Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake is a tender cake with deep cocoa and cinnamon flavor. I intensified the cinnamon flavor in a traditional Texas sheet cake and made it in into a bundt cake!
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There's something deeply meaningful about a recipe that spans generations, and this Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake is one of those recipes for me. Inspired by my grandmother's Texas sheet cake, I wanted to take her recipe and dress it up a bit. She would make a Texas sheet cake for any occasion or for no good reason at all except she wanted to make a cake. This bundt cake combines the rich, fudgy goodness of her original recipe with a nice hit of cinnamon and espresso for an added touch of warmth and complexity. The warm pour-over icing keeps this cake moist and delicious. Enjoy this delightful twist on a family favorite that's guaranteed to make any gathering a little sweeter.
This is a rich cake and the perfect ending to a meal starring Slow Cooker Italian Beef sandwiches!
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Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake Ingredients
- Buttermilk or Sour Cream
- Butter
- Cocoa Powder - Dutch-process provides a more intense chocolately flavor
- Water
- Sugar
- All-purpose Flour
- Eggs
- Baking Soda
- Cinnamon
- Espresso Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
Warm Pour-Over Icing Ingredients
- Butter
- Confectioners Sugar
- Milk
- Cocoa Powder - Dutch-process
- Vanilla Extract
- Chopped Pecans
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 350° and prepare cake pan with room temperature butter and cocoa powder. Coat the pan using about 2 tablespoons of butter using a pastry brush. Then dust the pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder by tilting, tapping and turning the pan until evenly coated.
- Step 2: Bring water, butter, cocoa powder and espresso powder to a boil, whisking until combined. Turn off and remove from heat.
- Step 3: In a large mixing bow, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Step 4: In a separate mixing bowl mix together buttermilk (or sour cream), eggs and vanilla.
- Step 5: Mix the buttermilk and egg mixture into the dry ingredients then pour in the saucepan of warm chocolate mixture.
- Step 6: Whisk together until there are no lumps.
- Step 7: Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Step 8: Allow the cake pan to cool on a wire rack for ten minutes. Then place a towel on the countertop and use another around the pan to hold it. Tap the pan on the countertop every few inches all the way around the pan. Place the wire rack on top of the pan and invert. If the cake doesn't release immediately, give it another few taps on the countertop until it releases. While the cake cools, prepare the icing.
How to make Warm Pour-Over Chocolate Icing
- Step 1: Melt butter in a small saucepan.
- Step 2: Whisk in cocoa powder, milk, vanilla, confectioner sugar, and pecans. *optional, sprinkle pecans over the cake instead of stirring them into the icing.
- Step 3: Let the icing cool slightly, whisking every few minutes until the temperature is warm but no longer hot. Pour over the cake.
Hint: If using a utensil to attempt to loosen the edges of the cake so it will release, it's best to use a narrow rubber jar spatula so you don't scratch the nonstick surface of the bundt pan. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Make it Gluten-Free
You can make a gluten-free version of this cake with a few quick modifications.
- Gluten-free flour - substitute a 1 to 1 gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour. I use this King Arthur GF flour.
- Baking soda - increase the baking soda to 2 teaspoons.
- Temperature & time - lower the oven temperature to 325° and bake for 55 minutes.
Variations on Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake
This is pretty perfect the way it is but I also love a vanilla or orange glaze with chocolate and cinnamon. Change things up with either option.
- Vanilla - To make a vanilla glaze, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, combine with 2 cups of confectioners sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk. Mix until completely combined and pour over cake.
- Orange Glaze - orange pairs well with chocolate and cinnamon and it's delicious on this cake. To make an orange glaze, combine 2 cups of confectioners sugar with the zest and from one orange. Use all the zest and add the juice slowly to achieve desired consistency.
Equipment
The only special equipment you'll need for this recipe is a bundt pan. Mine is my grandmother's and I love it. It's that amazing 70's yellow gold color and it weighs a ton. I love to hit thrift stores to find treasured kitchen items like this. But, they are widely available in nearly any big box store or online. This Wilton pan is great. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Storage
Store this cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Bundt Cake Top Tip
Be sure you properly prepare the bundt pan so the cake easily released after cooling. Butter the pan with room temperatures softened butter and get it in every nook and cranny. Use a pastry brush coated in butter to get deep into crevices. After it is thoroughly buttered, coat the pan with cocoa powder instead of flour. Using cocoa powder ensures you won't have white clumps on your chocolate cake. Tilt the pan and tap while turning in a circulator motion to coat every bit. Tap the excess out once coated.
FAQ
12 to 18 people, depending on the thickness of the slice.
If your cake pan has a nonstick coating it's best not to use cooking spray. It will build up on the surface and eventually make it sticky.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup water, hot
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
Icing
- 1 stick butter
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° and prepare cake pan with room temperature butter and cocoa powder. Coat the pan using about 2 tablespoons of butter using a pastry brush. Then dust the pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder by tilting, tapping and turning the pan until evenly coated.
- Bring water, butter, cocoa powder and espresso powder to a boil, whisking until combined. Turn off and remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bow, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl mix together buttermilk (or sour cream), eggs and vanilla.
- Mix the buttermilk and egg mixture into the dry ingredients then pour in the saucepan of warm chocolate mixture.
- Whisk together until there are no lumps.
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cake pan to cool on a wire rack for ten minutes. Then place a towel on the countertop and use another around the pan to hold it. Tap the pan on the countertop every few inches all the way around the pan. Place the wire rack on top of the pan and invert. If the cake doesn't release immediately, give it another few taps on the countertop until it releases. While the cake cools, prepare the icing.
Icing
- Melt butter in a small saucepan.
- Whisk in cocoa powder, milk, vanilla, confectioner sugar, and pecans *optional, sprinkle pecans over the cake instead of stirring them into the icing.
- Let the icing cool slightly, whisking every few minutes until the temperature is warm but no longer hot. Pour over the cake.
Anonymous says
Yum
Anonymous says
Delicious
Anonymous says
so good!
Michael says
Chocolate and cinnamon? Takes me back to Mexico