Celebration Chocolate Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze
Every year
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That’s the frequency my youngest asks for this cake for his birthday. I offer more extravagant, multi-layered, flavor combos but every year he thinks about it for a second, scrunches up his mouth, then says, “Nope, let’s do the Chocolate Bundt with Vanilla Glaze.”
So confetti bundt cake it is. And honestly, his birthday’s in the midst of full-swing summer so in its own way, it’s kind of a relief this fast, easy, delicious cake is requested year-after-year.
I have my suspicions as to why it’s his favorite. The very first year I made it, I decided not to measure the vanilla for the drizzle you see in the picture, and a WHOLE LOT more vanilla than I’d intended came pouring out. I went with it. In the spirit of ‘what could go wrong with a bit of extra vanilla,’ I think my mistake hit on something.
Chocolate vs vanilla
If you put these two flavors head-to-head, it’s obvious which one is going to dominate. And this cake, though not overly rich, is most certainly chocolate. But somehow, that little over-vanilla’d mistake let the vanilla flavor stand on its own two feet and hold its own against the chocolate. Some might even say it dominated.
And to a guy who loves a good marble cake as well, this simple Celebration Chocolate Bundt Cake, held its own in the balanced flavor department. So, of course, I have to make the same vanilla over-pouring “mistake” every single time I make this cake now. There are some things once written that can’t be unwritten.
Birthdays prevail
I still think the slightly brown tinge to the glaze kind of ruins the drama of colored sprinkles on white, but birthday boy’s wishes prevail. Every time.
And did I mention, of course, that there’s simply no easier cake decoration than the colored sprinkle? I think back to the days of elaborately decorating birthday cakes, making shaped cakes, tinting coconut, and so on . . . and to think this unassuming chocolate bundt reins supreme every year on July 8th. You’ll get no complaints from me.
Celebration Chocolate Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze
Equipment
- 1 10-12 cup Bundt pan Nordic Ware makes great Bundt pans!
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder + more for pan
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups flour
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk or half and half
- 2 Tbsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º and position a rack in center of oven. Spray cooking into every crevice of pan. Sprinkle cocoa powder all over inside of pan, taking care to hit every crevice. Invert pan over sink and tap it a couple of times to let any excess fall from pan.
- In a small saucepan, combine butter, cocoa powder, salt and water and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring just until melted and combined. Remove from 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 there are no lumps. The mixture will be very thick. Add remaining butter mixture and continue stirring until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking until completely blended. Whisk in the sour cream and the vanilla. Whisk until smooth
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Let the cake cool in pan, set on a rack for 15 minutes and then invert onto rack. Let cool completely before glazing.
For glaze
- Pour powdered sugar into a bowl. Add milk or half and half and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add more milk/powdered sugar, as necessary. The goal is to be able to pour the glaze from the bowl but have it be firm enough not to puddle at bottom of plate.
- Pour glaze from bowl or from a large spoon in a pattern over top and down sides of cake. Immediately douse cake with sprinkles. The more the merrier. Enjoy!
