Decadent Double Chocolate Cake

A Bundt-Style Double Chocolate Cake With Two Chocolate Sources

What earns the “double chocolate” name on this Bundt-style cake is the unusual ingredient combination: a full 16-ounce bottle of chocolate syrup mixed with six melted chocolate candy bars. The syrup gives the cake its dense, fudgy moisture; the candy bars (typically Hershey’s milk chocolate) bring deep cocoa flavor and a creamy richness that pure cocoa powder can’t match.

The buttermilk is the supporting move that takes this from sweet to genuinely great. Its acidity tenderizes the gluten and reacts with the baking soda for lift, while balancing the considerable sweetness from all that chocolate syrup. The result is a cake that stays moist for days and slices cleanly into thick wedges.

The long, slow 90-minute bake at 350°F (175°C) is what cooks this dense batter all the way through without burning the outside. Don’t rush it.

Pro Tips

• Use a heavy, dark angel food or Bundt pan with at least a 12-cup capacity. This batter is voluminous and overflows smaller pans.
• Grease the pan thoroughly, including the center tube and every nook. Use butter and a dusting of cocoa powder (not flour) to keep the chocolate flavor pure.
• Bring the eggs and buttermilk to room temperature before starting. Cold dairy seizes the warm chocolate mixture into chunks.
• Test for doneness with a long skewer at the 80-minute mark. The toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs.
• Cool completely in the pan on a rack before inverting. Hot Bundt cakes break apart when flipped warm.

Variations

• Use Hershey’s Special Dark bars instead of milk chocolate for an even richer, less sweet cake.
• Drizzle with a chocolate ganache glaze made from melted chocolate chips and warm cream.
• Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries for a restaurant-style dessert.