Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
TASTE: This cake is full of rich chocolate flavor and topped with a chocolate ganache for even more chocolate goodness. Perfectly balanced and not too sweet.
TEXTURE: Super moist, with the perfect amount of fudginess.
EASE: Super easy! You don’t even need a mixer for this recipe.
PROS: A true chocoholic’s dream come true.
CONS: If you’re strictly a vanilla-lover, this might not be the cake for you.
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN? Oh definitely!
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This Chocolate Bundt Cake is the fudgiest, most perfectly chocolaty cake you’ll ever meet.
I love chocolate. That’s no secret; I’m a total chocoholic. There’s pretty much never a time I don’t want chocolate.
Chocolate cakes, however, can often be dry, overly sweet, or just bland … but not this cake!
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I packed a ton of moisture-enhancing ingredients like sour cream and brown sugar into this cake, along with Dutch-processed cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate for the most perfectly balanced chocolate fudge cake with a positively irresistible texture.
The other great thing about this cake is how simple it is! Just a couple of bowls, a quick ganache over the top, and you don’t even have to bust out your mixer. No awkward cake assembling, difficult decorating, or anxiety-inducing transporting. It’s showstopping without being labor-intensive or time-consuming.
If you’re a chocolate lover like me, or you’re going to a party or potluck with chocolate lovers, I hope you’ll give this cake a try! It’s sure to be the talk of the party.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chocolate Bundt Cake
How to Make MOIST Chocolate Bundt Cake:
- Don’t overmeasure your flour. Accidentally adding too much flour will yield a dense, dry, or crumbly cake. I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale, but if you don’t have one, use the spoon and level method to measure your dry ingredients.
- Oil. We tested this cake with vegetable oil, but any neutral oil that’s liquid at room temperature should work (such as avocado oil or canola oil but not coconut oil). Because oil is a liquid at room temperature, it gives the sensation of moisture by coating the tongue. Learn more about oil vs. butter in baking here.
- Brown sugar. Brown sugar is more hygroscopic than granulated sugar, which basically means it draws and attracts moisture more than granulated white sugar. It also provides a bit more complex flavor than white sugar in this recipe. Don’t reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe – learn why here.
- Eggs. This chocolate bundt cake contains 5 eggs for richness, fudginess, moisture, and structure. I do not recommend using egg substitutes in this recipe. Use room-temperature eggs to ensure they blend smoothly into the batter.
- Sour cream. This helps make the cake more tender and fudgy and activates the baking soda. Be sure to use full-fat sour cream at room temperature. Full-fat plain yogurt will work as a substitute.
- Chocolate + Dutch cocoa. More on this just below.
Do I Have to Use Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder?
- I find this offers a superior intense but smooth chocolate flavor compared to natural cocoa powder. I particularly love Guittard or Penzey’s Dutch cocoa powder products.
- Additionally, Dutch-process cocoa powder typically has more fat content than grocery store natural cocoa powder products. The latter is often chalky and zaps moisture in your cakes.
- If you must, you can use natural cocoa powder with as a 1:1 substitute. Note that the color, texture, and chocolate flavor will change.
- You can find Dutch-process cocoa at many gourmet food stores, or buy it online here.
- Learn more about Natural vs. Dutched cocoa powders here.
What Kind of Chocolate is Best in Chocolate Bundt Cake?
This Chocolate Bundt Cake batter contains both bittersweet baking chocolate for richness AND Dutch-process cocoa powder for tons of pure chocolate flavor. Avoid using chocolate chips in place of freshly chopped baking chocolate, they don’t melt down as smoothly and won’t incorporate into the batter quite as evenly.
The chocolate ganache uses melted semi-sweet chocolate. Feel free to use milk or bittersweet chocolate, if you prefer – just note that this will alter the overall sweetness of the ganache.
Why Is There Espresso Powder in Chocolate Bundt Cake? Can I Omit it?
You may have noticed that some chocolate cake batters contain hot water or hot coffee. Here’s why:
- When hot liquid is combined with cocoa powder, it helps to dissolve and ‘bloom’ the cocoa, enhancing the cocoa powder’s flavor. The hint of espresso enhances the chocolate flavor without actually tasting like coffee.
- I find it easiest to use hot water and instant espresso powder instead of having to make a pot of coffee just for cake.
- Feel free to use strong, hot coffee for the same effect.
- If you don’t like the taste of coffee or espresso, just use hot water and omit the espresso powder completely.
What’s the Best Pan for Baking Chocolate Bundt Cake?
This recipe uses a 12-cup bundt pan, like this one. If your pan is a little larger, that’s fine, but don’t use a smaller pan as the cake will overflow.
How to Prevent Chocolate Bundt Cake From Sticking to the Pan:
- Coat the bundt pan with melted shortening and work it into every nook and cranny with a silicone pastry brush right before pouring the batter into the pan. If this is done too early, the grease will slide down the sides of the pan and leave you with an uneven coating.
- Alternatively, use Baker’s Joy spray. While I don’t prefer to use nonstick sprays because they can damage the nonstick coating on baking pans over time, Baker’s Joy does work well. It just may reduce the lifetime of your pan.
- Check out my article on How to Prevent Bundt Cake from Sticking for more tips.
How to Store Chocolate Bundt Cake
Store this Chocolate Bundt Cake covered or inside an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or at room temperature for 3 days. This cake is even fudgier when enjoyed chilled!
Can You Freeze Chocolate Bundt Cake?
Freeze unfrosted bundt cake wrapped in plastic wrap and place inside an airtight container. Defrost in the fridge overnight before icing with ganache and serving. We have not tried freezing this cake once iced.
More Chocolate Recipes You’ll Love:
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 8 ounces (227 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup (85 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 cups (400 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (227 grams) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- ½ cup (112 grams) neutral oil
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon melted shortening or Baker’s Joy, for greasing pan1
For the ganache²:
- ½ cup (119 grams) heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 4 ounces (113.5 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions
Make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium heatproof bowl, add the chocolate, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. Pour hot water over mixture. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk mixture gently until smooth, then set aside to cool until just warm (95-98°F).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda, breaking up any clumps.
- Whisk the sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Making a well, pour the wet mixture into the center of the dry mixture and use a spatula to gently fold ingredients together until just combined and no flour pockets remain. Do not overmix.
- Spray a 12-cup Bundt cake pan generously with Baker’s Joy or brush with melted shortening, using a pastry brush to brush the spray or shortening into every nook and cranny of the pan. Immediately pour the batter into the pan. Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a platter and let cool completely. If your cake doesn’t release, run a thin spatula around the inner tube to help.
Make the Ganache:
- 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 until thickened. Drizzle over the cake. Allow to set at room temperature, about 10 minutes, before serving.
- For an extra fudgy cake, serve chilled.
Recipe Notes
2 tablespoons (11 grams) cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt Sift powdered sugar and cocoa into a small bowl. Whisk in milk, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Drizzle onto cooled cake and let set, 15-20 minutes.
Photos by Joanie Simon.
This recipe is so delicious and it got so many great compliments!
I switched the espresso powder for brewed coffee and I made them gluten free.
When you want chocolate, this is the cake to make! I think I have never tasted anything this densely chocolate. Easy to make too. I almost always enjoy cakes room temperature, but after several days, I put the uneaten 2 pieces in the fridge and it tasted even better…even more fudgy. Wonderful! It’s going into my favorites! (I forgot to take a picture after I frosted it)
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this cake so much, Suzanne! It looks beautiful! 🙂
This Chocolate Bundt Cake is EVERYTHING.
-easy to follow recipe
-no mixer needed
-party pretty and perfect
-MOST INCREDIBLY MOIST AND FUDGY CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER!
NO REALLY! For years my go to recipe had been Cook’s Illustrated. It was really good. BUT THIS HTH recipe is out of this world. My new go to forever! Yum!
Yayyyy so glad you loved this cake, Cindy! Your cake picture has me drooling – guess I better go make this cake again 😉
I actually made this bundt cake just a few days before the recipe was updated! It was so chocolatey and SO moist! I can’t wait to try the updated version!
Followed instructions and ingredients to a T. Used Ghirardelli chocolate. Baked for 50 minutes and pulled out of oven with the moist crumbs on toothpick. Cooled as directed and topped with ganache.
I found this Bundt to be dry and dense without a nice crumb. And, not chocolatey – a little sweet for my taste. Maybe the two cups brown sugar? I love a deep, dark, dense chocolate, and this one was mild and sweet.
Hi Jess! I’m sorry to hear that your bundt cake didn’t turn out as it should. This cake should be incredibly chocolatey, with the perfect balance of sweetness, with deep, rich flavor and beautifully moist. Here are a couple thoughts as to what may have gone wrong here:
– How do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour and cocoa powder) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe – resulting in a cake that’s dry and/or without much flavor. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time.
– You mentioned that you used Ghirardelli chocolate, but what type of cocoa powder was used? Tessa recommends Dutch-process cocoa powder for this recipe. Dutch-process cocoa has more fat than most grocery store natural/unsweetened cocoa powder products, which is what we want for flavor and moisture in this specific recipe. You can learn more about the differences between cocoa powders here, and you can learn more about fat percentages in cocoa here.
– Next time, try using a darker or bittersweet chocolate for the ganache, if the semi-sweet was too sweet for your preference.
I hope something here helps, Jess, and I hope you give this cake another try – it really is the best cake I’ve ever had!! Happy baking 🙂
The same thing happened to me. Very dry cake. I baked it in a pampered chef stoneware Bundt. I did measure ingredients by weight so I’m pretty sure they were accurate. Does the temp or time need to be adjusted for stoneware? Thanks!
Hi Jayne! Yes, stoneware is much like glass in that it doesn’t conduct heat as efficiently as metal, taking longer to heat up and longer to cool down – which can cause the cake to dry out in the process. We haven’t tried this recipe in any alternative pans, but I would recommend trying reducing the oven temperature by 15°F which will likely then need a few additional minutes in the oven – or try switching to a metal pan. I hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks!!
Good morning,
I have just started making Bundt cakes. This recipe sounds delicious! I’m sure I’ll be making it. Is there a difference, recipe wise, between a Bundt cake and a pound cake?
Thank you for your expertise and fantastic recipes!
Laurie
Hi Laurie! There is not a ton of difference between a bundt cake and a pound cake. They may differ slightly in texture, but the main difference is the pan used, and therefore the volume of batter used to fill the pans. I hope that helps, and I hope you love this bundt cake! Happy baking 🙂
Hi! What is the purpose of the corn syrup in the ganache and can I omit or sub it? Thanks.
Hi Tori! The corn syrup in the ganache makes for a beautiful glossy finish that sets nicely without being too firm/solid, and prevents crystallization as it sits in the fridge. Feel free to omit it, but your ganache may be dull and set more firmly. You can also experiment with using golden syrup in its place, though please note that we haven’t tested this to ensure it works! There is also an alternate icing recipe in the recipe Notes section, if that’s easier! I hope this helps. Happy baking 🙂
Hi. I love your recipes and I also own you books. Thanks for sharing.
I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease and I would like to ask you: do you think it is possible to replace the wheat flour in you Choco bundt cake and use GF flour instead?
Are you considering adapting some of you wonderful recipes using GF flour blends? It would be great!!
Thank you very much.
Hi Karla! I’m sorry, but we don’t test our recipes with gluten-free ingredients, so we can’t say for sure! Other readers have had success converting some of our recipes using GF flours, but it often takes a little experimentation to perfect. Let us know how it goes if you give that a try 🙂 Also, check out Tessa’s friend Kat over at The Loopy Whisk – she creates a ton of delicious recipes specifically for dietary restrictions. Best of luck to you on this journey!!
You implied that using oil instead of butter was partly a way to save on the cost of butter. Would the cake be any better using butter or a combination of oil and butter?
Hi Richard! While that might be one benefit, because oil is a liquid at room temperature, it gives the sensation of moisture by coating the tongue – so we love it in this cake for that reason. Learn more about that here.
have you tried putting coconut in the middle?
Hi Deanna! No, we haven’t tried that. Feel free to experiment and let us know how it goes 🙂
Can you use buttermilk instead of sour cream?
Hi Debbie! We haven’t tried that, but feel free to experiment if you wish – but I promise, the recipe made exactly as Tessa outlines is so amazing 🙂 Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Can this recipe be used for your cheese cake filled chocolate Bundt cake? Thanks.
Hi Michelle! We haven’t tried that, but feel free to experiment – you might just need to hold back some of the batter, to make room for the filling. Let us know how it goes if you try it 🙂
Hi Tessa. I’m making this cake in Australia.
Can you help with cup, tablespoon and teaspoon measures in ml? I believe that the Us measures are different from the 250ml, 20ml and 5ml used in Australia.
Also, is there an alternative for the corn syrup in the ganache?
Thanks!
Hi Maggie! For the ganache, if you’re unable to find corn syrup, I would recommend instead just using a regular ganache recipe or use the icing recipe listed in the recipe notes. As for the measuring spoon and cup sizes, 1 teaspoon = 5mL and 1 Tablespoon = 15mL and 1 Cup = 240mL. I hope that helps! Let us know what you think of this cake once you have given it a try 🙂
Maggie, if Lyle’s Golden Syrup is available in Australia (I believe it is), you could most likely use it with excellent results instead of corn syrup.