Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
This moist chocolate bundt cake uses sour cream and glazed with chocolate glaze (ganache). It is a buttery delicious cake with soft tender crumbs. This easy cake doesn’t need a mixer. All you need is a mixing bowl and a whisk.
I just adore a simple chocolate cake like this chocolate sour cream bundt cake drizzled with rich chocolate glaze. Look how gorgeous this cake presents! It’s sinfully chocolaty.
I think I have tried more than 3 dozens of different chocolate cake recipes since 1995; the year I got married and began my journey of western cooking & baking.
Among those recipes, there are quite a few I like. But when it comes to its simplicity to make (excluding the cake mix versions) with the irresistible soft & moist crumbs, and the rich chocolate flavor, I must say this chocolate sour cream bundt cake with chocolate ganache is the recipe I vote.
You don’t need to use the fancy European cocoa. Hershey’s cocoa is just fine. No need to use the heavy mixer, either. All you need is a mixing bowl and a whisk. With a few strokes of mixing all the ingredients, you will make one of the best chocolate cakes you have eaten. For me and my family, this is “THE” chocolate cake.
How to Make Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Here are the ingredients for the cake. Very usual stuff in your pantry, right?
Whisk together flour, sugar, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a small pot, combine butter, cocoa, and salt.
Pour water and bring it over to medium heat.
When the butter starts to melt, whisk everything together. Be careful not to boil up!
Pour the half of the cocoa mixture to the flour mixture in a mixing bowl.
Mix together with a whisk (It will be a little stiff). Pour the rest of the cocoa mixture to the bowl.
Mix until everything is combined. Do not over mix.
Add one egg at a time and mix until just combined.
Add sour cream and vanilla. Stir until combined.
The batter is ready. It will be somewhat runny.
Pour in a well greased 12-cup bundt pan. Let this puppy to be baked at preheated 350F (170C) oven for 40-45 minutes.
When a cake tester comes out clean (I often use a spaghetti noodle for that job), let it cool on the rack for 15 minutes.
Take the cake out and cool completely. Look at those curvy lines! Just perfect!
How to make Chocolate Ganache Glaze
Time to make the glaze! Heat heavy cream and a little sugar in a pot until just hot. Remove from the heat.
Add the chocolate.
The heat from the cream will melt the chocolate in no time. Stir together. Add a little bit of corn syrup for a shine.
Check it out! Your glaze is so ready. I let it cool down about 5 minutes.
Pour the glaze over a cake. Please, watch for your own drool.
“Resistance is futile!” Do you remember of this famous line from the Star Trek?
I took it to the BBQ pool party and everyone loved it.
Some says that sharing is like the icing on the cake. I agree. Cake like this, it tastes much better when shared. Hope you get to try this easy cake recipe and share with your loved ones.
More Bundt Cake Recipes
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Glaze
- Luscious Orange Cake
- Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake
- Hot Milk Cake
Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For chocolate cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, I used Hershey’s cocoa
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For chocolate glaze (ganache)
- 4 oz bittersweet or dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp corn syrup, or agave nectar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
Equipment
Instructions
For the chocolate cake
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10 or 12-cup bundt pan and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring, just until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking soda. Add half of the melted butter mixture and whisk until completely blended. The mixture will be thick. Add the remaining butter mixture and whisk until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until completely blended. Whisk in the sour cream and the vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a rack. Let cool completely before glazing.
For the chocolate glaze
- While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate glaze. Combine the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan and put over medium heat. Stir until the cream is hot and the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the chopped chocolate and corn syrup (or agave) to the hot cream and whisk until smooth. Let it cool down for 5 minutes until it thickens slightly.
- Generously drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Cut into pieces and serve.
This chocolate cake is heavenly. It is amazingly moist and just perfect in every aspect. Thank you for sharing!
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed this chocolate sour cream bundt cake! It’s still one of our family favorites, and I often make it whenever we’re craving chocolate. Thanks for your comment!
I am making this cake right now. My house smells amazing. If the cake tastes half as good as the batter then I know it will be good.
I make this all of the time but instead of just hot water i use coffee! Makes it even yummiest 🙂
Hmm it looks like your site ate my first comment (it
was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it
up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your
blog. I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any tips and hints for novice blog writers?
I’d certainly appreciate it.
made this cake 4x in the last two weeks. We love it warm the best, since it takes on a completely new texture after it has cooled. I found that it raises higher if you blend with a hand mixer or a standing mixer, rather than mixing by hand. So yummy.
Thank you for the tip. Also, thank you for the recipe as well. I will definitely try them soon. Sounds like a very good one.
I am literally drooling at this recipe. Do you mind if i share the recipe on my blog?
Sure, as long as you put the link back to my site. Thanks.
This was seriously the best chocolate cake that I have ever baked! Thank you!!!
Really good cake. Not too sweet and moist. 탱Q
Just made this cake and wow…….LOVE IT!!! so does my 2 year old! thanks for the recipe!
Hi Holly,
I found you site about a month ago and love to visit every day.
I tried this chocolate recipe yesterday and it was a huge hit.
My family love this chocolate cake so much!
I did not have a Bundt pan so used 9″X9″ pan and came out pretty good.
It took about 10minutes more to cook completely.
Should this cake to be served in room temperature or cold?
Hi June
I would recommend to keep this cake on the counter and consume within 3 days. Cakes made with butter will get really hard if you chill it in the fridge because the butter in the recipe gets rock hard once chilled. You can thaw it out on the room temperature but it will take about 1 hour or longer to get the soft texture again. (usually cakes made with vegetable oil are more suitable with chilling but I prefer cakes made with butter for the better flavor) I don’t think I ever stored this cake in the fridge because it always disappeared within 2 days in my household.
Holly, can i replace sour cream by plain yogurt?
I would recommend the thick greek style yogurt for the sour cream. If using regular plain yogurt, make sure drain some water off.
Funny, really… I`ve heard it so often: “This is the best chocolate cake recipe ever!“ I’ve always believed it and always been disappointed. Not so this time!
It really is all you can possibly want in a choc cake (well, it’s not exactly low-fat…), moist, rich, truly indulgent.
I’ve made two minor changes: one, I cut back on the sugar a bit, and two, I didn’t glaze it (cause it makes the cake such a mess to transport, and I wanted to take some to work for the guys). I whipped up some heavy cream instead, always such a good companion to chocolate cake…
I suppose I also underbaked it a bit (barely 35 min), since there’s nothing worse than a dried-out cake, and a few minutes more or less can really make all the difference.
So, I’ve finally found “the“ chocolate cake recipe! Hurray!
Three cheers for Holly!
That sounds so wonderful, Sakura. I am so happy to hear that you loved this cake as well. Whipped cream is great to go with this type of cake. Thanks for the comment.
Love how it looks! Can’t wait to try it this weekend!
best work Holly!
This has to be so good with all those good ingredients. I have a double mini bundt pan on clearance after the holidays and have yet to use it….this will get me to pull it out!
Soooo gorgeous. Your attention to details is amazing, Holly! If I make this cake, I’m not sure if it comes out as beautiful as yours. Hehehee. Love the bundt shape too. 🙂
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmy.. Love this cake. Wish I had a slice of it.
This looks friggin delicious!! I hate that I’m at work and can’t try to make it right away!
Mmmm….truly looks like the perfect chocolate cake! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Sour cream and chocolate play so well together! This is a great looking cake. Often with chocolate, simpler really is better – no need to mute its great taste with all sorts of other ingredients. Really good stuff – thanks so much.
I totally agree with you, John. Great recipes are often one of the simplest.
Gosh Holly, the cake and that glaze look absolutely irresistable! Oh dear. I think i need to go get a slice of choc cake for supper, else i’d be thinking about it the whole night :p. must try your recipe, i am still looking for that easy and moist choc cake. This might just be it 🙂
Thanks Esther. You will like this cake, I promise.