Chocolate Bundt Cake
How to make chocolate bundt cake:
Start by combine all of the cake ingredients with an electric mixer. Then use a spatula to fold in the mini chocolate chips.
Grease and flour your bundt pan and pour the cake mixture into it. Bake the cake for about 45 minutes and cool completely before frosting!
I’ve found the easiest way to frost a chocolate bundt cake with cream cheese frosting is to use a pastry bag and coupler, with no piping tip. The round hole in the coupler is the perfect size for a rounded lined of frosting to drape down the sides of the cake, just like how they frost them cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes.
If you’d like to put a fun pom-pom ball in the center of the cake, check out this tutorial!
What is the difference between a bundt cake and a regular cake?
Obviously, if you bake a cake in a bundt pan, the cake will be called a bundt cake. The real difference between the two lies in the thickness and size of the bundt pan vs. a regular cake pan.
A typical bundt pan recipe uses a 10×3 inch bundt pan that has a volume of about 12 cups. This is close to double the volume of a typical cake recipe. For many cake recipes if you want to use a typical cake recipe but make it in a bundt pan, you may need to double the recipe (and it may make a little extra) and increase the cook time significantly.
How to get the cake out of the bundt pan:
Consider trying these bundt cake recipes:
- Caramel Apple Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Macaroon Bundt Cake
- Poppyseed Cake
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake
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Recipe
Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix ** See note for homemade. (devils food cake or German chocolate cake mixes work well).
- 3.9 ounce box instant chocolate pudding
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup oil (vegetable or canola oil)
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract optional
- 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup butter , softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 candy canes crushed
Instructions
- Mix cake ingredients together with an electric mixer. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into a well-greased bunt cake pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50mins or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Allow to cool in the pan for 15-20mins. Remove from pan.
- At this point you can frost it and serve it, or you can wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit overnight in the fridge before frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Pipe onto cake. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
*I originally shared this recipe December 2013. Updated November 2018.
I love this recipe! The only change I made was to substitute the sour cream for whatever I had. Everything else stayed the same. This cake has now become our new traditional Christmas dessert. Thank you!
I’m curious what size Bundt cake pan I should use for this.
I don’t want to double the ingredients. Thank you!
A standard 12 cup.
If I want to make the cake from scratch, what exactly do I replace from this recipe with that of the Bundt cake from scratch recipe? For example, do I use both sour cream and pudding mix? Vanilla extract and peppermint? Thank you.
Here’s my from scratch bundt cake recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/chocolate-bundt-cake/
Yes I saw that but I don’t know exactly how to apply that to this peppermint recipe. Both call for eggs and oil/water. This one calls for instant pudding and a store bought cake mix plus sour cream. The scratch one calls for buttermilk and all of the similar wet ingredients but doesn’t use pudding or sour cream.
The pudding and sour cream are used to make the cake mix more moist–which isn’t necessary in the homemade recipe, because of the buttermilk :-).
Thanks for the recommendation and link to find the peppermint version of your copycat Nothing Bundt Cake recipe here. I just mixed this and have it in the oven. I followed all your directions with the exception on substituting Nestle’s limited edition of Winter Dark Chocolate and Mint morsels for the regular chocolate chips and peppermint extract- my local store was out of Peppermint Extract! I’m so excited to see how this turns out! It’s the first bundt cake I’ve ever made!
Your website is named, “tastes better from scratch,” yet the first ingredient is a box of pre-prepared cake mix…you see the contradiction here, yes?
I’m fully aware, that’s why I’ve linked to my homemade chocolate cake in the recipe card (for those interested) 😉
Moist, delicious cake. Will definitely make it again!
Just curious about the difference using butter instead of oil might make. I don’t make a lot of cakes, but i’m Excited to try this one.
You could melt the butter and substitute that. The taste and texture will be a little different but it will be yummy.
Made several of these for a large group party. Baked, frosted ahead a few days. Put them in freezer wrapped and ready to go. They were easy to cart, slice and were moist and delicious. Got rave reviews! Thanks for easy great recipe.
I’m going to try this recipe in my new mini-bundt cake pan (it makes 6). What would you suggest as the modified bake time? Thanks.
Hi Liz,
I haven’t tried this but it depends on the size of the mini bundt pans. If they are small like a cupcake then try 15 minutes to start. If they are a little larger, start with 25-30 minutes and toothpick test it from there. Sounds fun!
What adjustments would I need to make for high altitude (Alta, Utah)?
Hi Ann, I would add a spoonful of flour to the batter 🙂 Enjoy!
I made this for a church Christmas party and it was a big hit–everyone wanted the recipe. Thank you!
This looks amazing! Is it possible to make it without the instant pudding?
Hi Alex. You can omit the pudding and it should still taste great.
Hi! What size bundt pan do I need for this recipe?
Hi Olivia, a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan will work!
This looks like an amazing recipe. I have mini bundt pans, will this recipe work for the pans? I’m planning on putting them with my goody box for my friends at Christmas.
Michela, they would be fantastic in mini bundt pans! You just need to shorten the cook time significantly depending on how small they are. I would love to know how they turn out.
They turned out really well, they were one of the mini bundt pans like mini muffins. It’s about 15 min and fill them only half way, they expand.
Where can I buy an icing tube for bundt cakes?
Hi Ll,
I use a regular pastry bag, the same you would use for any cake. Here are some on amazon- http://amzn.to/2Bpi0PE
Should this be stored in the refrigerator or is counter top alright between serving consumption?
Hi Jean. I would store it in the fridge!
I recently made this cake in May and instead of peppermint topping, I used a ganache icing with fresh strawberries garnish.
I had been looking for a good chocolate bundt cake and this one was a winner!
Hey,
This question might be silly but do you make the instant pudding first then add it to the cake? Or you just add the dried pudding mix to it?
Thanks in advanced
Hi Nicole, add the dried pudding mix to the batter 🙂
I would like to serve the chocolate peppermint bundt cake on Christmas afternoon. If I make it on Thursday or Friday should I wrap it up tight (before frosting) and put it in the fridge OR freezer? Which would be best? Can I take it out Saturday morning and frost it?
Hi Michelle, I would bake it AND frost it (without adding the crushed candy canes), and then wrap it well and FREEZE it (frosting and all!) until Christmas. Take it out of the freezer about 2 1/2 – 3 hours or so before eating it. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top once the frosting comes to room temperature. I just made 7 of these for a group Christmas party and froze all of them, frosted, and they turned out wonderfully. Hopefully that will make your life really easy! 🙂
What size package of instant pudding?
a 3.9 oz box 🙂
I just made this cake for my three year old little boy’s birthday. It was as delicious, as beautiful, and as easy as I hoped it would be! I followed your recipe exactly (though I didn’t use all of the three crushed candy canes), and it was a big hit with the whole family. The perfect complement to a December birthday. Thank you! Thank you! I found this recipe via Pinterest
Hi Bridget, I’m so happy you and your family liked it! Thanks for sharing 🙂 And happy birthday to your little boy!
These cakes look so good. I can’t wait to try the chocolate peppermint bundt cake. Wish I had one tonight. Thank you for sharing
This bundt cake looks perfect! Wish I had a slice to devour right now, I am juts loving all that delicious peppermint frosting!
Love your blog. Peppermint belongs to me!
It looks yummy and pretty!
Yumm!! This looks delish :)! I love bundt cakes!!
This looks delish! I love bundt cakes!
YUM YUM and YUM. I LOVE bundt cakes and PEPPERMINT is my FAV!!!
Peppermint makes everything better! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
wow my mouth is watering for that cake and it si only 8:30 am yummy. Thank you for the recipe
Haha thanks Whitney! It’s one of my fav’s!