Moist and perfectly delicious Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake with cream cheese frosting is an easy Christmas dessert recipe that is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake on a white plate with crushed candy canes on top.
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Whenever I bring this bundt cake to parties or a get-together with friends it’s always a huge hit!  I do have to admit that this cake is not totally from scratch (which I usually don’t do) but in this case, I make an exception because it’s delicious!  This cake is so moist and, well, amazing :-).  I have taken it to many different types of parties and people always rave about it!

How to make chocolate bundt cake:

Start by combine all of the cake ingredients with an electric mixer.  Then use a spatula to fold in the mini chocolate chips.

A clear mixing bowl with the ingredients for chocolate bundt cake, next to another photo of the ingredients mixed together and mini chocolate chips added on top of the cake batter.

Grease and flour your bundt pan and pour the cake mixture into it.  Bake the cake for about 45 minutes and cool completely before frosting!

A bundt cake pan filled with batter for chocolate bundt cake next to another photo of the cooked bundt cake cooling on a wire rack.

I’ve found the easiest way to frost a chocolate bundt cake with cream cheese frosting is to use a pastry bag and coupler, with no piping tip. The round hole in the coupler is the perfect size for a rounded lined of frosting to drape down the sides of the cake, just like how they frost them cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes.

A chocolate bundt cake being frosted with cream cheese frosting using a pastry bag.

If you’d like to put a fun pom-pom ball in the center of the cake, check out this tutorial!

What is the difference between a bundt cake and a regular cake?

Obviously, if you bake a cake in a bundt pan, the cake will be called a bundt cake.  The real difference between the two lies in the thickness and size of the bundt pan vs. a regular cake pan.

A typical bundt pan recipe uses a 10×3 inch bundt pan that has a volume of about 12 cups.  This is close to double the volume of a typical cake recipe.  For many cake recipes if you want to use a typical cake recipe but make it in a bundt pan, you may need to double the recipe (and it may make a little extra) and increase the cook time significantly.

A chocolate bundt cake with cream cheese frosting on a white plate, with a slice removed.

 

How to get the cake out of the bundt pan:
The trick to getting bundt cake out of the pan without it falling apart is to be sure you greased your pan really well before pouring in the cake batter.  When I grease my bundt pan, I like to use a pastry brush and make sure to spread melted butter over the entire inside of the pan.  Then I sprinkle about 3-4 tablespoons of flour evenly over the pan.  This should allow your cake to come out easily after it has baked and cooled.
A slice of chocolate bundt cake with cream cheese frosting and crushed candy canes laying on a white plate.
Consider trying these bundt cake recipes:

 

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Recipe

Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake on a white plate with crushed candy canes on top.
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 45 minutes
Cool 20 minutes
Total 20 minutes
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 box chocolate cake mix ** See note for homemade. (devils food cake or German chocolate cake mixes work well).
  • 3.9 ounce box instant chocolate pudding
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup oil (vegetable or canola oil)
  • 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract optional
  • 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

For the frosting:

Instructions
 

  • Mix cake ingredients together with an electric mixer. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into a well-greased bunt cake pan.
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50mins or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Allow to cool in the pan for 15-20mins. Remove from pan.
  • At this point you can frost it and serve it, or you can wrap it in plastic wrap and let it sit overnight in the fridge before frosting.

For the frosting:

  • In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Pipe onto cake. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.

Notes

*If you'd like to make the chocolate bundt cake from scratch, here's my favorite recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 621kcalCarbohydrates: 73gProtein: 6gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 464mgPotassium: 202mgFiber: 1gSugar: 55gVitamin A: 455IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 134mgIron: 2.7mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

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Have you tried this recipe?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

 

*I originally shared this recipe December 2013. Updated November 2018.

 

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About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. This recipe was amazing! The cake was moist, the frosting complimented the chocolate and peppermint nicely. I will make this cake again. Thank you.

  2. 5 stars
    This recipe is moist and delicious. I will double the peppermint in the cake next time as it was really not any peppermint flavor. The total time listed here says 20 minutes, but it should say 1 hour 30 minutes.

  3. 4 stars
    Cake is good but not outstanding. In my opinion it could use more peppermint flavor. Piping with ziplock bag is difficult and could use more frosting if spreading is needed.

  4. 4 stars
    Yummy! We really enjoyed this tonight for our dessert. My only question is my chocolate chips melted into the cake so we didn’t get any nice texture bites with the chips. How do you get your chips to not melt? I’m thinking of freezing them first.

    Thanks again. Merry Christmas!

  5. 5 stars
    I made this cake and it was delicious! I didnt have a cake mix, so I made it from scratch and substituted half the water with coffee. The family loved it, so I will definitely make this part of our Christmas tradition.

    1. Super frustrated, would like to use the homemade version but: like someone asked,
      What to eliminate from the peppermint version if using the recipe from scratch???

  6. If making your chocolate bundt cake instead of using the box mix, I understand I don’t use the pudding or sour cream, but do I make the chocolate bundt cake as shown and just add peppermint extract? Or do I change anything else, like using 1 1/2 cup choc chips instead of 1 cup, 2 or 4 eggs, eliminate vanilla, etc.? Thanks!

    1. 5 stars
      This recipe is moist and delicious. I will double the peppermint in the cake next time as it was really not any peppermint flavor. The total time listed here says 20 minutes, but it should say 1 hour 30 minutes.

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