Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake

Ingredients

Ok, so this chocolate peppermint bundt cake recipe does have quite a few ingredients, but everything has a purpose. Plus, it comes together so easily -you you don’t even need a mixer! Nothing but a whisk is required.

• All-purpose flour.
• Granulated and brown sugar. The perfect balance to bring sweetness and moisture.
• Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Dutch-processed cocoa has a deeper cocoa flavor. It’s also less acidic. You can read more about the difference in cocoa in King Arthur’s fantastic breakdown.
• Egg, plus egg yolk. Extra egg yolks helps to bring richness to the recipe.
• Baking soda and baking powder. Because we have sour cream still as our acid, the baking soda will still activate, even without the acidity in natural cocoa powder.
• Espresso powder. This is optional, but it does bring out the chocolate flavor. You will not taste the coffee, it’s a magic chocolate enhancer.
• Sour cream. Lots of sour cream is the secret to a super moist bundt cake. It gives it that rich and velvety texture.
• Hot coffee (or water). Yes, you can use hot water, but as you see above, coffee is magic for chocolate! Adding the hot coffee to the batter “blooms” the chocolate, or helps the flavor wake up. It also creates a nice dense fudgy texture.
• Peppermint extract and peppermint bark chocolates. The amount of peppermint can be upped or lowered based on preferences. And some peppermint bark chopped into the batter gives a fun pop of texture throughout.

Tips for Making a Moist Bundt Cake

When I think of bundt cakes, I think of rich, moist and a bit heavier than a typical layer cake. If it’s light and stackable, it’s not a bundt cake! This chocolate peppermint cake is no different!

Carefully whisk the ingredients in order. The sequence matters here! First, whisk together your dry ingredients. Second, whisk together your wet ingredients (except the hot coffee!) In our case, sugar is considered a wet ingredient. It’s confusing, but because the sugar melts when heated, we put it in the wet category.

Last, add the hot coffee. This jump starts the cocoa powder and provides the fudgy texture chocolately cake so richly deserves.

Adjust the peppermint to your preferences. There is a recommended span of peppermint extract in the recipe. Peppermint is something that people love a hint of or a larger wallop. I prefer a subtle hint of the lesser amount, but up it if you prefer. Just don’t go too crazy! Peppermint extract is very potent. And I do think it’s worthwhile to invest in a good quality pure extract to avoid artificial flavoring.

Spray and flour the pan well. Bundt pans are filled with nooks and crannies that love to catch cakes. Really grease and flour every inch of the pan. I actually prefer Baker’s Joy pan release spray for bundt pans because it’s a solid insurance!

Bake time is crucial. Most of the time, recipes state bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Here, when testing, the perfect texture is when the toothpick test has a few moist crumbs but no wet batter left over. This prevents overbaking and a dry texture.

Don’t skimp on the glaze. The glaze is a classic chocolate ganache. The addition of corn syrup is meant to keep the chocolate super shiny and soft once set. The ganache will be thick but still able to pour over the cake once whisked together.