Chocolate Bundt Cake: Easy Elegance for Any Occassion

We had a wedding once, almost two years ago. (Two years. Holy cow.) It was a lovely wedding for many reasons, one of which is the cake you see below. It was a fabulous, made from scratch, good-as-all-get-out cake. Or cakes, rather. We made quite a few for our guests. 

 And today, I will show you how to make your very own.

But first, let me tell you why this chocolate cake is so superb. There is a plethora of chocolate cake recipes out there, and the only reason I would add to that number is if I had found one that excelled. This one fits the bill. 

The crumb is tender and so decadently moist, it makes you want to cry. It has just the right amount of sweetness; it's not shockingly sweet, but elegantly balanced. It's almost overkill to do a chocolate glaze. Almost. Three quarters of a cup of natural cocoa gives an unbelievably deep chocolate flavor. 

Also, this take 30 minutes max to throw together, and even less time if you've made them before. I had forgotten how easy they were to make and had reserved an hour to put them together. Psh. As if. 

Lastly, one of the most important factors about cake is that it's baked in a bundt cake pan. Bundt cake pans are to the baking world what pearl stud earrings are to any outfit: they elevate. Any regular boxed cake, coffee cake, or banana bread mix will become transformed into something elegant in a bundt cake pan. It's little things like that that make an "everyday something" special.

Enough of this endless flattery. Onto the cake!

Helpful Hints:

If not greased well, the cake can stick to the bundt pan during removal. I found that when the cake is cooled completely in the bundt cake pan, there's less of a chance the top will stick to the pan. So when you take it out of the oven, put the pan on a cooling rack and let it do its thing until completely cool. 

No bundt pan? No problemo. You can make a sheet cake, cupcakes, or a layer cake; just adjust your cooking time accordingly. The cake is done when a few crumbs cling to a toothpick.

A word about cocoa - you probably already know this, but Hershey's cocoa tastes different than Ghiradelli or other cocoa brands. Experiment with what you like. Hershey's cocoa gives a slightly sweeter edge, and I suspect Ghiradelli would be a bit more complex. 

The batter is very drippy - don't let this bother you. The cake will bake up just fine.

Lastly, if you choose to use confectioner's sugar to top the cake, do it at the last possible moment. Otherwise, the moistness of the cake will absorb the sugar, making it disappear. And this is sad. Don't let that be you.

Variations: You can do a bittersweet chocolate glaze, a white chocolate glaze, or use a thicker frosting like buttercream. 

 Hershey's Chocolate Bundt Cake
 from hersheys.com, slightly adjusted

 2 cups of white sugar

1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease/pam your bundt pan, then sprinkle cocoa powder in it. (This further prevents sticking.)

Mix together all dry ingredients: white sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add two eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract, then mix until well incorporated.  The batter will be very thin. 

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Put pan on cooling rack to cool completely. 

Invert cake onto serving platter. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar immediately before serving, otherwise sugar will be absorbed by the delicious moistness of the cake.