pan, using melted butter and a pastry brush to get into the all crevices. Then dust lightly with flour until the pan is completely coated, dumping the excess out. Or, alternatively, use a nonstick baking spray.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter until it starts to boil. Remove from heat, then add the cocoa powder and whisk together until fully combined. (This is called blooming the cocoa, and it will give the cake a more intense chocolate flavor.)

Add in the canola oil, milk, and water to the cocoa mixture. Whisk together until fully combined; this will cool down the mixture considerably. Add in the eggs and mix together.

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Pour in the cocoa mixture. Whisk the batter together, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, until the batter is just combined.

Pour into your prepared Bundt pan and place in the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the center is no longer jiggly. To further test doneness, insert a toothpick or knife into the tallest part of the cake. If the toothpick or knife comes out wet, place it back in the oven. If the toothpick or knife has a few crumbs attached or comes out completely clean, the cake is done.

While you wait for the cake to cool, chop up your milk chocolate into small ¼" (6mm) cubes and place in a medium bowl.

Heat your heavy cream until it's steamy via a small saucepan on low over the stove or the microwave in 15-second intervals. Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate pieces and whisk together until the mixture is fully combined.

The ganache will thicken as it cools, and it is much easier to decorate your Bundt cake with cool ganache than it is with warm ganache. Place the ganache in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a container with a pour spout, if desired, for easier decorating.

How to tell when the ganache is at the ideal temperature for decorating: Stir the ganache with a whisk, then pick up the whisk and drizzle the ganache back into the container. You want the ganache ribbons to sit on the surface of the ganache for a few seconds before fading into it. If the ganache ribbons fade immediately into the rest of the ganache, it has not yet cooled enough. Place it back in the fridge for another 5-10 minutes before retesting.

Let the cake cool in the pan for at least half an hour before attempting removal. It will be obvious when the Bundt cake is ready to come out of the pan, as the edges of the cake will have started to pull back from the pan walls. (See the body of the blog post for a photo.)

Even though the cake has cooled down, the pan will still be quite warm to the touch, so center the pan on top of a pot holder. (You may also use a trivet, but I have found the flexibility of a thick, fabric pot holder works best.) Move the pan and pot holder near the edge of your workspace.

Place a wire cooling rack upside down over the top of the pan and hold it in place with your nondominant hand. Slide your dominant hand under the pot holder. Slowly slide the pan off the counter as you center your dominant hand under the Bundt pan, making sure the weight is evenly distributed. Your nondominant hand should be higher than your dominant hand.

In one fluid motion, flip your hands so that your dominant hand is now higher than your nondominant hand. Keeping your grip on the pot holder with your dominant hand, slowly bring the cooling rack back to the surface of your workspace. Slide or angle your nondominant hand out from under the cooling rack, and ensure the Bundt pan is centered on the rack before letting go.

My Bundt cakes sometimes require a few gentle taps to release from the pan. Tap the hot pad still on top of the Bundt cake a few times. Then, use both hands to grab opposite sides of the pan, lift up the pan at an angle away from you, and peek inside. If you see that the Bundt cake has yet to release, try tapping it a few more times. If it still does not release, let it cool for another few minutes before repeating this step.

If the Bundt cake is not already, let it come to room temperature before decorating.

Place your Bundt cake on the cake stand or serving platter. Use a whisk to pick up a little ganache at a time and draw concentric rings over the top of the Bundt cake. By adding the ganache a little at a time, the ganache will slowly coat the sides of the Bundt cake and will limit pooling on the cake stand. Please note: You may not use all of the ganache.