Bundt cakes. There is just something so incredibly regal about a bundt. It’s stature, its design, and of course the rush of dopamine the cakes provide when they come out of their pan in one piece. This chocolate bundt cake is the culmination of everything good in a cake. It is incredibly moist, beautiful, glossy, chocolatey, and show-stopping. There is absolutely no reason not to bake this cake. You can eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, brunch, literally anytime of day. It is the perfect cake to make for fun, but also it would be a wonderful closing dessert for a dinner party. Bundt cakes were made to impress, and that is exactly what this one does. Another thing I absolutely adore about this cake is that it really is all about the cake. The ganache is just a thin layer of chocolate, but there’s no layers of frosting between the cake to give added moisture or cover up a weird crumb. This cake is truly about showing off the cake with no distractions. I think this feat is beautiful, and by no means easy to do. This chocolate bundt cake recipe has become a favorite of mine, and I hope it becomes one of yours too!
How do I get my bundt cake out of the pan (and in one piece)?
To smoothly and cleanly remove your bundt cake from the pan, you’re going to need butter and flour. Take two tablespoons of butter and mix it with 3 tablespoons of flour. It will become a thick, opaque, paste, and this is exactly what we want. You will then, either using a paper towel or your fingers, rub this paste into every single nook and cranny. I recommend using your fingers for this task, especially if your bundt pan is as intricate as mine is. Don’t worry if you get some bigger globs of the paste in the corners of the pan. This paste will melt as the cake cooks, so there is no risk of it ruining the shape of the final cake. As long as you make sure the entire pan has a good coating of this stuff, I can almost guarantee you that your bundt cake will come out clean, perfect, and in one piece.
What kind of cocoa is best? Does it matter?
Up until about 4 years ago, I had no concept of “types” of cocoa. To me, there was Hershey’s 100% Natural Cocoa (if I were lucky) and most often, Aldi basic brand cocoa. I later learned that both of these are natural cocoa powders and that there was a whole world of chocolate flavor out there to explore. I went through many brands and types of cocoa powders, learning about dutch-processed, blends, black cocoa, and even cacao powder. In the end, I concluded that I preferred dutch-processed, which made me re-evaluate just how I bake my recipes.
Though I prefer dutch-processed, you may prefer the more acidic natural cocoa powder that is common in America. If that is your preference, that is totally cool! However, you will have to make a small adjustment to this recipe if you want to stick with natural cocoa. Different cocoa powders have different pH levels, meaning they react differently depending on what kind of leavener you are using. For this recipe if you would like to swap for natural cocoa, you can, but you should swap the amounts of baking powder and baking soda, meaning now you would use 2 teaspoons of baking soda and only 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder. This will give the correct rise to your cake instead of having a sad, flat cake coming out of your oven.
The Best Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For Buttering the Pan:
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 3 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
For the Cake:
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1½ teaspoons Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- ¼ cup Mayo
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Milk
For the Ganache Glaze:
- ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- ½ cup Finely Chopped Dark Chocolate
- 2 tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Set oven to 350º F. In a small bowl, rub two tablespoons of butter together with 3 tablespoons of flour until it becomes a paste. Rub the paste into every crevice of the bundt pan possible. Make sure the entire pan is covered. This will help your bundt cake to come out in one piece.
- In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Whisk together until homogeneous and no clumps of cocoa powder remain. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, vegetable oil, and mayo. Whisk until homogenous, then add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk again until homogeneous. FInally, add the milk, slowly, whisking constantly, making sure every ingredient is evenly distributed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Whisk together until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared bundt pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before attempting to remove from pan. Be gentle, patient, and careful as the cake will still be hot at this time.
For the Ganache Glaze:
- Finely chop the chocolate and add it to a heatproof bowl.
- Heat the cream until steaming, either in the microwave or in a heavy-bottomed pot on the stove over medium heat.
- Pour the steaming cream into the bowl with the chocolate and cover the bowl with a plate. This holds in all of the steam and heat, melting the chocolate faster. After 2 minutes, uncover and whisk until the mixture comes together. Add the light corn syrup and mix together. Pour over the completely cooled bundt cake. Enjoy!
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