Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like straight up chocolate, with a hint of tangy cheesecake goodness!
Texture: Oh man. Rich and moist yet light and fluffy, with a luscious cheesecake filling and crazy fudgy chocolate glaze.
Ease: Easy but messy.
Appearance: Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.
Pros: Sassy twist on a classic dessert.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Oh yeah.
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I have kind of an obsession with desserts that contain a secret surprise filling. Between my recent Fudge Filled Cookies and this Cheesecake Filled Chocolate Bundt Cake, I am apparently on a mission to delight the pants off our taste buds.
I remember being a kid and my parents ordering the occasional fast food “family meal” that always seemed to come with a bundt cake as a dessert. And you know what? Those cakes were gross. SO insanely dry, bland, and boring. They weren’t even worth eating, unless you’re a kid and just want sugar in any form. I was turned off of bundt cakes for years until I started making my own.
Here are Handle the Heat bundt cakes are actually worth indulging in. Chocolate cakes actually taste like chocolate. Plus they’re RICH as can be, I want you to almost think you’re eating a brownie. But still light and fluffy. A culinary contradiction. Not to mention I don’t do boring simple cakes. I go over the top, like stuffing a cake with cream cheese and drenching it in the thickest, fudgiest glaze possible. Even using ingredients like sour cream and a hint of espresso powder to really amp up the flavor. That’s my kind of cake, and I hope it’s yours too.
Holly on Instagram made this recipe and says, “The deep chocolate flavor pairs perfectly with the tangy cream cheese.” Check out her gorgeous photo:
Cheesecake Filled Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 3/4 cups (7.87 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
For the filling:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Add the egg, vanilla, and flour until well combined. Set aside.
For the cake:
- Combine the cocoa, chocolate, and espresso powder in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water into the bowl and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Whisk the chocolate mixture until it is smooth. Let cool to room temperature. When it has cooled, whisk in the sour cream.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until combined. On low speed gradually add the flour mixture and the melted chocolate mixture alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour, until the batter is smooth.
- Pour a little more than half the batter into the prepared pan. Pour the cheesecake filling into the center of the batter, not allowing it to touch the edges of the pan. Pour the remaining batter of the filling.
- Bake the cake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out and let cool completely.
For the glaze:
- In a small saucepan heat the cream and corn syrup over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat and add the chocolate, whisking until smooth. Let cool slightly until thickened. Drizzle over the cake. Let the glaze set at room temperature, about 10 minutes, before serving.
What do I add instead of Espresso or Coffee? (Allergy)
Do I just leave that out all together?
Thank u,
Lorrie
Do you have to use espresso powder?
How much espresso powder? It isn’t listed in the ingredient list.
Thanks,
Rhonda
This may be the best chocolate Bundt batter you ever make. However, beware when using this recipe. Like many reviewers before me I found an issue with how much batter the recipe creates (I have baked many of Tessa’s recipes and this issue is unusual – they are usually perfect). I used a 12 cup Bundt pan. DO NOT JUST POUR ALL YOUR batter into pan. There is too much. Fill halfway with chocolate, then spoon in the cheesecake filling and top with chocolate batter. Leave 1 1/2” to 2” breathing/rising room. Gently tap pan bottom down to get air bubbles out. You should have enough batter left in your mixing move for a couple of cupcakes and several batter tasting spoonfuls (so good). My cheesecake filling was perfect. I see many people had issues. I would say don’t beat it to death, otherwise you risk turning it into liquid. Check this cake at 30! Mine was done at 36 minutes. Hope my notes help you. Very beautiful and yummy cake. 🙂
*mixing bowl (sorry for typo)
I think I remember from the Ultimate Cheesecake Challeng. Tessa had indicated you could beat cream cheese and sugars like crazy but once you add eggs you only beat until eggs are fully incorporated. Otherwise the filling can have issues.
I read this article. I think you put a lot of effort into creating this article. I appreciate your work. abfi write great.
I added coconut and pecans to the cream cheese filling.
Hello Tessa,
Kudos yo you for the amazing recipe. I tried making it however the cheesecake sunk to the bottom of the bundt pan. What would have gone wrong?
Thanks in advance for your response.
Regards,
Esha
Mine did not turn out well. I realized at the time I made it that I did not have any brown sugar so I used regular white sugar. Maybe that affected it. The cheesecake filling was way too thin and most of it absorbed into the cake. You could barely see it when the cake was cut. The glaze was very runny as well. I let it cool before pouring and most of it ended up dripping down onto the plate. Four bowls later, I’m not sure I would try this again.
Besy ever!!!! Thanks!!!
I’m going to make this and add cherries to the top, similar to a Black Forest cake I grew up with.
The cake tastes great the problem I had was my batter I think was twice the size it should be it overflowed my Bundt pan. Also my cheesecake filling was runny so I didn’t have a thick amount in the middle, it ran to the side of the pan what am I doing wrong
Can I use 3/4 cup strong hot coffee in place of the powder and boiling water??
Of course.