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A moist chocolate bundt cake recipe made with both cocoa powder and melted chocolate for a deep, rich chocolate flavor. I poured on an easy chocolate ganache but it is equally delicious with a simple dusting of powdered sugar.
This chocolate bundt cake does not shy away from the chocolate flavor! There is Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a depth of flavor, melted dark chocolate in the chocolate cake batter, and a rich chocolate ganache poured over top. If you want a light chocolate flavor, try this red velvet pound cake instead.
This recipe is specifically designed to be used in those ornate Nordic Ware bundt pans. It yields less batter than my lemon pound cake, which would overflow most of the decorative bundts. It is perfect for this 10-cup rose bundt (pictured) or this 10-cup blossom bundt pan. This recipe is perfect for a birthday (just add sprinkles or some funfetti cookies!) or any holiday celebration.
Table of Contents
Why This is the Best Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe
- A super moist chocolate cake! Sour cream, light brown sugar and melted dark chocolate all help keep this easy chocolate bundt cake incredibly moist.
- Delicious with or without the ganache glaze. The professional chocolate ganache poured over the top locks in the moisture and highlights the details of the bundt pan, but the cake is rich and chocolaty with just a simple dusting of powdered sugar like my chocolate pound cake.
- Bake beautifully & releases easily from even the most ornate bundt pans. I learned the hard way over the years that not all cakes release nicely from a detailed bundt pan. The most heart-breaking was my grandmother’s fruit cake recipe, but there have been others over the years like this chocolate zucchini cake or early testing of my pumpkin bundt cake.
Professional Tips for Making Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Room temperature ingredients will make the best cake. If you forget, don’t stress. You will still have a wonderful cake, but using room temperature ingredients will create a light, dense chocolate cake that melts in your mouth!
- Spray and flour the pan then bang it out! Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray or brush it with softened butter, then flour. I rotate it in both directions with decorative molds to get every nook and cranny! Then bang it out firmly. Too thick a coating of flour can actually make the cake stick. I have also found cocoa powder does not release as well from bundt pans as AP flour.
- Bake it just until a cake tester or toothpick comes out with clinging crumbs. There is no saving an over-baked cake from being dry. It is better the test than to be sorry! If you did over-bake, remove it from the pan immediately and soak the cake in simple syrup while still warm.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Unsalted Butter: I use unsalted butter for all baking to control the flavor, but in this recipe you could use salted butter and omit the kosher salt in the dry ingredients.
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar adds a little moisture in addition to the sweetness and leavening! It helps keep the cake moist for days.
- Large Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- All-purpose Flour
- Cocoa Powder: I used natural cocoa powder in this recipe but you could use Dutch-processed cocoa powder if that is what you have on hand.
- Kosher Salt
- Baking Soda
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate for the cake batter as well as the ganache topping. I used a chopped baking chocolate bar for both, but you could also use any chocolate you enjoy. You could use unsweetened baker’s chocolate in the cake batter but I would not recommend that for the ganache.
- Sour Cream: Use full-fat sour cream or low-fat sour cream in this recipe. You could also substitute yogurt or Greek yogurt.
- Water or brewed coffee. If you have it, brewed coffee or espresso powder mixed with hot water will enhance the chocolate flavor, but if not, this recipe will still be rich with just water.
- Heavy Cream: This is for the optional ganache topping.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Possible Variations
- Add an extract or zest: You could try adding cherry extract or orange extract in combination with some orange or lemon zest. This is also an excellent recipe for detailed holiday bundt pans. Add a little peppermint extract and bake it in this Pine Forest Bundt, Holiday wreath bundt, or this Let it Snow bundt pan! I do strongly suggest a dusting of confectioner’s sugar!
- Bake mini bundt cakes. This recipe is perfect for baking into miniature bundts. I have tried several other chocolate cake recipes that did not release, but these will come out perfectly.
- Try a different frosting, glaze or topping. Try this easy donut glaze for a simple vanilla glaze or stick with chocolate but try this chocolate fudge glaze, which is a little less rich than the chocolate ganache topping. Spread on a cream cheese frosting, ermine frosting or even vanilla American buttercream!
How to Make Chocolate Bundt Cake
Use these instructions to make the best double chocolate pound cake! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below. You can also find more detailed instructions for how to make chocolate ganache in that recipe post.
For the chocolate bundt cake:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F convection (with fan) or 350°F conventional (no fan).
Step 2: Prep the bundt pan. I sprayed my pan with cooking spray and then floured it. Tap the flour around until every inch is covered. Tap out the extra flour onto a piece of parchment on the counter. You should be left with a perfectly floured pan.
For very detailed pans, I tap flour in both directions before banging it out. This is especially necessary in bundt pans like the Heritage Bundt Pan that I used for this caramel molasses pound cake.
Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream and water (or coffee). Set aside.
Step 4: Melt the chocolate and then allow to cool. It should be warm but not hot.
Step 5: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars just until a thick paste forms. For a lighter cake, continue beating until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium-high speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after every two eggs or so. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract with the last egg.
Step 6: Add all the melted chocolate at one time and beat well to incorporate.
Step 7: Reduce the mixer to low speed and then alternately add the flour and sour cream mixtures.
I don’t wait until all the flour has incorporated until I add the next batch. I just keep adding with two hands. Pro-style. I do stop the mixer to add the last of the sour cream mixture because I like to scrape it all out with a rubber spatula. You should have a silky, smooth batter.
Step 8: Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
Step 9: Bake in preheated oven until a cake tester comes out with a few clinging crumbs. This will take about 60-85 minutes depending on your oven. Mine baked for 70 minutes. If you over-bake it will be dry.
Step 10: Let the cake cool 20 minutes and then loosen the edges with a paring knife. Turn the bundt cake out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
Depending on how you mix this cake, it can be lighter and fluffy or it can be dense like a pound cake. For a lighter cake, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy and then beat in each egg well. Incorporating as much additional air as possible will keep it light.
Make the ganache (if desired)
Step 1: Place chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a medium bowl set on a folded tea-towel. Heat cream in a small saucepan just until it comes to a boil then pour over the chocolate.
Step 2: Allow the hot cream to sit on the chocolate undisturbed for 2 minutes. This melts the chocolate and will allow you to emulsify the ganache easily with less whisking. Less whisking means less of a chance for the ganache to break. I find a whisk is more efficient for emulsifying than stirring with a spoon or rubber spatula.
Step 3: Start whisking in one direction in the center of the chocolate until you see a smooth ganache beginning to form. Then gradually make your whisking strokes larger, pulling in more of the cream. Once a smooth ganache forms, stop whisking.
Step 4: Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over the top of the cooled cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store baked and cooled bundt cake well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 4 days, refrigerated for a week or frozen for 2 months. Once glazed, you can store the same amount of time in any location.
The good thing about this cake is you can use any 10-12 cup bundt pan! It will release nicely from a detailed pan or keep it simple. My baking times are based on a 10-cup bundt pan, so a 12-cup bundt pan will need to bake less time. You can even divide the batter between two detailed loaf bundt cake pans!
This decadent chocolate bundt cake is perfect served by itself especially with the ganache topping. I love to serve it with crème anglaise, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream or hot fudge sauce. It would also be delicious with my easy blueberry sauce, easy strawberry jam loosened with lemon juice, or salted caramel sauce. You could lean into the chocolate with chocolate ice cream or chocolate caramel swirl ice cream!
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter
- 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 3.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate I used baking bars
- 1 cup sour cream low-fat or full-fat
- 2 tablespoons water or brewed coffee
For the ganache:
- 3 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chopped or morsels (about ½ cup)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F convection (with fan) or 350°F conventional (no fan)
- Spray pan with cooking spray and then flour it. Tap the flour around until every inch is covered. Tap out the extra flour onto a piece of parchment on the counter. You should be left with a perfectly floured pan. I have found that coating the pan with cocoa powder causes more detailed molds to stick and I’m not about that added stress.
Make the Cake:
- Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- Melt the chocolate and then allow to cool. It should be warm but not hot.
- Whisk together the sour cream and water.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars just until a thick paste forms. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after every two eggs or so. Add the vanilla extract with the last egg.
- Add all the melted chocolate at one time and beat well to incorporate.
- Switch the mixer to low and then alternately add the flour and sour cream mixture. I don’t wait until all the flour has incorporated until I add the next batch. I just keep adding with two hands. Pro-style. I do stop the mixer to add the last of the sour cream mixture because I like to scrape it all out with a rubber spatula.
- Pour into prepared pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
- Bake in preheated oven until a cake tester comes out with a few clinging crumbs. This will take about 60-85 minutes depending on your oven. Mine baked for 70 minutes. If you overbake it will be dry.
- Let her COOL 20 minutes and then loosen the edges with a paring knife and then turn it out onto a rack. Allow to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar or make a simple glaze or a chocolate ganache like I did!
Make the chocolate ganache:
- Place chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a medium bowl set on a folded tea-towel. Heat cream in a small saucepan just until it comes to a boil then pour over the chocolate.
- Allow the cream to sit on the chocolate undisturbed for 2 minutes. This melts the chocolate and will allow you to emulsify the ganache easily with less whisking. Less whisking means less of a chance for the ganache to break. I find a whisk is more efficient for emulsifying than stirring with a spoon or rubber spatula.
- Start whisking in one direction in the center of the chocolate until you see a smooth ganache beginning to form. Then gradually make your whisking strokes larger, pulling in more of the cream. Once a smooth ganache forms, stop whisking.
- Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over the top of the cooled cake.
Notes
Presentation – The rose bundt pan that I used is 10 cups.
Flavor Tips – Substitute brewed coffee for the water for an even more rich chocolate flavor.
Variations – Add an extract, bake it in mini bundt molds or try a different frosting or glaze.
Storage – Store baked and cooled bundt cake well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 4 days, refrigerated for a week or frozen for 2 months. Once glazed, you can store the same amount of time in any location.
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional pastry chef created recipe. Dive deep into chocolate decadence with all of our chocolate dessert recipes or get inspired by our cake recipes! If you are in the mood for more chocolate flavor explosions, try these chocolate cupcakes or one of these easy chocolate recipes.
