Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Thoroughly coat a 10-cup (2.4 L) Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Use a silicone pastry brush to make sure every inner surface of the pan is coated, then o dust every nook and cranny with cocoa, tapping out any excess.

For the Cake: Whisk together the hot coffee or water and cocoa together in a small bowl and set aside to cool. Measure the milk in a measuring cup, add lemon juice and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the peppermint extract and the vanilla. (You can do this with a hand-held electric mixer, but there is a lot of heavy batter to this recipe and mixing times will be longer).

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk the cocoa blend and the soured milk together. Add the flour mixture in three batches alternately with the cocoa/milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat just until smooth. The batter will be somewhat thick.

Scrape into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a bamboo skewer inserted into the cake shows a few moist crumbs clinging when removed, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto rack. Leaving pan in place for 10 minutes more. Remove the pan and allow cake to cool completely.

For the Glaze: In a large saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and immediately sprinkle the chocolate into the cream. Cover and allow to sit for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate. Gently whisk the glaze until smooth and then gently whisk in the corn syrup and peppermint extract. Allow to cool until slightly thickened. You want it to be pourable but not hot (it will be too fluid) or too cold (it won’t flow).

Pour the glaze over the top ridge of the cake, allowing the glaze to drip down the inside and outside of the cake. Sprinkle peppermint candy on ganache. Chill briefly, or allow to sit at room temperature, to set the glaze. The cake is ready to serve. Store in an airtight container, such as a cake dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days; after that, refrigerate for up to 2 days. Cover the cut ends of the cake with plastic wrap to keep them fresh. Always bring to room temperature before serving, if you have stored in the fridge.