Easy Chocolate Bundt Cake {From Scratch}

Quick and easy chocolate bundt cake recipe from scratch, homemade with simple ingredients. Truly the best, rich, soft, moist fudge cake with chocolate ganache.

If you like this collection of Mini Bundt Cake Recipes or these Bundt Cake Decorating Ideas ,you are going to love this classic bundt cake recipe with cocoa powder and sour cream.

Jump to:

• How to make easy chocolate bundt cake recipe from scratch?
• How to prevent homemade bundt cakes from sticking to a pan?
• Tips and techniques
• Variations
• Recipe FAQs
• Storage
• More easy cake recipes
• Recipe

How to make easy chocolate bundt cake recipe from scratch?

1. Prepare the chocolate mixture by combining and heating together butter, coffee, cocoa powder.
2. Separately, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda.
3. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture, eggs, sour cream, vanilla and mix until batter is smooth.
4. Pour in prepared pan.
5. Bake and let it cool to room temperature.
6. Pour ganache on top of the cake and toss sprinkles.

How to prevent homemade bundt cakes from sticking to a pan?

• Generously, grease the pan with melted shortening or butter. Sprinkle it with flour and toss it around until the entire pan is covered in a thin layer of grease and flour. Invert the pan over a sink and dump the excess flour.
• Use a pastry brush to apply butter or shortening to all the little nooks and crannies evenly.
• I do not recommend using oil spray because it has a tendency to slide down the sides and makes a pool at the bottom, which causes the cake to stick to the sides.
• Don't forget to grease the tube of the pan because the batter can stick to this and removal of cake becomes impossible without breaking.
• Use a good quality nonstick bundt pan.
• Don't use older, scratched, worn out pans non-stick because their surface will not be smooth to allow the cake to come out seamlessly.
• Bundt cakes are very fragile and can break easily during removal from pan. Allow the cake to rest for 10 minutes right side up. Then, flip it over to a cooling rack and let it rest for another 5 minutes, before removing the pan. This process allows the cake to cool down a firm up a little.
• If you have turned the pan over to a cooling rack and the cake is still non coming out, tap on the outside of the pan to loosen the cake inside so that it comes out easily. Don't bang roughly on it, which will obviously cause it to break.
• Don't use a pan with very detailed intricate designs since there is a very high chance the cake will break, when turned over OR if it does come out of the pan, the detailed design may not have fully transferred to the baked cake.
• Finally, if nothing is working (hey! sometimes, it happens!), loosen the edges of the cake by gently sliding a thin spatula down the sides of the pan and then turn it over to release it.

Tips and techniques

• Use full fat sour cream for maximum fat content, which adds a lot of moisture to this cake.
• Don't replace sour cream with buttermilk because that will thin out the batter and yield a very odd texture.
• Don't even think about using a doctored cake mix recipe because those are usually so soft and tender that they stick to the cake pan and don't come out of the pan properly.
• If your cake develops a dome on top after baking, slice it off with a sharp knife and then flip it onto a cake dish or cake stand. This will make it more stable and prevent it from wobbling.
• Use really strong brewed coffee, which enhances the chocolate flavor in this cake even further.
• If you are using a dark colored pan, it will bake quicker. Keep a close eye on it from 40 minutes onwards.
• Don't over-mix the batter because that makes a very tough cake.
• Allow the cake to cool down completely before pouring ganache on top because if your pour it while the cake is hot, the icing will melt and make a mess.

Variations

• Chocolate orange flavor- Add 1 tablespoon orange zest in the cake batter. Replace ganache with Easy Orange Frosting
• Chocolate cherry flavor- Slice the cake in half and fill it with Maraschino Cherry Frosting. Spread frosting on top and then drizzle chocolate ganache on top of the frosting.
• Chocolate caramel flavor- Replace ganache with Homemade Caramel Sauce.
• Transform this double chocolate cake into a triple chocolate cake by stirring in ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips in the cake batter.
• Instead of ganache, you can top off this cake with American Buttercream Frosting  or Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. Those are classic combinations.
• Another topping option is Hot Fudge Sauce, chocolate glaze or melted chocolate drizzle or even Nutella Syrup.

Recipe FAQs

Storage

• Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 5 days.
• Freeze- Bundt cake and ganache can be frozen in separate sealed containers for up to 1 month. When you are ready to enjoy this dessert, thaw to room temperature, drizzle the ganache on top and toss sprinkles and serve.
• Room temperature- This can stay out in a covered container for 1 day.
• Make ahead- This can easily be made 1-2 days in advance.

More easy cake recipes

• Vegan Chocolate Cake (Eggless Cake)
• Easy Chocolate Oreo Cake
• Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
• Chocolate Marshmallow Cake
• Chocolate Depression Cake (Wacky Cake)

Recipe