Fuzz turned 20 this week, but she was away at school so I had to make a birthday cake and eat it for her -- just not all at once. It's sitting on the counter under a cake dome calling my name every time I walk by, which is not healthy. But it is fun to look at.
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It's a chocolate cake mix Bundt cake which I'm calling Chocolate Cake Mix Bundt Cake until I come up with a better name. It deserves a better name because it's a pretty good cake! Or at least for those of us who like doctored cake mix chocolate cakes. If you are looking for a scratch Bundt cake, check here and here. But this one gets a leg up from devil's food cake mix.
Nothing Bundt Doctored Cake Mix!
This recipe is from the same family as Darn Good Chocolate Cake and recipes like Mary K's Never Ending Chocolate Cake which combine cake mix pudding mix, sour cream, oil and eggs. Some people think these cakes taste like Nothing Bundt Cake, but I'm not so sure about that since I haven't had Nothing Bundt Cake in years. I may have to conduct a taste at at some point since they have a store nearby. From what I remember, their Red Velvet is the best.
But back to this one, unlike some of the older doctored cake mix recipes which start with an 18.25 oz box, this one works with 15.25 oz size boxes of Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines. I haven't tested with other flavors or brands, but any of them should work.
Ganache Glaze
The cake is good by itself, but in my opinion it really needs some kind of glaze and this Ganache Glaze is a favorite. It's made with 3 oz dark chocolate, ½ tablespoons each corn syrup and butter and about ½ cup of cream. For the last couple of cakes I've used Trader Joe's Dark which comes in the big bar. Dove chocolate also works really well with this ganache.
Smaller Bundt Cake
I made the full recipe for this cake and have to deal with the consequences. It would have been smarter to have halved it just by halving the ingredients and using a 6 cup capacity Bundt. I've done that before with this recipe and it works just fine.
Recipe
Cake Mix Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix (15.25 oz)
- 3.8 oz instant chocolate pudding mix (110 grams)
- 4 large eggs, bring to room temperature
- ¾ cup vegetable oil, I use grapeseed but any should work
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ cup sour cream, slightly generous one (130 grams)
- ⅔ cup miniature chocolate chips
Ganache Glaze
- 3 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- ½ tablespoon butter, room temperature
- ½ tablespoon corn syrup
- ⅓ cup heavy cream, plus a little more if you want it thinner
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with flour-added baking spray or just grease and flour using your favorite greasing method.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix and pudding mix and stir well. Make a hole in the middle of the powder mixture and add the eggs. Whisk them all together, then add the oil, water, and sour cream.
- Stir and then beat with an electric mixer, scraping the side of the bowl, just until blended. Add the chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
- Spread mixture evenly in the pan and run a knife through it to remove air bubbles. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, then test with a cake skewer or toothpick (pick should come out clean) to see if it is done.
- Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes, then carefully loosen around the edges with a knife and turn cake from pan.
- To make the glaze, combine the chopped chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add the chocolate mixture to the cream. Stir until smooth. Alternatively, you can heat the cream in a microwave-safe Pyrex 2 cup measure, then add the chocolate mixture to the hot cream. Stir until smooth, then drizzle over the cake. Store at room temperature.
I love hearing from other bakers and appreciate helpful comments. Rude ones will be deleted immediately.