Nothing Bundt Cakes Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

Nothing Bundt Cakes built its reputation on dense, moist Bundt cakes with a signature piped frosting, and the Chocolate Chocolate Chip version is the one the chain is known for. The cake combines a chocolate cake mix with Dutch-process cocoa, instant espresso powder, and semisweet chocolate chips, producing a depth of chocolate flavor that goes well beyond what the box alone delivers. A piped vanilla cream cheese frosting finishes it in the same style as the bakery, with vertical stripes running up the sides of the cake. No advanced baking skills are needed to pull this off.

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Nothing Bundt Cakes opened its first location in 1997 and built its following around one format: Bundt cakes in a signature shape, served with a thick, piped cream cheese frosting. The Chocolate Chocolate Chip version layers Dutch-process cocoa and semisweet chips into a chocolate cake mix base, resulting in a cake that is noticeably richer and more tender than a standard box cake.

The frosting application is part of what makes Nothing Bundt Cakes recognizable. Rather than spreading frosting over the surface, they pipe it in vertical stripes that run from the base up to the top, leaving the brown cake visible in between. That style is easy to replicate at home with a piping bag and a large round tip.

Chocolate lovers rejoice. Nothing Bundt Cakes Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake is everything you could want in a dessert. The rich chocolate cake is tender, moist, and loaded with chocolate chips. Then there’s the decadent vanilla cream cheese frosting that takes this cake to the next level. It’s an incredible combination that goes amazingly well with coffee or tea as a late-afternoon snack or makes the perfect finish to a great meal. While it looks and tastes impressive, using a cake mix means you don’t have to be an expert baker to pull it off.

Ingredients and their roles in the recipe

For the cake, you’ll need:

• Standard chocolate cake mix (Pillsbury brand is perfect) – provides an easy base for the chocolate cake. The Pillsbury brand cake mix offers a good mix of flavor and texture.
• Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder – Dutch-processed cocoa lacks the bitterness of standard cocoa powder, but still delivers a chocolaty flavor.
• Instant espresso powder – deepens the chocolate flavor without adding a noticeable coffee taste.
• Eggs, large – act as a binder and give the cake a richer flavor.
• Full-fat sour cream – helps keep the cake moist and tender while adding a little tang.
• Unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly – makes the cake richer.
• Water – hydrates the dry ingredients.
• Liquid red food coloring – gives the cake an appealing color.
• Pure vanilla extract – smooths out any harshness from the chocolate and adds complexity.
• Semisweet chocolate chips – boost the chocolate taste.

For the cream cheese frosting, you’ll need:

• Full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature – becomes the base of the frosting, giving it richness and a little tartness that contrast beautifully with the chocolate.
• Unsalted butter, melted and cooled – thins out the cream cheese and adds richness.
• Powdered sugar, sifted – dissolves better than regular sugar, sweetens the frosting, and absorbs any extra liquid for a thicker texture.
• Pure vanilla extract – adds the traditional vanilla frosting flavor.
• Salt – enhances the taste of all the other ingredients.

How to make it

To prepare the cake:

1. Set the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Rub the Bundt pan with the melted extra unsalted butter, being careful to grease every ridge.
3. Dust the inside of the pan with extra Dutch-processed cocoa powder and shake off the excess.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together on LOW the chocolate cake mix, Dutch-processed cocoa, and instant espresso powder.
5. Add the eggs, sour cream, melted butter, water, red food coloring, and pure vanilla extract.
6. Increase the blender speed to MEDIUM and mix for a minute. Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl, then mix for another minute on MEDIUM.
7. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips.
8. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and firmly tap it on the counter to break up any air pockets.

To bake the cake:

1. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 38 minutes.
2. Insert a long, thin skewer into the thickest part of the cake. You should look for only a few moist crumbs sticking to the skewer, but not damp batter. If the cake’s not fully baked, put it back in the oven for three more minutes and test again. Be careful not to overbake.
3. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on the pan to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then flip the cake over the rack. Let the cake cool completely.
4. Wrap the cooled cake in plastic and chill for at least four hours, but preferably overnight.

To make the vanilla cream cheese frosting:

1. In a clean mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese and unsalted butter with a paddle attachment on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until smooth and lightened in color, about two minutes.
2. Reduce the speed to LOW and add a cup of powdered sugar at a time. Make sure the powdered sugar is fully incorporated into the cream cheese mixture before adding more.
3. When all the powdered sugar is combined with the cream cheese and unsalted butter, increase the speed to MEDIUM-HIGH and beat until the mixture is bright white and fluffy, about two minutes.
4. Add the pure vanilla extract and the salt. Mix on MEDIUM speed until just combined.

To frost the Nothing Bundt Cakes Chocolate Chocolate Chip cake –

1. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a large round tip.
2. Starting an inch from the bottom of the cake, hold the tip slightly away from the cake, and draw a line of icing up to the top of the cake. Draw another line of frosting next to the first and continue like that all around the cake.
3. If you have extra frosting, pipe it into the center hole of the Bundt cake.

What to serve with this bundt cake

Are you looking for more ways to use your Bundt pan?  Try one of the following fabulous Bundt cake recipes.

Hershey Bar Cake – Melting eight Hershey bars into the batter for this Bundt cake may seem a little excessive, but one bite is all it takes to know it was worth it. The combination of candy bars, pecans, and buttermilk gives the cake a unique flavor and a dense, satisfying texture.

Southern Sock It To Me Cake – Who knew a box of cake mix could turn into such a tasty and special cake? This Bundt cake is hiding a secret: a hidden ribbon of pecan-cinnamon struessel, turning this easy-to-make dessert into something that is guest-worthy.

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake – For anyone who likes to keep it to the classics, you can’t go wrong with this Coffee Cake. The from-scratch cake is light and airy, but a decadent tunnel of lemon-flavored cream cheese hides inside. All you need is a simple sugar glaze to top this cake, and you have something you’ll be proud to serve.

Storage instructions

Refrigerator Storage: Place the frosted cake in a cake saver or loosely cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Individual slices can be stored in an airtight container for the same duration. Remove from the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors fully develop at room temperature.

Reheating Method: This cake is not reheated. Let cold slices rest at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Microwaving will melt the cream cheese frosting.

Freezer Storage: Slice the cake into individual portions. Wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap, then place the wrapped slices in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving.

Favorite bundt cake recipes

• Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake
• Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake
• New Orleans Rum Cake
• Scandinavian Almond Bundt Cake
• Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake

Check out more of my easy cake recipes to make for any occasion.

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Nothing Bundt Cakes Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake Recipe

A rich, moist chocolate Bundt cake loaded with semisweet chocolate chips, topped with piped vanilla cream cheese frosting.

Author: Stephanie Manley

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Servings : 16

Prep Time20 minutes minutes

Cook Time40 minutes minutes

Chilling4 hours hours

Total Time5 hours hours

Ingredients

 

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Cake

• 1 box (15.25 ounce) chocolate cake mix (we recommend Pillsbury)
• 2 tablespoons Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream
• ½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
• ¼ cup water
• ½ teaspoon liquid red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese at room temperature
• ½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10–12 cup Bundt pan extremely well — butter every ridge, then dust with cocoa powder (not flour, which leaves white streaks on a dark cake).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the chocolate cake mix and Dutch-process cocoa until combined. Add eggs, sour cream, melted butter, water, espresso, red food coloring, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping the bowl once. The batter will be thick and deeply brown.
3. Fold in chocolate chips with a spatula until evenly distributed. Pour batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Tap the pan firmly on the counter three times.
4. Bake 40–45 minutes, until a thin skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with a few moist crumbs — not wet batter. Start checking at 38 minutes. Do not overbake; this cake goes from perfect to dry quickly once the sour cream’s moisture is cooked off.
5. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert carefully onto the rack. Cool completely to room temperature. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and chill the cake for at least 4 hours; it is better to do this overnight. The cold crumb accepts piped frosting without the stripes sliding, and the texture firms to the characteristic dense-yet-moist eating quality.
6. Make the frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter on medium-high until completely smooth and pale, 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time on low, then increase to medium-high and beat 2 minutes until stiff, bright white, and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt; beat briefly.
7. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (Wilton 1A). Hold the tip slightly away from the cold cake surface. Starting 1 inch from the base, pipe thick, firm vertical stripes straight up the side all the way around. Pipe remaining frosting into the center hole.

Notes

• The 10-minute cooling window in the pan is important. Less than that and the cake may not have set enough to release cleanly. More than that and the butter from the pan prep can cause sticking as it cools.
• If the frosting is too stiff to pipe smoothly, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes or beat in a teaspoon of milk on low speed.
• If you do not have a piping bag, a large zip-lock bag with one corner snipped works. Use a 1/2 inch cut for stripes similar to the bakery style.

Nutrition

Calories: 434kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 366mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 526IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 2mg

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American