Cocoa Mocha Bundt Cake
Submitted by gritsalaska
Cocoa mocha bundt cake: a dark, deeply chocolatey bundt with a full cup of cocoa, brewed coffee, and buttermilk. Drizzle with caramel or chocolate sauce. From-scratch, no cake mix.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
50 minREADY
60 minA genuine from-scratch bundt cake that earns its dark color the right way: a full cup of cocoa powder plus a cup of strong coffee in the batter. Coffee is the unsung hero of every great chocolate cake. It does not make the cake taste like coffee; it amplifies and deepens the chocolate flavor in ways that water or milk simply cannot match. Coffee makes cocoa taste more like cocoa.
Buttermilk is the second secret. Its acidity reacts with the baking soda for a tender crumb, and the slight tang balances the rich cocoa so the cake never tastes one-note sweet.
Dusting the bundt pan with cocoa instead of flour is the touch that makes this cake release cleanly without leaving white streaks on the dark surface.
Pro Tips
- Brush every crevice of the bundt pan thoroughly with butter, then dust with cocoa. Bundts have intricate detailing and one missed spot will trap and tear the cake.
- Use unsweetened natural cocoa or Dutch-process. Dutch-process gives a darker, smoother flavor; natural cocoa gives more pronounced lift with the baking soda.
- Do not overbake. The directions specifically warn the center will still feel slightly moist when tested. Pull at that exact moment for fudgy texture.
- Cool in the pan only 10 minutes before flipping. Less and the cake breaks; more and it sticks.
Variations
- Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne for a Mexican-chocolate bundt.
- Drizzle with a quick chocolate ganache instead of caramel sauce.
- Stir 1 cup of chocolate chips into the batter for melty pockets throughout.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Position oven rack in center of oven.
Brush a 12 cup nonstick Bundt pan lightly with 1 tablespoon butter and dust pan generously with 1 tablespoon cocoa, tapping out excess.
Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Melt and cool the 1 stick of butter.
Combine it with the other wet ingredients and mix into the dry ingredients at medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into pan.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back lightly to the touch.
(The center of the cake will still be slightly moist when tested; do not overtake.)
Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack.
Drizzle with caramel sauce or chocolate sauce if desired.
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