How to Make a Striking Brunch Dessert | Recipe for Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake with Red Wine

What is a Bundt Cake?

The main difference between Bundt cake and regular cake isn’t in the ingredients but has everything to do with the pan. You would not know a bundt cake unless you see its very specific shape.

You see, a cake that is baked in a bundt pan is shaped like a doughnut with a fairly large hole in the middle. However, the edges are not smooth but are fluted or have raised grooves like repeating domes. These domed edges tend to have a deeper color and denser texture than the interior of the bundt cake.

These edges also prevent icing the cake as you would a typical cake with smooth edges and a flat top.

If you are not sure how to decorate a bundt cake, you can always follow decorating tips from the character Maria Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding and place a small potted flower in the center. Opa!

What is a Bundt Pan?

Recipe Tips defines a bundt pan as “A heavy-walled baking pan formed with a decorative indented curvature and a hollow tube in the center. The heavier walled construction allows cake batters to rise and bake more uniformly, while the improved heat conduction and hollow center tube enable the cake to bake evenly, creating a golden crust on the outside of the cake.”

They state, “With the decorative shape of the pan a pleasing appearance is produced from the baked cake. After the ingredients are baked, [and cooled] the pan is turned over so the firm cake falls out onto a plate or counter to be decorated or prepared for serving.“ 

How do you make a good bundt cake?

I try to keep it a little more simple with some good advice I have used over the years to make consistently delicious bundt cakes. 

Interestingly, I found some of these basics I use in an article at Food52 where they provide some tips on how to make a good bundt cake.

They offer five really solid tips to produce consistently good bundt cake recipes. I have used these tips over the years, but I never found them all in one place.

The five preparation tips include:

1. Use a well-made bundt pan.  The investment is worth it!
2. Cream your butter and sugar before incorporating them into the batter for a tight crumb texture.
3. Don’t flour your pan, just grease it.  I spray a generous amount of non-stick spray in mine.
4. Tap the pan heavily on the counter, but don’t slam it down. You need to remove air pockets for even baking so tap it a good 6 – 8 times.
5. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes before unmolding.  Too soon and it can fall apart and too long in the pan can let it stick.  After you remove the cake from the pan allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

They also have some tips for glazing your bundt cake. Good stuff!

Is this Recipe for Chocolate Bundt Cake Moist?

The chocolate bundt cake recipe that we are sharing with you today is incredibly moist. In fact, we added an extra egg yolk to make it even moister! it is so moist that you really don’t need to add anything extra to the cake other than the wine glaze.

However, if you want to dress your cake up a bit, you can add some chocolate shavings or curls on top. 

What kind of Red Wine Should You Use in Cake?

When it comes to red wine, you can use any type of red wine that you would like.  A blended red table wine would work, but make sure it is a wine you like and would drink.  Don’t put swill or wine that has been open too long in your food!

However, we do recommend using bolder, full-bodied, and not sweet red wine such as merlot, zinfandel, or cabernet sauvignon.  These will give your cake a delicious flavor as well as a beautiful deep color to the icing.

Also, wine’s high acidity, dark fruit, and tannins will hold their own against a sugary base. And they will complement the cake’s buttery fat and dark chocolate flavors.

What are the best chocolate bundt cake recipes?

There are recipes all over that say they are the “best” recipe for chocolate bundt cake out there. They make them with sour cream, fudge, coconut oil, specialty kinds of butter, specialty chocolates, and high-end pans with unique designs.

There are a lot of frills and fuss in the many recipes you may find, but I also think there is lots of room for creativity and personal tastes when baking your bundt.  I don’t think there is one perfect recipe although this one below is particularly good! Try new ones and develop your bundt cake recipe library.

What are the Ingredients in this Recipe for Chocolate Bundt Cake with Red Wine?

For the Cake batter you use the following ingredients:

• Butter flavored Pam or Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 cups All-Purpose flour
• ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract, Mexican preferred
• 1 cup of red wine. I recommend using a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.  I used ½ cup of each!
• 1 ¼ cup bittersweet chocolate chips

And for that gorgeous glaze, only two ingredients are needed.

• 2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 Tbsp red wine – use the same wine as the cake batter.  I chose Merlot.

How do you Make this Recipe for Chocolate Bundt Cake with Red Wine?

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray your bundt pan with butter-flavored nonstick spray.
• Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to incorporate. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together the granulated sugar and butter with a mixer on medium-high until light yellow, fluffy, and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time allowing each to be fully incorporated and finish with the egg yolk. Add the vanilla and beat one more minute. With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix until combined. Add half the wine and continue mixing to combine before repeating with one-third of the dry and the rest of the wine. Finish with the dry mix. Fold in the chocolate chips stirring to evenly combine.
• Pour the batter into the sprayed bundt pan and smooth it to make it even. Tap the pan heavily on the counter 6 to 8 times to remove any air pockets. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Invert the pan onto a wire rack and remove the pan from the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before transferring it to a serving platter to glaze, at least 4-5 hours.

For the glaze:

• Whisk confectioner’s sugar and 1 tablespoon of red wine together in a small bowl until smooth. Let stand 10 minutes. Drizzle evenly and slowly over the cooled cake.  Allow glaze to set for at least 30 minutes before you slice and serve.

What should I serve this dessert with?

Start your spring brunch with a light, creamy, and Elegant Salmon appetizer.

For a delicious and healthy salad to serve as part of your Easter or Mother’s Day brunch menu, look no further than this recipe for Salad Dressing with Spring Vegetables. It is a deliciously tangy Dijon mustard and red wine vinaigrette.

Serve this Delicious Crustless Quiche with the salad. You can add some roasted potatoes to make the meal a bit heartier.

Then finish with this fantastic berry-infused chocolate bundt cake!

Share this Recipe for Chocolate Bundt Cake with your Friends

Spring is in the air, and that means it’s time for some fun get-togethers with friends. Why not try out this amazing recipe for Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake with Red Wine? It’s sure to impress your guests with its rich flavor and beautiful color. Plus, it is easy to make and can be prepared in advance. So why not give it a try? Your taste buds will thank you!

Cheers Y’all!

P.S. Share a link to this post on your favorite social media platform and add it to your Pinterest board!

Dark Chocolate Red Wine Bundt Cake

LoneStarGatherings.com

This Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake with Red Wine is the perfect dessert for your next get-together. It's easy to make and has a rich, chocolatey flavor that will impress your guests!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Additional Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 Servings

Calories 362 kcal

Equipment

• Bundt Pan

Ingredients

  

For the Cake

• Butter flavored Pam or Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 cups All-Purpose flour
• ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 2 sticks 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk at room temperature
• 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract Mexican preferred
• 1 cup red wine Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1 ¼ cup bittersweet chocolate chips

For the Glaze

• 2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 Tablespoon red wine

Instructions

 

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray bundt pan with butter flavored nonstick spray.
• Combine flour, cocoa powder,  baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to incorporate. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together the granulated sugar and butter with a mixer on medium-high until light yellow, fluffy, and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time allowing each to be fully incorporated and finish with the egg yolk. Add the vanilla and beat one more minute. With mixer on low, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix until combined. Add half the wine and continue mixing to combine before repeating with one-third of the dry and the rest of the wine. Finish with the dry mix. Fold in the chocolate chips gently stirring to combine.
• Pour the batter into the sprayed bundt pan and smooth to make even. Tap the pan heavily on the counter 6 to 8 times to remove any air pockets. Bake about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Invert pan onto a wire rack and remove pan from cake. Allow cake to cool completely (4-5 hours) before transferring to a serving platter.

For the glaze:

• Whisk confectioner’s sugar and 1 (scant) Tbsp red wine together in a small bowl until smooth. If your kitchen is warm, refrigerate for 5 minutes. Slowly drizzle over the cooled cake. 
• Allow glaze to set for a minimum of 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Adapted from Food Network

Keyword chocolate

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