Nana’s Devil’s Food Cake is a Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake that’s tender, rich, and super indulgent, thanks to the chocolate ganache topping! Made with easy ingredients and just 10 minutes of prep!
This Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake, along with my Air Fryer Chocolate Cake and Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes, always result in a perfectly chocolaty dessert that I can always count on everyone having seconds of!
A Vintage Dessert Favorite!
Nana’s Devil’s Food Cake is a Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake that’s a Reddit-famous recipe that people go absolutely crazy for! And rightfully so, because it’s incredibly delicious with its tender cake and smooth, decadent Chocolate Ganache topping!
This recipe uses cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate and has a higher amount of baking soda than a traditional cake which helps create a finer crumb. This results in a tender cake that’s love at first bite!
Why We Love This Recipe!
- Rich chocolate flavor!
- Tender and moist!
- Simple and delicious!
Chocolate Bundt Cake Ingredient Notes
Make this Devils Food Chocolate Cake Recipe by gathering up all of your basic baking ingredients! To make the cake, you’ll need flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, eggs, sugar, oil, whole milk, vanilla extract, and black coffee.
Ok, so black coffee isn’t a basic baking ingredient, but it’s certainly a necessary one for this recipe that you don’t want to leave out! The coffee really gives the chocolate flavor a boost, enhancing it to make for a richer cake.
Once the cake has been baked and cooled, it gets a nice smooth chocolate ganache coating! This is made by melting semi-sweet chocolate chips, heavy cream, and salt together.
My family also enjoys swapping out the chocolate glaze from time to time for a heavy sprinkle of powdered sugar over the top, chocolate frosting, or even whipped cream and fresh berries!
How To Make Nana’s Devil’s Food Cake
- Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add the sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla. Add the coffee to the wet ingredients.
- Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, mixing together until the batter is smooth. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed to incorporate all of the ingredients fully.
- Grease the pan with shortening and dust with cocoa powder to help ensure the pan doesn’t stick to the sides of the cake.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the bundt cake comes out clean.
- Microwave the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and salt together until smooth. Allow it to sit at room temperature to thicken before spreading it over the bundt cake that’s been removed from the bundt pan.
Shortening is a better option for greasing pans because it is less likely to stick once baked. It also doesn’t cause as much browning/crunch on the edge of the cake.
Devil’s Food Cake Recipe FAQs
Yes! Place the heavy cream in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Then pour it into a bowl over the chocolate chips and salt, whisking it together until smooth after it sets for 4 minutes.
You can replace the coffee in this recipe with hot water instead. However, coffee does add more flavor and helps to bring out the chocolate flavoring more!
Yes, there is! You can divide the batter between two 9 or 10-inch round pans.
I don’t recommend using butter to grease the pan, as the butter will actually encourage the cake to stick to the pan.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
This list includes affiliate links to products necessary or helpful in preparing this chocolate bundt cake recipe.
- 12 Cup Bundt Pan – A must!
- Measuring Cups – The 3/4 cup is so handy!
- Measuring Spoons – They’re magnetic!
- Mixing Bowls – I love using glass!
- Plastic Wrap – Really helpful for dusting the pan!
Eating up a slice of this Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake never disappoints when I’m craving something irresistibly chocolaty! Here are more of my favorite dessert recipes that are just as chocolaty and delicious as this one!
- Chocolate Toll House Pie – Buttery pie crust filled with a chocolate cookie filling that’s loaded with chocolate chips and walnuts!
- German Chocolate Poke Cake – Tender chocolate cake soaked in sweetened condensed milk and topped with a rich chocolate ganache and coconut pecan frosting!
- Chocolate Cupcakes – An adapted cake mix recipe that delivers moist cupcakes that are finished off with decadent chocolate buttercream!
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies – Pull a batch of these chewy and gooey brownie-like cookies out of the oven in less than 30 minutes!
- Easy Chocolate Fudge With Walnuts – Creamy fudge loaded with walnuts that takes just 5 minutes of prep!
Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
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Nana’s Devil’s Food Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- vegetable shortening for greasing the pan
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for dusting the pan
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup black coffee hot
Ganache (optional)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and dust a 12-cup bundt pan with shortening and cocoa powder and set aside. You may also use nonstick spray to grease but do not coat with cocoa powder if you do.vegetable shortening, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- Sift together the flour, ¾ cup cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, then whisk to make sure it's evenly mixed.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- Beat the eggs in a separate large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, then add in the sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla. Once mixed, add the coffee.2 large eggs, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup black coffee
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three separate additions, mixing on low speed between each one, until the batter is smooth. The batter will be very thin, unlike a box mix recipe.
- Pour into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick comes clean from the center.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes before running a rubber spatula around the edge and flipping it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once you remove the cake from the pan, prepare the ganache. Add the chocolate chips, heavy cream, and salt to a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Remove and whisk, then microwave for 1 additional minute.1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, ¾ cup heavy cream, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Add the sugar and whisk until a thick and smooth chocolate sauce forms. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to thicken before spreading on top of the cake. Top the cake with sprinkles if desired.¼ cup powdered sugar, sprinkles
Notes
- This recipe can also be made in two 9 or 10-inch round pans or a 9×13-inch pan (bake for 30 to 40 minutes).
- Hot water may be used in place of coffee, but coffee adds more flavor and brings the chocolate out more.
- This is a dark chocolate cake/devil’s food cake and while it has 2 cups of sugar in it it’s not super sweet. It would pair well with whipped cream and fresh berries.
- The ganache can be omitted and opted for a dusting of powdered sugar or a classic sugar icing.
- Canola oil can be used instead of vegetable oil.
- Do not use butter to great the pan because it will encourage the cake to stick.
Nutrition
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