This showstopping Chocolate Bundt Cake is the most incredible and chocolatey cake imaginable! Soft and super moist chocolate bundt cake gets smothered in a pourable chocolate icing for a dramatic finish. You won't be able to get enough of this any-and-every occasion chocolate cake!
A good chocolate cake recipe is like a little black dress: everybody needs one. Maybe this chocolate bundt cake will be yours? It's definitely one of the best, right up there with our Moist Chocolate Cupcakes, One-Bowl Chocolate Cake, and Devil's Food Chocolate Cake.
My husband is a major lover of all chocolate desserts. He says something "doesn't count" for dessert unless there is chocolate in it. So when I wanted to make a chocolate bundt cake, I knew that the chocolate factor had to be in-your-face and over the top!
While it may not be the most elegant finish to fill up the center of the cake with all the extra fudgy icing (which is technically a thinned out version of my Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting), I did it anyway to ensure PLENTY of icing would be available for every bite of bundt cake. I like the ratio of fudge icing to cake better this way (a common complaint of mine with bundt cake is that the glaze is only on the top and it's my favorite part) and there is plenty of the extra chocolatey icing that oozes out to drizzle over each slice, almost like a chocolate bundt lava cake.
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Bundt cakes (especially chocolate bundt cakes!) are one of the best cakes to bake at home. The unique shape of the bundt cake pan ensures that the cake is cooked perfectly and evenly, as opposed to pound cakes which can sometimes be undercooked in the middle. However, it can be a little daunting looking at the pan, thinking "how will I get this cake out of there?".
Before you pour in the chocolate bundt cake batter, make sure you generously butter and flour the pan, and it should easily slip right out after cooling. I have always had the best success when using baking spray (not cooking spray!) which has flour in it already for the best release.
This homemade Chocolate Bundt cake is super easy to whip up! Prep takes just 20 minutes and the oven will do the rest of the work for you. When I say it's an any-and-every occasion cake, literally this cake is perfect anytime, even just because! It would be a fun birthday cake (maybe add some M&Ms for a pop of color!) and also great to share when you have company over.
Chocolate Bundt Cake Ingredients
Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Sugar: Simple, white granulated sugar is needed as it provides sweetness to the chocolate bundt cake.
- Butter: Plenty of salted butter is added to this cake to give it a rich, buttery flavor. It. Is. Delicious!
- Vanilla extract: I used my Homemade Vanilla Extract which I would highly recommend making a batch of at some point if you haven't already, but store-bought is great too!
- Eggs: Eggs are a binding ingredient that also help the cake to rise to a soft fluffiness.
- Cake flour: Cake flour is called for as opposed to all-purpose flour as it gives a softer cake result due to its lower percentage in protein.
- Chocolate: We have 3 different forms of chocolate here: cocoa powder for a rich, dark chocolate flavor, chocolate chips for extra pockets of solid chocolate, and chocolate pudding mix which holds the fluffy structure of the cake while also adding a little moisture. If you haven't added chocolate pudding mix to a cake before, you're in for a treat!
- Baking soda: Baking soda gives a little extra rising boost to the chocolate bundt cake.
- Salt: This pantry staple ingredient brings out all of the other flavors. You can't tell it's there but you can definitely tell when it's missing!
- Buttermilk: Just to add an extra tang, and to help bind all of the ingredients into the perfect cake batter, I added buttermilk instead of regular milk.
Chocolate Fudge Icing
- Water: This chocolate icing recipe is a thinned out, pourable buttercream. Water is a great medium to thin it out as it doesn't add or take away from the buttery chocolate flavor.
- Butter: I like my icing to be rich and extremely buttery so I added plenty of salted butter for this incredible taste.
- Vanilla: Vanilla brings out all the sweetness as well as adding a hint of vanilla flavor.
- Cocoa powder: This chocolate bundt cake glaze is the most chocolatey I could make it, without it tasting bitter. You won't find another chocolate icing like it!
- Powdered sugar: This is where the sweetness comes in! Powdered sugar as opposed to confectioners or granulated gives the best, silky smooth texture.
- Heavy cream: I didn't want to take away any luxuriousness from the chocolate icing so I mixed in some heavy cream to bring it all together and make it taste like creamy chocolate heaven.
How do you make a Chocolate Bundt Cake from Scratch?
Cake Batter
- Prep the oven and bundt cake pan. Firstly, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and then generously butter and flour a large bundt pan. I like to use baker's spray, but a pastry brush and some very soft butter and flour will do the trick as well.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Secondly, in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Mix in the vanilla and eggs. Next, add the vanilla and eggs, making sure to mix well, and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
4. Combine the dry ingredients, and then the buttermilk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate pudding. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, mixing between each addition until combined.
5. Add the chocolate chips and pour. Stir in the chocolate chips, then transfer the thick cake batter to the prepared bundt pan.
6. Bake! Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs.
7. Cool and ice. Finally, cool the chocolate bundt cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
How to make chocolate icing for bundt cake
- Melt the butter and water together. Firstly, heat the water and butter in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat until the butter is melted.
- Whisk in the ingredients, one at a time. Secondly, remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and cocoa powder first, followed by the powdered sugar until a smooth, thick icing forms. Mix in the heavy cream to get the icing to a pourable consistency.
- Pour! Next, pour the icing over the cake, filling the hole in the center with as much of the extra icing as you like. I tend to fill it up since I like LOTS of extra icing for each slice. Just be careful when cutting the cake to watch for the fudge icing reserve to pool out on the first slice. The frosting will firm up and set as it cools, forming a nice fudgy layer around the top of the cake.
How to store a chocolate bundt cake
Store this chocolate bundt cake in a cake container at room temperature. If you don't have a cake container, you can cut it into individual slices and store it in a regular airtight container. It will keep on the counter for up to 4 days.
Tips to get a cake out of a bundt pan.
Here is what I do, and it works every time!
- Generously butter the bundt cake pan. Butter is a form of oil, and what is oil if it's not slippery? You can also spray it with baker's spray instead - such a handy thing to keep in your pantry! There's also a homemade version if you want to make your own.
- Dust the butter with flour. This keeps the butter from melting and mixing into the batter while it's cooking. You can be generous with the flour as well!
- Allow the cake to cool. When the cake cools, it holds itself together much better than a cake straight out of the oven, so allow the chocolate bundt cake to cool for 15 minutes in the bundt cake pan before turning it out onto a wire rack.
Other options instead of chocolate icing
If you don't want to go the all chocolate route, this is still a delicious cake simply dusted with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Or decorate the top of the cake with piped lines of cream cheese icing, just like the ones at Nothing Bundt Cakes.
Here are a few of my other favorite frostings that would also be delicious spread or piped over the top of this chocolate bundt cake.
Why is this chocolate bundt cake so moist?
The main secret is the bundt cake pan! The pan touches more of the batter than a regular cake pan, cooking the edges but locking in the moisture. It's kind of like one of those brownie edge pans but for cakes. Also, adding chocolate pudding to the batter gives it extra moisture while it's baking.
Also, if you find that your bundt cakes keep turning out dry, there is a good chance you are overbaking them. That's usually the biggest culprit and my first troubleshooting spot when I'm working on a new recipe and having dry results.
More Cake Recipes Like This
- Pear Ginger Bundt Cake
- Kentucky Butter Cake
- Sour Cream Pound Cake
- Cranberry Orange Pull-Apart Monkey Bread
- Classic Apple Cider Donuts
- Carrot Cake Baked Donuts with Cream Cheese Glaze
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large large eggs
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup instant chocolate pudding mix (one 3.9-ounce box)
- 2 ¼ cups buttermilk
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chocolate Icing
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour a large bundt pan or spray with baker's spray.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and eggs, making sure to mix well and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate pudding. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, mixing between each addition until combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips, then transfer the thick cake batter to the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs.
- Cool for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
Chocolate Icing
- Heat the water and butter in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat until the butter is melted.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and cocoa powder first, followed by the powdered sugar until a smooth, thick icing forms. Mix in the heavy cream to get the icing to a pourable consistency.
- Pour the icing over the cake, filling the hole in the center with as much of the extra icing as you like. I tend to fill it up and just make sure I'm careful when cutting the cake to watch for it to pool out, since I like LOTS of extra icing for each slice. The frosting will firm up and set as it cools, forming a nice fudgy layer around the top of the cake.
Nutrition
Recipe based on the popular Brick Street Cake from Through Her Looking Glass.
This looks amazing and I can taste it just looking at your beautiful photos!
Hi,
This recipe looks awesome! Could you make this in miniature bunt pans? If so, what would the bake time/temperature need to be? Also, could this be frozen before adding the glaze? Thank you for sharing!
Yes, you could make these in miniature bundt pans! I would probably use the same bake temperature but start checking them around 16-20 minutes. And yes, you could freeze, then glaze before serving.
So yummy!! The chocolate icing that oozes out is divine on every bite!
Yay! I'm glad we feel the same way about it!
I made this cake for your February Chocolate Challenge and my household LOVED it! I had to do a different icing because I ran out of ingredients, but the cake itself is dang delicious! I love all the tips and tricks you shared for this recipe as well. I always learn so much from you.
Stunning work !
I can not find buttermilk in bulgaria. Can I substitute for plain yogurt and at what measurement. Much thanks
Yes, you can mix plain yogurt with some milk to thin it out. Or just add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a 1 cup measuring cup and fill the rest of the way with milk. After letting that sit for 5 minutes, you will have a good buttermilk substitute.