My most decadent bundt cake yet, this chocolate bundt cake is dense, moist, rich, and covered in a luscious chocolate fudge frosting. Recipe includes a how-to video!
One Bowl Chocolate Bliss
There are few things I enjoy quite as much as taking a dessert I already love and transforming it into an even more decadent, chocolate version of itself. First was my chocolate cake, then my chocolate cheesecake and chocolate rolls, and today it’s this rich, decadent chocolate bundt cake.
It’s the evil twin to classic bundt cake, dark and mysterious, cloaked with a glossy fudge cape and pierced with melty pops of chocolate chips. It’s deliriously good, perfectly dense but still soft and moist.
And it’s made in one bowl (excluding the frosting, I hope that’s obvious 😉). I literally don’t know what more you could as for.
What You Need
- Flour. Make sure you use all-purpose (plain) flour and do not use self-rising flour or you’ll have quite a mess in your oven.
- Cocoa powder. I use and recommend using unsweetened natural cocoa powder. I have not tried this recipe with Dutch processed or dark cocoa.
- Baking powder & baking soda help give the cake some lift.
- Salt & vanilla extract enhance the flavors of the cake.
- Very hot coffee or hot water. A HOT liquid is essential to “bloom” the cocoa powder and give it a rich chocolatey flavor. Either will work well, but using coffee will enhance the chocolate flavor even more.
- Sugar. I use a blend of granulated and brown sugar (which adds flavor and moisture to the cake).
- Eggs. This recipe uses half the number of eggs that my classic bundt cake uses.
- Sour cream adds moisture, flavor, and tenderness to this cake.
- Butter & oil. A blend of butter and oil gives the cake the right balance of flavor and moisture, without making it dry! I use this technique in many of my cake recipes (like my red velvet cake!)
Tip: Instead of mini chocolate chips you can finely chop a 4 oz chocolate bar by mincing it as you would mince garlic. This leaves melty chocolate flecks throughout the whole cake.
As always, remember this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Low Maintenance Cake Batter
This batter for this cake is simple to make and can be made in a single bowl. It’s simple, and unlike many, many cake recipes it’s quite difficult to over-mix.
I’m not saying it’s impossible so don’t go crazy with your Kitchenaid and walk away with it on speed eight while you make a phone call to the IRS, but the batter is… durable. The cake is slightly more dense than your average cake by design (as a good bundt cake should be), made with melted butter and oil rather than creaming together the butter and sugar.
You need to mix thoroughly and can make the whole thing with an electric mixer (rather than worrying about folding together wet and dry ingredients by hand like you must with my vanilla cake).
Icing/Glaze
How could any chocolate bundt cake be complete without a fudgy crown of glossy chocolate icing? While I have my frosting of choice, I’m leaving you with a few options:
- Use the icing I include in the recipe, which is the same irresistible fudge glaze that I use on my hot milk cake.
- Use my chocolate ganache, which is a common bundt cake icing and is a bit darker in flavor.
- Or you can be vanilla and just dust the cake with powdered sugar, just don’t actually tell me that you skipped more chocolate for that it or I might just judge you (just a tiny bit).
I had a battle with my perfectionism while filming the icing portion of this in today’s video (in the recipe card). It was taking forever for it to cool to be thick enough to pour (the lights we use to film are hot!) so I set it aside to do something else and when I came back it had cooled too much and was thick like my chocolate frosting. If this happens to you, you can pop the icing in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until it returns to the proper consistency, but I tried to just roll with it (like I said, those lights are hot and I was tired!) so my icing in my video looks a little less than perfect!
Frequently Asked Questions
While cake flour could work when substituted properly, I don’t recommend experimenting with any other flour. Using self-rising flour is a big no-no and will cause your cake to overflow all over your oven.
Cornstarch helps to make the cake more tender. If you don’t have it you can leave it out.
Yes! Wrap tightly in plastic wrap (sometimes I also wrap with foil for good measure) and then freeze for up to several months.
I recommend using my chocolate cake recipe instead for either of those sizes. However, this cake could be baked in those pans, just make sure not to fill the pan more than ⅔ of the way full (you may have to discard a little batter).
More Recipes You Might Like
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 1 cup light brown sugar firmly packed (200g)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- ⅔ cup natural cocoa powder (68g)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted (113g)
- ½ cup canola oil (118ml)
- 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk lightly beaten (room temperature preferred)
- 1 ¼ cup sour cream (318g)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup hot coffee or hot water¹ (177ml)
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips (85g)
Chocolate Glaze²
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped into small pieces (85g)
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup whole milk (80ml)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar (250g)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and thoroughly and generously grease and flour a bundt pan (tap out excess flour) or spray generously with baking spray (not cooking spray, it must contain flour or the cake will stick). Set aside.
- In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) whisk together flour, sugars, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add butter and oil and stir well until completely combined (mixture will be thick).
- Add eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, and vanilla extract and stir until smooth and well-combined.
- Gradually add hot coffee or hot water and stir until combined. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake on the center rack for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out with a few fudgy crumbs or clean. Allow to cool for ten minutes then carefully invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely before covering with chocolate glaze.
Chocolate Glaze
- Combine chocolate, butter, and milk in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments (stirring well in between) until chocolate and butter are completely melted (mixture may look slightly separated, this is fine).
- Stir in vanilla and salt.
- Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Allow to cool until mixture is still fluid but no longer runny (about 15 minutes) then drizzle over the top of the chocolate bundt cake. Allow glaze to harden before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
JoAnn Leonard
Loved this one and the vanilla bunt cake is wonderful also. I am a fan I have been pulling and using your recipes for the past few years and have never been disappointed. Keep up the wonderful baking .
Louise Brine
Your chocolate bundt recipe was the winner of my informal “cake-off” at which my family tried three different chocolate bundt cakes. I think the amount of sugar and the mini chips put it over the edge for everyone:). I noticed this cake is not as dense as other bundt cakes I’ve had. I do like a good fluffy cake texture, but in this I’d like it a bit denser. What do you suggest? Cut out the corn starch? Or maybe increase the butter/decrease the oil? Any thoughts you have would be appreciated. I am a loyal fan – your recipes are consistently the best!!
Sam
Hi Louise! I’m glad everyone enjoyed the cake. Bundt cakes are traditionally dense so unfortunately this isn’t a good recipe to try to make a fluffy cake. 🙁
Louise
Thanks very much for such a quick reply! Please allow me to clarify – I’m looking to make it a bit more dense with a tighter crumb (not fluffier:). No worries if this is something you wouldn’t feel comfortable addressing. Again – LOVE your site!
Sam
Hmmm it’s difficult to make it more dense without making it more dry so without having tried it I can’t say for sure.
Simcha
Can I make this without the mini chocolate chips?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Trina E.
Hi Sam. What size Bundt pan do we use for this cake? I just want to make sure so I don’t miss any steps. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with us.
Sam
Hi Trina! I use a 12 cup bundt pan. 🙂
Mandy Falzon
Made this cake today…hello winner👌👌.. absolute go to..👌👌
I, did get impatient and flipped it out within 3 mins (out of the oven) instead of 10 where indicated 🤦🏼♀️.. hiding the cracks with icing…
Make this cake😋
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad it turned out for you, Mandy! Don’t worry, we get impatient when it comes to cake too (especially chocolate!) 😉
Sarah Walker
How do you suggest storing this if I make it a day in advance? Room temp or in the oven?
Sam
Hi Sarah! An air tight container at room temperature will work just fine. 🙂
Shayna kershaw
My daughter wants this cake for her birthday, but with vanilla frosting. That should work out fine, right?
By the way, I looooove your recipes. You’re definitely one of my go-to sites for all things baking!
Sam
That should work just fine, Shayna! Enjoy! 🙂
Marla
This is by far my families favourite cake! I was wondering if it would be possible to make this in a mini Bundt pan? Thanks for all the amazing recipes!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That’s so nice to hear, Marla! This should work as mini bundt cakes, but we’re not sure of a bake time here. Enjoy! 🙂
Marla
They turned out amazing!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know, Marla 😊
Bob Thomas
Another winner! After reading the reviews on this cake, I switched my plans and made it for my youngest grandson’s ninth birthday. So very rich tasting. The vanilla ice cream was needed to tone it down. Yummy. Be sure and watch your oven time closely. Started checking at 40 minutes and by 45 minutes it was done! First time I ever used hot coffee in a recipe! Everyone loved it!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it turned out well for you, Bob! Thanks for trying our recipe and coming back to leave a review. We hope your grandson loved his cake 😊
Bob
I put the salt and vanilla into the frosting after melting butter and chocolate. Somehow the written directions did not include that step.
Currently making it again for Valentines! Just too good!!!
Sam
I’m so sorry for the confusion, Bob! Thank you for letting me know. I will fix that right away. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Ash
I’ve used many of your recipes for a multitude of different desserts and dare I say this is my favorite recipe of yours so far! This is an INCREDIBLE chocolate cake. It was easy to make and incredibly decadent and fudgy the way a chocolate cake should be. I made this for my mom’s birthday and she loved it too. I also doubled the glaze because I have no self control. Thanks for a wonderful recipe! 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wow, we’re so happy to hear that you’ve found your favorite, Ash! Thanks for using our recipe for your mom’s cake–we hope she had a lovely birthday 🙂