This authentic dark chocolate bundt cake with a light and moist crumb. This chocolate cake is amazingly decadent with a luxurious, rich, creamy and silky chocolate ganache. Love chocolate? Try my Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake, Chocolate Brownies, Coco Cola Cake, Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake and Chocolate Chip Muffins.
I love chocolate and to be honest who doesn't? But there are only a few cakes that have stolen my heart the way this dark chocolate bundt cake has.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works?
- This dark chocolate bundt cake is my tried-and-true recipe.
- This is an easy to bake and you need under an hour to bake it.
- The ingredients are readily available in the pantry.
- The Bundt cake looks royal.
- The texture of this decadent chocolate cake is soft, moist and fluffy.
- Take it to a brunch or any gathering, it will impress everyone.
- The creamy, glossy, shiny and silky chocolate ganache makes the cake simply irresistible.
Dutch Process VS. Regular Cocoa Powder
The difference between the regular cocoa powder and Dutch process powder is simple. The Dutch process powder has a noticeably darker hue, while the tone for natural cocoa powder is much milder. So, the dark hue gives a dark color to the chocolate cake that cannot be achieved with the regular cocoa powder.
Another important difference is that the Dutch processed cocoa powder does not react with leavening agents like baking soda (which is alkaline and releases carbon dioxide) or baking powder because the Dutch processed cocoa powder is not alkaline in nature.
In short, if you want a rich, dense and an intense chocolate flavor, use Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Ingredients
Pro Tip # 1 - Room Temperature Ingredients
Always use room temperature ingredients (unless otherwise specified) for baking. Ingredients such as butter, eggs and other dairy ingredients like milk, sour cream, yogurt form an emulsion by trapping air inside the batter. The trapped air expands in the oven resulting in perfect baked treats.
Chocolate Bundt Cake:
- All-purpose flour: provides structure to this cake.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: I used Dutch cocoa powder for dark hue and rich chocolate flavor.
- Baking soda + baking powder: leavening agents that help with the rise of the cake.
- Salt: balances the overall flavor.
- Eggs: binding agent of the cake.
- Castor Sugar: sweetens the cake.
- Vegetable Oil: gives moisture.
- Whole Milk: the fat content will make the cake moist, light and fluffy.
- Vanilla extract: enhances the flavor.
- Black Coffee (hot): is the secret ingredient that intensifies the overall flavor of chocolate.
Chocolate Ganache: - Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips: use high-quality chocolate chips for a perfect ganache.
- Heavy whipping cream
- Salt
Pro Tip # 2 - Digital Scale
Use a digital scale to measure all-purpose flour and other dry ingredients. To measure with cup, fluff up the all-purpose flour container using a spoon, then scoop out the flour with spoon into the measuring cup. Never scoop out of the container. It may result in more flour than required resulting in dense bakes.
Coffee - The Secret Ingredient
I am using a whole one cup of HOT coffee, the secret ingredient that intensifies the chocolate flavor of this decadent and flavorful cake. Coffee incorporates so well with chocolate and gives this cake an enriching and enhanced taste. The best part is that you will not even feel any coffee flavor at all. If for some reason, you do not have coffee handy or you do not like coffee, use hot water in 1:1 as a substitute.
Instructions
These are basic process shots for this recipe. For detailed instructions refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Sift through the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and Dutch processed cocoa powder in a bowl. Whisk and set aside.
2. Using an electric beater, mix together the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and milk until combined.Add the hot coffee in the wet ingredients mixture.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat.
4. The cake batter will have a runny and thin consistency, don’t panic about it.
5. Place the cake in the preheated oven at 350. Once out of oven, let it cool in the pan for 30 minute before releasing it out of the pan.
6. Once the cake has cooled, pour the chocolate ganache over the cake.
Equipment
- 10'' Bundt pan (of your choice)
- Microwave safe bowl.
- Mixing bowls.
- Electric beater.
- Rubber spatula.
- Digital scale.
- Measuring cups and spoons.
Variations
Chocolate Chips: This double chocolate cake is rich enough to satisfy the sweet-tooth of any chocolate lover but to take it a step further and to make it a triple chocolate cake, feel free to decorate the silky ganache with mini chocolate chips.
Substitutions
Instant Espresso Powder: Use 1 tablespoon of espresso powder in one cup hot water in case you are out of brewed coffee for this chocolate cake.
Hot Water: If you do not like coffee then replace it with hot water in 1:1 ratio.
Frequently Asked Questions
I used a 10-inch Bundt cake pan for this bake with a 10 – 15 cups capacity. You can use a simple or decorative Bundt pan of your choice for this cake. I used a simple but elegant pan from Nordic Ware collection. I love the royal-ish look of the cake out of this pan.
Yes, you can use the 9 x 13 inch tray pan or two 9-inch round or square pans for this cake.
No problem, use the traditional butter and flour greasing method. Grease the pan with oil or butter using a pastry brush and then generously coat cocoa powder on the oil coating. The cocoa powder will not affect the color of the cake. Flour will leave white flour patches that you would like to avoid.
The coffee needs to be hot which will help to infuse the coffee with chocolate in this cake better to give it the oomph flavor.
Yes, you can garnish the ganache with the chocolate chips. I sometimes use mini chocolate chips for decoration.
It can be tricky at times to release the cake properly from the deep Bundt cake pans. To avoid this situation, I use baking spray on the Bundt cake pans right before I am ready to put the cake in the oven. Do not grease the cake beforehand or the spray will collect in the bottom of the pan. If you grease the pan with baking spray beforehand (like we traditionally do with butter and flour grease method) the oil will collect in the bottom of the pan. (See this picture.)
How to Store
- Store the dark chocolate bundt cake in airtight container for up to 2 days. Do not pour ganache if you are saving it on the counter.
- This cake will keep fresh in the fridge for up to a week.
- You can freeze the baked cake easily for up to 3 months. Do not add the ganache before freezing. Cut the cake into pieces and wrap each cake piece in plastic wrap, further add a foil layer and freeze the individual pieces and then stash them in a plastic bag and place in the freezer.
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Recipe
Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 1 10-inch bundt cake pan. (simple or decorative)
- 1 Electric Mixer
- Digital Scale
- Rubber Spatula
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
Chocolate Bundt Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 g)
- ¾ cup unsweetened dutch cocoa powder (75 grams) g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (6 g)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder (5 g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs (large) room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400 g)
- 1 cup vegetable oil (237 ml)
- 1 cup whole milk (237 ml) room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (13 g)
- 1 cup brewed black coffee (180 ml) hot
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (170 g)
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream (180 g) room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 F before preparing the batter.
- Take a bowl and sift through flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and unsweetened cocoa powder. Whisk it together and set aside.
- In the electric mixer bowl, add oil, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well-combined for about 2 - 3 minute at medium speed.
- Now, prepare the hot coffee and pour in the black coffee in the wet ingredients and mix. Remember to pour the coffee slowly because you do not want to cook your eggs.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat the beater just until incorporated. You do not want to overmix the batter.
- Generously grease a 10-inch Bundt cake pan with a baking spray and pour in the batter.
- Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Chocolate Ganache
- Take a medium sized microwave-safe bowl and fill it with the chocolate morsels.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and salt.
- Microwave it for a minute, take out and stir it. Put it back in the microwave for another minute and whisk thoroughly until you have a silky and smooth chocolate ganache.
- Pour the ganache over the Bundt cake once the cake has cooled completely.
Wajeeha
Awesome and extremely easy to folow recipe. The step by step guidance makes it easier for even a first time baker to bake an amazing cake!!
Keep up the good work. Please share recipe of coffee cake as well
Naureen
amazing work
I appreciate your step by step directions.stay blessed