The Best Glazed Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe (2024)

This is one of my absolute favorite cake recipes to make. It took me a while to perfect the texture and flavor to my liking, but even the test recipes were no less fantastic! So easy to make, you’ll be searching for excuses to make this cake.

The classic bundt cake shape with the hole in the middle also brings so much nostalgia for me. It reminds me of the chocolate bundt cakes I used to eat as a kid, in both appearance and taste. BUT this recipe is even better because it’s made from scratch and not from a box mix.

My chocolate cake recipes are always a hit, from the devil’s food cake, to my classic chocolate cake, one bowl fudgy chocolate cake, chocolate swiss roll cake, flourless chocolate torte etc. And I know you guys are going to love this homemade glazed sour cream chocolate bundt cake made from scratch as well! 🙂

Why I love this homemade chocolate bundt cake recipe

• This recipe produces a delicious, moist, and deeply chocolatey chocolate bundt cake.
• Super easy recipe to follow.
• You can make this in ONE BOWL! Easy peasy, not too messy.
• I provide substitutions to some of the ingredients so that the recipe is still adaptable even if you don’t have all of the same ingredients.
• A simple chocolate ganache glaze is all you need to complete this bundt cake.
• You can make it ahead of time, and freeze any leftovers.

Is this a one bowl recipe?

YES, and that’s another reason why this is the the best chocolate bundt cake recipe! But you do have to follow the recipe steps properly for this to be a one bowl recipe.

Use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. That way you can place the bowl on your scale and measure the ingredients as you go. You can even sift and weigh the dry ingredients into the batter using a sifter directly over the mixing bowl.

Follow with some of the wet ingredients first, then the dry ingredients. The key is to end with the hot water or hot coffee. This is important.

If you’re using volume measurements, you can still make this in one bowl, but you will obviously have to measure ingredients separately and use more bowls and measuring cups.

Wet ingredients

White Sugar – You can also use brown sugar. Sugar is considered a wet ingredient here because it does have some solubility in the wet ingredients, since sugar is hygroscopic. You may be tempted to reduce the sugar amount, but the sugar keeps this cake moist.

Eggs – I use 2 large eggs in this recipe.

Sour cream – This adds the acidity required for the baking soda to react and rise in the cake. This ingredient is important because without it, the cake will be too dense. Greek yogurt is a good substitution. Don’t use low fat or no fat versions, as the fat adds richness to the cake.

Milk – Milk is added for flavor. You can also add buttermilk if you have some at home, but milk is more likely to be in your fridge (I assume).

Hot water or hot coffee – The batter is a very wet batter that results in a moist cake. The hot water helps hydrate the cocoa powder to “bloom” the cocoa so that you get a deeper chocolate flavor. Coffee also helps bring out more chocolate flavor, but you can increase the coffee flavor to make a mocha bundt cake instead as well!

Oil – This recipe uses oil instead of butter. You can use melted butter instead, but butter does give the cake some fudgy texture. Using oil gives the chocolate bundt cake a more even and light crumb.

Vanilla – Also adds flavor, and balance to the sweetness.

Salt – I use finely ground sea salt. Salt is absolutely necessary in any baking recipe. You can add just a small amount and it will mellow out the sweetness. It’ll transform your baked goods from being bleh to wowsa!

Dry ingredients

All purpose flour – I use regular all purpose flour for this recipe.

Natural cocoa powder – This recipe uses natural cocoa powder and NOT dutch cocoa powder. The reason is that natural cocoa powder is a little acidic. Since we are using baking soda, we need acid in the chocolate cake batter so that it rises as it bakes. You can read more about this in my detailed baking basics article on dutch process vs natural cocoa powder.

Baking soda – The chemical leavener that causes the chocolate bundt cake batter to rise as it bakes (along with the acid component). Baking soda does NOT have an acid added to it (unlike baking powder), so the recipe requires other acidic ingredients to properly activate it. You can also read more about chemical leaveners in my baking basics article on baking soda vs baking powder.

Chocolate glaze for the bundt cake

You can honestly use any type of frosting for this bundt cake. Out of all the frostings and glazes that I’ve tried, I’ve got two favorites. One is this chocolate ganache glaze.

Dark chocolate – I like to use chocolate that has between 60 – 70% cocoa. That’s because I want the glaze to not be too sweet so that it complements the sweet chocolate bundt cake. But you can use any type of chocolate you like instead. Even white chocolate if you prefer. You can use bar chocolate or chocolate chips.

Heavy cream – Absolutely necessary to make a rich ganache! But you can also use coconut cream.

Butter – Butter adds a little more flavor to your glaze, and a little shine too. But you can leave it out if you want to as well.

Salt – Chocolate and salt are a match made in flavor heaven. Salt makes the flavors of the chocolate ganache glaze pop even more, so don’t forget to add it!

How to make the glazed chocolate bundt cake

Making this glazed chocolate bundt cake could honestly not be any easier.

Get the dry ingredients ready

Next, sift the flour, cocoa, and baking soda together to make sure there are no lumps. This is especially important for cocoa powder because natural cocoa powder has a tendency to clump up in storage. Add the salt, and whisk together to mix it all up. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold to combine.

For the one bowl method – Place a sifter over the large mixing bowl (with the egg mix). Place this on the scale and tare the value. Add the flour to the sifter. Tare the value and add the cocoa powder next. Add the baking soda and sift all three ingredients into the mixing bowl. Follow with salt, and fold to combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.

The batter will be a little stiff at this stage, but that’s OK!

Final step – adding hot water

Add the hot water to the batter and stir until it’s mixed in and smooth. You will see the cake batter changing color into a darker brown at this point. THIS IS GOOD! The hot water is blooming the cocoa powder, making the bundt cake more chocolatey.

Can I make the bundt cake in advance?

Yes, you can. You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. Bake the cake and let it cool completely before wrapping it in plastic wrap. Place the cake in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can the chocolate bundt cake be frozen?

Can I make this cake in a smaller bundt cake pan?

Yes! But you will need to add less batter to the cake pan. If your cake pan is about 17 – 20 % smaller (10 cup bundt pan), then only add 80 – 83 % of the cake batter into that pan.

Is it possible to make this dairy free or vegan?

I haven’t made this cake without eggs, but you can certainly make it dairy free. You can use plant based milk and yogurt for the cake batter. But since vegan yogurt is not as sour, I would add 2 tsp of white vinegar to the batter as well.

Can I use dutch cocoa powder instead of natural cocoa powder?

You can. But you will need to add some extra acid to the recipe. About 2 tsp of white vinegar or 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. The cake might not rise to the same height, and the chocolate bundt cake might be a little more dense. But still delicious!

What if my glaze curdles?

Don’t worry, just use a stick blender and blend the ganache, while it’s still warm. The ganache glaze will emulsify right before your eyes!

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