This easy Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipes is out-of-this-world. It’s everything you want in a homemade chocolate cake. It’s light, fluffy and super moist. This chocolate bundt cake is covered in a rich chocolate ganache.
Easy Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze
Eeeerrr my gawd you guys. This Chocolate Bundt Cake, I CAN NOT! It is so FREAKING good.
This Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe is light and airy with a pillowy soft texture and it just melts in your mouth. It’s just the right balance of sweetness without being overly rich. The recipe is easy to follow, and comes together very quickly.
I finished this off with a chocolate ganache glaze glaze.The ganache adds a subtle richness to this cake, and those bites are my favorit
I ate SO MUCH CAKE. I actually had to toss the leftovers because I just kept cutting myself slices of cake. Best of all, my husband loved it to. He’s very particular about this chocolate cake.
Just as I did with my Vanilla Bundt Cake, I tested this recipe at least half a dozen times before I found the right one. The end results were even better than I was anticipating.
My Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe is my favorite chocolate cake recipe….dare I say it? Until I made this one.
Recipe Testing
It took a long time to get here. I started with that as the base recipe, but because this cake needed longer to bake, it wasn’t as moist as I needed it to be.
- From there I started playing around with the wet ingredients. In the end, I increased the sour cream, reduced the coffee and added in some milk.
- To enhance the chocolate flavor, I used both espresso powder and brewed coffee. You can’t taste the coffee at all, and while I have the espresso powder listed as optional, I don’t recommend skipping the coffee. However, if you have to, you can use water instead or milk.
After several less satisfying attempts, I even surprised myself when I cut into the cake and took that first bite. It’s so delicate, and not overly sweet.
You can never base your final decision on a cake fresh out of the oven though. It still has to taste amazing even after 2-3 days. This definitely passed the test.
How to Make Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Start by combining the sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Add in the sour cream and blend into the batter.
- Finally, combine your dry ingredients. Alternate adding your dry ingredients the liquid ingredients, half at a time. Continue mixing until the batter is well combined and use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Generously grease and flour your bundt pan. For chocolate cakes, I used a combination of flour and cocoa powder, combine first then dust the pan. Fill evenly with the batter. Bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes. The baking time will differ by size and type of bundt pan used. Check around 30-35 minutes and adjust accordingly.
- To test if your cake is done, insert a knife into the center of the cake. It should be completely clean. If the top of your cake still has areas that are glossy or shiny, your cake may need a couple more minutes of baking time.
- Cool for 5 minutes and then run a knife around the inside of your pan. Turn your cake out onto a piece of parchment paper on a cool rack. Do not allow it to cool completely in the pan or it might stick.
How Make a Chocolate Ganache Glaze
For the ganache topping, we are using a 3-1 ratio of heavy cream to chocolate. It’s the best ratio for that nice smooth glaze, that will eventually set to just the right consistency.
- Combine the chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power for 60-90 seconds.
- Allow it to sit for about 1 minute before stirring and then stir until it’s completely smooth.
- Allow the ganache to cool for 5-10 minutes. Drizzle over the cooled bundt cake
How to Prevent a Bundt Cake From Sticking to the Pan
- Generously grease the pan. I recommend using shortening This will ensure the cake easily releases from the pan.
- Flour the pan. Lightly dust it with a combination of flour and cocoa power so you don’t end up with white edges on your bundt cake.
- Run a knife around the edge. To turn the cake out of the pan, first run a knife around the outside edge and center of your pan.
To transfer it to a cooling rack, flip it over onto a piece of parchment paper. If your cake is not releasing, tap the top of the pan a couple of times instead of trying to shake it out. You can also hold the cooling rack on top of your pan, invert it and give it a couple of taps on the counter.
What to Serve with Chocolate Bundt Cake
This cake is already covered in a rich chocolate ganache, so it pairs nicely with homemade whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or fresh berries.
How to Store
If you don’t have a cake carrier, you can slice it into quarters or into individual slices and store in an airtight Tupperware. I find the Tupperware still keeps this cake moist and soft.
Commonly asked questions
What type of bundt pan can I use?
I made this recipe with my beautiful Nordic Bundt pan, and even though it’s a 10 cup it is narrower and deeper. The baking time needed to be adjusted accordingly. The batter also rose well about the pan but it didn’t spill over.
This recipe has also been tested with a 10-cup traditional bundt cake, this is a 12-cup bundt pan but similar in shape.
What type of cocoa powder should I use?
For this recipe, I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder. It is my preferred cocoa powder for this chocolate cake. You can use a regular cocoa powder, but I have no tested it with dutch processed cocoa powder.
Do I have to make this with coffee? What can I substitute for coffee?
This recipe is best when prepared with brewed coffee. You can try substituting with water or milk, but it won’t be the same flavor. Still good, but not the water. Coffee enhances the chocolate flavor, you can’t taste the actual coffee. It also gives it this nice, dark-looking color.
Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 43 minutes
- Total Time: 58 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
My easy chocolate bundt cake is everything you want in a chocolate cake recipe! This homemade bundt cake is supremely moist and fudgy, covered in rich chocolate ganache.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 ½ cups (285g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon (14.8ml) vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (177 ml) light sour cream
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (55g) Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon (6g) espresso powder (optional)
- 2 teaspoons (7.5 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
- 1 cup (236 ml) brewed coffee
- ¼ cup (59m) milk (I use nonfat)
For the ganache
- 3 ounces dark chocolate
- 9 tablespoons (133 ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour your bundt pan using a combination of flour and cocoa powder.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for approximately 2 minutes until well combined.
- Next add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract and sour cream. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half the dry ingredients and half of the liquid ingredients and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate.
- Finally add the remaining dry ingredients and liquid ingredients and beat until well combined.
- Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
- Pour the batter in the prepared bundt pan and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes, keeping a careful eye on the baking during the last few minutes.
- Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack, and after 5 minutes, run a knife around the outside edge of your cake and in the center to release it from the sides of the pan. Turn it out onto a plate or cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. Serve with berries and whipped cream or chocolate ganache.
For the ganache:
- Combine the chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power for 60-90 seconds.
- Allow it to sit for about 1 minute before stirring and then stir until it’s completely smooth.
- Allow the ganache to cool for 5-10 minutes. Drizzle over the cooled bundt cake.
Notes
- Baking times will vary depending on the type and size pan you use. Bake on a rack that is centered in your oven. Recommend using at least a 10 cup bundt pan
- To ensure your bundt cake doesn’t stick, generously grease and flour the pan. I prefer using Crisco spread, not baking spray.
- Since this is a chocolate bundt, I like to combine a little bit of flour with cocoa powder to dust the pan
- I let my cake cool in the pan for only about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the outside edge of your cake and in the center to release it from the sides of the pan. Turn it out onto a wire cooling rack.
- Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Cocoa powder can be substituted with regular cocoa powder if needed
- You cannot omit the sour cream. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use a nonfat Greek yogurt
- If you don’t want to use brewed coffee, you can use hot water instead (or additional milk) but note this also makes the cake color darker, so with water your color won’t be the same
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 457
- Sugar: 34g
- Sodium: 438mg
- Fat: 23g
- Carbohydrates: 58g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 7g
- Cholesterol: 77mg
First of all, I love Beyond Frosting. I follow her and I have made a couple of her recipes so far I like that they are not real complicated because I am just starting to bake! This recipe was awesome. It was very simple to make and it turned out delicious.♥️♥️♥️
This is so wonderful Rhonda, thank you so much for your kind words. So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Can this be made as a 9 by 13 pan if so what would the bake time be, Thank You
Hi Lee, I have not done this specific recipe in a 9×13, but it based off my easy chocolate cake which bakes for about 25 minutes. You may need to add additional couple of minutes due to the additional 1/4 cup sour cream in this recipe
hello, can I use full fat sour cream?
yes
can I regular sour don’t have light
yes!
does the brewed coffee need be hot? what temperature is correct?
thank you
Either will work, but hot coffee will help the cocoa bloom
What is dark chocolate? unsweetened? semi-sweet?
Usually it’s unsweetened but it comes in different percentages of cocoa. You can use any type of chocolate for the ganache
Hi, do you use a special kind of roasted coffee? Light, medium, dark?
Nope, I use whatever I have in my house which is usually a medium roast.
How come the list of ingredients lists coffee and milk but the instructions never mention adding them?
Hi Dawn, it’s in step 4 and step 5- “Add half the dry ingredients and half of the liquid ingredients”.
I’m with you Dawn..read it about 5 times before I decided the wet meant milk and coffee.
Thanks for the feedback Dianne, I will make some adjustments so it more clear.