Chocolate Buttermilk Bundt Cake

I want you to picture the best slice of chocolate bundt cake: it’s not really airy and fluffy but dense and moist, as a bundt cake is. The chocolate flavor is prominent. If you’re lucky you got a slice where the topping gathered quite a bit and that topping is not just a simple glaze but one that gets everywhere, soaked into the top of the cake. 

If this sounds like a dream chocolate bundt, I want you to try this recipe. It makes a BIG bundt, you’ll need a 10 cup pan but it’s going to overshoot it a little so it’ll be a tall one too. The glaze isn’t really just a glaze but it’s more of a sauce that gets everywhere, scooping up the bits left on the plate with a bite from your own fork is the best part. 

Recipe Origins 

I started testing this recipe in fall ‘23; aiming for a chocolate raspberry bundt cake. The flavor was excellent but the cake was a little dry. I also wasn’t a fan of the mushy berries so I left it for a few years. I came back to it early this year as I have this goal of making more recipes with buttermilk: a chocolate buttermilk bundt seemed the perfect addition to this blog. 

Tinkering around with cocoa amounts, using cake flour versus all purpose, and deciding how much water and sugar to add to a few more rounds of testing. I wanted the chocolate flavor deep and rich, the crumb to be moist but a little tight so that’s what you’ll find. 

For the glaze, I thought in more sauce terms: I wanted a lot of it and everywhere. Touching as many parts of the cake as possible. I think we got there =) 

Recipe Ingredients 

Sugar: fine granulated. Reducing the sugar will impact the moisture and soft texture of the cake. 

Eggs: whole, large and at room temperature. 

Salt: fine sea salt. If you are using table salt, halve the amount (it has a saltier taste). 

Vanilla: pure vanilla extract (not artificial). Ok to skip. 

Oil: I use avocado oil but you can use any flavorless oil. If you’d like an olive oil accent to the flavor, use that. 

Cocoa: dutch process cocoa (alkalized). Natural cocoa will not have the same chemistry or richness. 

Flour: cake flour, sifted to remove any lumps. You can use all purpose flour but the cake will be just a little less tender. 

Leavening: this cake relies on both baking powder and baking soda to leaven the cake. 

Buttermilk: whole or low fat. It’s not necessary for it to be at room temperature. Please don’t substitute with milk + lemon/vinegar; these homemade versions tend to have a higher ph level and lack the necessary creaminess (fat) that contributes to the cake’s texture. If you need a substitute, use kefir. 

Filtered water: boiling hot. I put my kettle on the fire before starting to mix the ingredients so it’s piping hot when I add it into the batter. 

How to make this chocolate buttermilk bundt cake (overview + pics & tips) 

Prep the pan: use a baker’s spray or spread softened butter all over the pan and sprinkle an even layer of flour. 

Beat the eggs & sugar to the ribbon stage: 

Slowly pour in the oil then beat to combine: 

Sift in the cocoa: 

Sift in the cake flour and add the leavening. 

Start mixing on low, gradually pour in the buttermilk. 

Once mixed, pour in the hot water: 

Pour into prepared pan: 

Bake until the top springs back, or a cake tester comes out clean. 

Let cool briefly then invert, then invert again (the goal is to have it upright, the way it baked). 

Make the glaze and pour it over the warm cake: if the cake is still warm the glaze will fall all over the sides – covering them. 

FAQ 

How to prevent a chocolate cake from sticking to the bundt pan? 

I use baker’s spray: a combination of flour and grease. Get it into every little bit of the pan. 

If you don’t want to use a spray, use your fingers to spread softened butter all over the pan, then sprinkle flour over it and shake it around so that it coats the pan evenly and fully. 

My cake turned out a little dry – what went wrong? 

This recipe has a pretty balanced ratio of dry/wet (wet includes sugar!) so if the cake is dry I’ll venture either the flour was overmeasured (likely by packing the cup), or the eggs used were on the smaller side. 

Why does this cake have a weird shape on top? If I invert it it will be wobbly! 

It’s a quirk of the cake! For this reason, and because I want the sauce to gather at the top where there’s more surface for it to do so, I’ll ask you to not invert the cake. Instead, keep it upright as it was when it was baked. 

Chocolate Buttermilk Bundt Cake Recipe

Chocolate Buttermilk Bundt Cake

Super moist and rich chocolate bundt cake made from an oil & buttermilk batter. It has a tight crumb and a deep rich chocolate flavor and is doused in a chocolate sauce.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 50 minutes mins

Yields: 1 large bundt cake

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Ingredients

Chocolate Bundt Cake

• 350g or 1 ¾ cups fine granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 200g or 1 cup avocado oil, flavorless olive oil works too, if you like the flavor
• 70g or ⅔ cup dutch cocoa powder sifted
• 325g or 2 ½ cups cake flour, sifted if needed, use all purpose swapping 2.5 tablespoons of it for cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 240g or 1 cup buttermilk whole or low fat
• 180g or ¾ cup boiling hot water

Chocolate Glaze

• 150g powdered sugar about a heaped cup
• 3 tablespoons dutch process cocoa
• Pinch or two of fine sea salt
• Dash of pure vanilla extract
• 60g or ¼ cup heavy cream more as needed

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt cake pan, ensuring all the sides, corners and nooks are covered.
• Use a large bowl and a hand mixer, or a stand mixer (with the paddle attachment) to make the batter: set the sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla in the bowl and begin beating on low, working up to medium speed until the mix is light, airy and fluffy - about 5 minutes. It should fall from the beaters back into the bowl in ribbons.
• With the mixer on, slowly pour in the oil in a steady stream. Once all the oil is in, beat the batter for 30 seconds to fully combine.
• Sift in the dutch cocoa and beat to combine.
• Sift in the cake flour, add the baking soda and baking powder. Turn the mixer on low then slowly pour in the buttermilk and beat to combine. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed (and check the bottom of the bowl too) to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
• Slowly pour in the boiling hot water and beat to just combine, repeat scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again to just combine.
• Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean or the top springs back when pressed, about 45 minutes.
• Once cool enough to handle, invert the bundt cake onto a plate (ideally you invert it twice so that it’s upright - the way it baked - again. This will give the glaze more areas to gather rather than run off the cake.)
• While the cake is still warm, make the glaze by whisking all the ingredients together. If it’s too thick to spread smoothly, add a couple more tablespoons of heavy cream.
• Spread the glaze over the cake in a thick layer at the top; the heat of the cake will make the glaze melt and run down the sides and middle. Serve once slightly cooled or later that day.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container. The cake will keep for about 2-3 days.

Did you make this recipe?

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