Beautiful Chocolate Christmas Bundt Cake (Moist + Easy)
The prettiest cake for your Christmas party. This chocolate Christmas Bundt cake is a rich chocolate cake topped with a chocolate glaze and sugared cranberries that look like they’ve been dusted in snow. And don’t be intimidated by its appearance. It’s easy to make.
This is a beautiful and delicious recipe. I truly hope you love it.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
Make sure your Bundt pan is big enough, about 10-12 cups. Some of the pretty Christmas ones are only 9 cups, and your cake could overflow. The sour cream might seem weird, but it helps make the cake moist and complements the sweet flavors.
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This cake will give you 10 slices. If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Equipment
- 10-12 cup Bundt pan
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Baking Sheet (lined with parchment paper)
- Cooling rack
- Long toothpick or cake tester
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 cup cooled brewed coffee (or water)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- ½ cup sour cream (at room temperature)
Chocolate Icing
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Sugared Cranberries
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar (divided into two parts)
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
How to Make A Chocolate Christmas Bundt Cake
Step One: Make The Sugared Cranberries
These are what make this cake look fancy, but they’re SO simple. Just boil ½ cup of water with ½ cup of sugar until it dissolves. Remove it from the heat, then toss your cranberries in. Let them sit for 10 minutes (perfect time to start your cake batter!).
Strain them out and spread them on parchment paper. They need about an hour to dry – don’t rush this part or they’ll be sticky. Then just roll them in the remaining ¼ cup of sugar.
Step Two: Make The Cake
Heat your oven to 350°F.
In one bowl, whisk together your coffee (cooled!), oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, eggs, and sour cream. In another bowl, whisk your sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour.
Add the dry stuff to the wet stuff and stir until it’s just combined. Don’t overthink it – you’re not making bread here.
Grease that Bundt pan like your life depends on it. I’m serious – use WAY more butter or spray than you think you need. Trust me on this one.
Pour in your batter and bake for 50-55 minutes. If you’ve got a dark pan, start checking at 40 minutes because those things are SNEAKY and will burn your cake faster than you think.
Let it cool in the pan for exactly 5 minutes, then flip it out. If it sticks a little, don’t panic – just patch it up with the icing later. Nobody will know!
Step Three: Make The Icing
Melt your chocolate chips with the heavy cream – microwave works fine, just watch it doesn’t bubble over. Stir until it’s smooth and glossy.
Pour the chocolate right over your cooled cake and let it drizzle down naturally (if your cake is properly cooled, it shouldn’t melt). Then gently press those sugared cranberries on top.
Serving & Storing
Serve this cake with coffee, some berries, and vanilla ice cream after a Christmas dinner.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days, or for a week in the fridge. Make sure it’s well covered so it doesn’t dry out.
You can freeze the cake unfrosted, wrapped in plastic wrap, then wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 2-3 months. When you’re ready, thaw, then add the glaze and sugared cranberries.
The cake stays moist for a few days, so you can make it a day or two ahead. Just wait to add the sugared cranberries until you’re ready to serve so they stay fresh and pretty.
Questions and Troubleshooting
Yes, you can! A 9×13-inch pan or two 9-inch round cake pans should work, though the baking time may differ. Start checking for doneness around 30-35 minutes if using these pans.
Not at all! Coffee brings out the chocolate flavor, but boiled water works just fine if you’re not a fan. You won’t taste the coffee itself, just a richer chocolate flavor.
Yes, they may be a little sticky at first. Let them sit out for a bit after coating, and if needed, roll them in a second coat of sugar to make them extra sparkly.
Yes, you can! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate can work. Just remember that each one will have a different level of sweetness, so adjust based on your preference.
More Bundt Cake Recipes
There’s nothing like a good Bundt cake – simple yet impressive.
- This blackberry Bundt cake is perfect for the summer (and Father’s Day).
- Bring this peach Bundt cake to your next summer potluck.
- If you want something extra special, this caramel Bundt cake is just the one for you.
- This pretty coconut lemon Bundt cake is good for any time of year.
- These other beautiful Christmas cake recipes are worth checking out too (this cake is on the list).
Printable Recipe
Christmas Chocolate Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 10-12 cup Bundt pan
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Baking Sheet (line with parchment paper)
- cooling rack
- Long toothpick or cake tester
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 cup cooled brewed coffee (or water)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- ½ cup sour cream (at room temperature)
Chocolate Icing
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Sugared Cranberries
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar (divided into two parts)
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
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Instructions
Make Sugared Cranberries
- Make the syrup. Add ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar to a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved, then remove from heat. Then, add the cranberries to the sugar syrup, stirring to coat them. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Dry. Carefully remove the cranberries using a strainer, reserving the sugar syrup for other uses if desired. Then, spread the cranberries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them dry at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Sugar coating. Place the remaining ¼ cup of sugar on a plate. Then, roll the dried cranberries in the sugar until fully coated. Set aside to garnish the cake.
Make The Cake
- Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Combine the wet ingredients + cocoa powder. Whisk together the coffee, vegetable oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, eggs, and sour cream in a separate bowl.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour in a separate bowl.
- Combine the mixtures. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until well combined. Scrape down the bowl’s sides and bottom to make sure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Prepare the pan. Thoroughly grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan to prevent sticking.
- Bake. Pour the batter evenly into the greased Bundt pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a long toothpick inserted into the center comes clean. If using a dark-colored pan, start checking for doneness at 40 minutes.
- Cool. Remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert the pan onto a wire rack, lift off the pan, and let the cake cool completely on the rack.
Frost The Cake
- Make the icing. Combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan. Heat until the cream bubbles around the edges, then remove from the heat. Stir until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Frost the cake. Pour the icing over the cooled cake, allowing it to drizzle down the sides naturally.
- Garnish and serve. Gently press the sugared cranberries onto the top of the cake. Allow the icing to set before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love it if you would leave a review!Love,
Absolutely wonderful cake!! I made this for desert after Christmas dinner. The sugared cranberries were not only a beautiful decoration on the cake but the tartness helped cut through the richness of the chocolate. This cake was a huge hit and I will definitely be making this again.
amy! thanks so much for letting me know! merry christmas ❤️
If making this ahead of time (2 days before Christmas), would it be best to completely assemble and refrigerate the topped cake, or bake ahead of time and assemble the day of?
Thanks!
bake now, assemble later! you can make the sugared cranberries now too
This never says where you use the left over water from the cranberries. Says for large use?
hi lynn, i meant to save it in case you need to re-wet the cranberries to get the sugar to stick. but to be heonst i’ve never needed it because they are sticky enough. and i’m sorry it was so confusing! 🤣🤣🤣
Eggs appear in the directions, but are not listed in the Ingredient list.
How many eggs should be used?
hi tom sorry about that, it’s 2 room temp eggs 🙂