This rich, dense Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake is a copycat of the famous Williams Sonoma recipe. Perfect for those chocolate cravings!
Chocolate Bundt Cake with Sour Cream
Serve this Williams Sonoma Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake after a dinner of One Dish Ranch Chicken Veggie Bake or Slow Cooker Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup.
Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- Flour – all purpose flour
- Cocoa Powder – you’ll want to use unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking Powder – leavening agent to help the cake rise
- Baking Soda – without it, you’ll have a dense, heavy texture
- Salt – to balance the sweet
- Butter – use unsalted, room temperature butter
- Sugar – granulated sugar
- Eggs – room temperature, large eggs
- Vanilla Extract – EXTRACT, not imitation, please
- Sour Cream – sour cream makes for a light and moist cake texture
- Bittersweet Chocolate – I like to use Ghirardelli baking chips, because I always have those on hand, or a bar of good baking chocolate
- Water – to make the glaze
- Chocolate Liqueur – Godiva chocolate liqueur can be pricey. Make your own with this homemade chocolate liqueur recipe.
Why do you use sour cream in baking?
Adding sour cream to your cake batter creates a light & moist cake. I like to use full fat sour cream, but light will work as well.
Do you cool a bundt cake upside down?
I like to cool my bundt cakes right side up on a wire cooling rack for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, I like to flip them upside down onto the rack. If you’re lucky, they’ll slide right out!
Can you make a bundt cake in a regular cake pan?
Yes, you can bake a bundt cake in a regular cake pan. Most bundt cake recipes (this one included) call for a 10-12 cup capacity bundt pan. So, if you want to make a 9-inch round cake, you’ll have to divide the batter into two 9-inch pans and bake for less time. Or, you can put the entire recipe in a 13×9 pan, which should take about the same amount of time. Either way, bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Why is my bundt cake sticking to the pan?
To avoid your bundt cake sticking in the pan, make sure you properly grease the pan before you start. I have good luck with non-stick spray (often Trader Joe’s coconut oil spray or just Target brand baking spray). Once greased, sprinkle with flour or, in this case, cocoa powder, to match the chocolate cake. If it still sticks, gently run a knife along the edges to release any spots that are sticking.
How to make a Chocolate Glaze for bundt cake
This recipe calls for a really simple, 3-ingredient, glaze for the cake. Water, sugar, and chocolate liqueur. Now, chocolate liqueur can be a bit pricey. You can either make your own (recipe linked above) or swap it out with something like brandy. All you do is add all three ingredients to a small saucepan and stir over low heat until dissolved.
Helpful Tools
- Hand Mixer – as much as I love my stand mixer, I find myself reaching for my hand mixer more often than not.
- Stand Mixer – in this recipe, when you’re adding flour, sour cream, and eggs in parts, it’s nice to have your hands free.
- Bundt Pan – there are SO many pretty bundt pans in different shapes. I really need to add more to my collection.
- Spatulas – I love using spatulas for everything. They’re especially helpful in scraping down the sides of the bowl while mixing.
Need more bundt cakes? Try these:
- Butterscotch Bundt Cake
- Hershey Bundt Cake
- Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake
- Orange Banana Bundt Cake
- Lemon Bundt Cake
- Sock It To Me Cake
- Butter Pecan Bundt Cake
HOW TO MAKE A CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE
Williams Sonoma Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
- 4 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups sour cream full fat
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate melted & cooled
For the glaze
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 Tablespoon chocolate liqueur or Brandy
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat your oven to 325°F.
- Spray your bundt pan with non-stick spray and flour or sprinkle with cocoa powder.
- To a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- In another large bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer), beat the butter on medium speed until creamy (30-45 seconds).1 cup unsalted butter
- Gradually add the sugar while beating on low until blended.1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
- Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is light & fluffy (3-5 minutes).
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and making sure they’re fully incorporated before adding the next. The mixture will be thick and creamy after 1-2 minutes.4 large eggs
- Beat in the vanilla extract.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Reduce speed to low and fold in the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream. Flour/sour cream/flour/sour cream/flour. Mix until just blended with no lumps of flour remaining.1 1/2 cups sour cream
- Gently fold in the melted chocolate.6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
- Check for doneness after 50 minutes. Some are done at this point. Mine takes closer to 1 hour. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
To make the glaze
- While the cake is cooling, to a small saucepan over low heat, add the sugar and water and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.1 cup granulated white sugar, 1/2 cup water
- Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate liqueur.1 Tablespoon chocolate liqueur
- Once cooled, flip the cake onto a piece of parchment/wax paper and brush the warm cake with the glaze.
- Let cool to room temperature and then dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- Make sure you’re properly scooping and measuring the flour – spoon into the measuring cup and level off. Don’t scoop directly from the bag/container – it packs in too much flour.
- Use regular unsweetened cocoa powder (like Hershey’s).
- Start with room temperature butter, eggs, and sour cream for best results.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!Originally published November 24, 2011
What can I substitute the alcohol for on the glaze as it not something I care to use.
You can do a bit of vanilla or cocoa powder. Or just skip it & make a plain glaze.
Delicious. I did use cake flour instead, but I get good reviews wherever I take it.
I’ve never tried with cake flour, thanks for that tip!