A moist Mexican chocolate bundt cake with ganache on top, a hint of spice and cinnamon, made from scratch for an easy and delicious dessert.
This chocolate cake is a favorite when it comes to making something that feels special but isn’t overly complicated.
The rich chocolate cake, paired with a touch of cayenne pepper and cinnamon, gives it just the right amount of spice and warmth.
Pro Tip!
Make sure to grease and flour the pan very well so that the cake doesn’t stick. You can even use cocoa powder instead of flour to coat the pan after adding the shortening.
How to make a Mexican Chocolate Cake:
(The full printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan very well.
In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices and sugars. Whisk well and set aside.
Step 2:
In a medium-sized bowl, add the oil, melted butter, vanilla, buttermilk and eggs. (You’ll add the hot coffee or water later.) Mix well with a whisk.
Step 3:
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium, then on medium-high until well combined. Be very careful not to mix too long or the cake will turn out very dense and dry. Stop mixing once it’s well combined.
Step 4:
Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and add the hot coffee (or hot water) and mix until well combined. Be very careful not to mix too long.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again and mix for only about 10 seconds more. The batter will be thin. That’s normal for this recipe.
Step 5:
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees F for approximately 40-45 minutes. (Ovens will vary, so it may require a bit more time.) A toothpick inserted into the cake will come out either clean or with a few moist crumbs on it, but no raw batter.
Step 6:
Set on a cooling rack to cool for about 15-20 minutes, then turn out onto a cake plate to cool completely.
Step 7:
For the glaze, in a saucepan, add the chocolate chips and milk, then melt over medium heat. Melt and stir until smooth. Be very careful not to heat it at high heat or the chocolate will burn.
Check the consistency once melted and if it’s too thick, add about a teaspoon of milk and mix well, then check the consistency again. Repeat until the desired consistency is reached.
Drizzle or spoon the glaze onto the cooled cake.
Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe
Mexican Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly: spooned into the measuring cup and leveled off – don't scoop and pack the flour into the cup)
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed-see why in the post FAQs)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon (for more cinnamon flavor, use 3 teaspoons)
- ¼-½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional, but it gives it a slight kick)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (I used light brown sugar, but dark brown will also work)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup melted unsalted butter, cooled a bit
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, close to room temperature
- 3 large eggs, close to room temperature
- 1 cup hot coffee or hot water
For the glaze:
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (about a 12 ounce bag)
- ¼ cup milk
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan very well.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices and sugars. Whisk well and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the oil, melted butter, vanilla, buttermilk and eggs. (You’ll add the hot coffee or water later.) Mix well with a whisk.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium, then on medium-high until well combined. Be very careful not to mix too long or the cake will turn out very dense and dry. Stop mixing once it’s well combined.
- Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and add the hot coffee (or hot water) and mix until well combined. Be very careful not to mix too long.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again and mix for only about 10 seconds more. The batter will be thin. That’s normal for this recipe.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees F for approximately 40-45 minutes. (Ovens will vary, so it may require a bit more time.) A toothpick inserted into the cake will come out either clean or with a few moist crumbs on it, but no raw batter.
- Set on a cooling rack to cool for about 15-20 minutes, then turn out onto a cake plate to cool completely.
- Add the glaze to the top of the cake once the cake has cooled completely.
For the glaze:
- This glaze recipe makes quite a bit, so if you only want a light drizzle or glaze, then only make half the recipe.
- In a saucepan, add the chocolate chips and milk, then melt over medium heat. Melt and stir until smooth. Be very careful not to heat it at high heat or the chocolate will burn.
- Check the consistency once melted and if it’s too thick, add about a teaspoon of milk and mix well, then check the consistency again. Repeat until the desired consistency is reached.
- Drizzle or spoon the glaze onto the cooled cake.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Share
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FAQs:
Don’t use Dutch processed cocoa as it isn’t acidic like cocoa powder and using it would cause the other ingredients to need to be adjusted. If you want more information about the different types of cocoa powder, see this post: Which Cocoa Powder Should I Use?
Absolutely, feel free to omit it, but in my opinion, the tiny amount just gives it a little spice and a very small amount of heat, but not a lot. Feel free to adjust to your taste though.
No, this cake has a touch of warmth but I would not consider it spicy or hot.
It’s really best if you can use real buttermilk as it makes for a softer texture and really helps give the cake flavor. If you can’t get it, you can substitute with this sour milk recipe below:
For every one cup of buttermilk called for, fill a measuring cup with 1 cup regular milk, take out 1 tablespoon and replace it with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar and stir well. Let sit for five minutes, then it’s ready to use.
This will not work exactly the same as buttermilk, but can work in a pinch.
You do not want to omit the liquid in this recipe, so if you don’t like or have coffee, just use hot water instead, but do not completely omit the liquid or the cake will not turn out.
Just a quick note though about using coffee. This cake will not taste like coffee. The coffee just enhances the flavors, however feel free to use hot water instead and it will still be good.
Yes, feel free to freeze this cake. Wrap the cooled, baked cake in plastic wrap, then in foil and freeze. Leave off the glaze and add that when you’re ready to serve the cake.
This cake recipe was written specifically as a bundt cake recipe, however it may work as a layer cake, although I have not tested that. If you want a chocolate layer cake recipe written specifically to bake as a layer cake, check out this recipe here: Chocolate Butter Cake
Maybe although I haven’t tried it out in that type of pan. It might just be a bit more dense than the usual 13×9 inch cake as this recipe was specifically written as a bundt cake/pound cake.
This cake can be served at room temperature, cold or warm. My personal preference is to eat this cake warmed up a bit.
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Sandi Lusk
I have put ancho chili powder in brownies and chocolate cake before I won’t use cayenne but the cinnamon sounds like a nice touch so next time I make a chocolate cake or brownies I will add both cinnamon and the ancho chili powder
Kara
Hey Sandi, good idea about the ancho chili powder!