This coffee bundt cake has a delicious coffee flavor, ridiculously moist crumb, and a drizzle of chocolate ganache on top. It’s an elegant, grown-up bundt cake that’s simple to make and perfect for dessert or to with your morning coffee.
The Perfect Coffee Bundt Cake
This coffee infused bundt cake is not to be confused with a coffee cake (the type of vanilla butter cake with cinnamon streusel). It’s a moist, tender and perfectly dense bundt cake with a delicious coffee flavor that reminds me of a cappuccino or latte because the flavor isn’t bitter but tastes perfectly comforting like your favorite morning cuppa. I topped it with a drizzle of chocolate ganache for a little extra sweetness reminiscent of a mocha – but you can easily leave it plain or add a sprinkle of powdered sugar or cocoa powder.
Getting the Perfect Coffee Flavor
This recipe uses instant coffee granules dissolved in a little boiling water for the perfect coffee flavor. I like this method because, unlike using brewed coffee, it’s a lot more concentrated and therefore you get more coffee flavor without having to add so much liquid. If your coffee granules haven’t quite dissolved in the boiling water before adding to the batter, that’s ok. They’ll further dissolve when the coffee is mixed into the batter. I use Starbucks instant coffee because the granules are much smaller (it’s more like a powder) and dissolve very easily compared to large granules.
Making the Bundt Cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos and tips below to guide you along, or feel free to skip to the recipe card.
- First, you’ll preheat the oven. I actually prep the pan right before adding the batter to it in this recipe, because I find it works better when the pan release hasn’t had time to slide down the pan as you make the batter.
- Sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Doing this first is to ensure that the leaveners are evenly distributed throughout the batter and helps to remove any lumps of flour.
- Then in a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil and brown sugar. Using butter adds more flavor, whereas using oil keeps the cake moist for longer. You really get the best of both worlds for this recipe by the combo. Using brown sugar adds a delicious caramel-like tone to the flavor for a richness you wouldn’t get from using granulated sugar.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and eggs 1 at a time. Adding in the eggs 1 at a time is to prevent overmixing the batter. The batter will thin out at this point and you don’t want to see lumps of butter.
- Turn off the mixer and add in about ½ of the flour mixture. Start with the mixer on a low speed and beat in the flour mixture until just combined. The batter will start to thicken at this point. You want to stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated.
- Then add in the sour cream and coffee granules dissolved in water. Do a few stirs by and first, then gently mix into the batter with the mixer on a low speed.
- Add in the rest of the flour mixture. Stir it in by hand with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. If you see lumps of flour, whisk by hand until smooth.
- Then brush your bundt pan with pan release or grease. Ensure that you get into every crease and cavity of your pan.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and place in the oven to bake. It will take around an hour – so ensure to give yourself enough time.
Baking Tips & Tricks
Note that for all my tips on making bundt cakes check out this post, but here’s the main things for this recipe:
- The butter, eggs and sour cream should all be room temperature before getting started. This ensures that everything mixes together properly.
- Sour cream can be replaced with full-fat plain Greek yogurt if that’s what you have on hand. Be sure not to use sweetened or low-fat yogurt however, as it isn’t as comparable to sour cream in texture and flavor.
- You’ll notice that we’re adding in the flour mixture in 2 additions – this helps to minimize the risk of overmixing the batter. Overmixing leads to a tough cake with air tunnels throughout.
- The bake time for this cake is long. Oven times can very by 10-20%, so for a cake that takes approximately 50 minutes to bake, it could mean an extra 15 minutes or so depending on your oven. Remove the cake from the oven only when an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs. There should be no damp cake batter.
- After inverting the cake and letting it cool, if the bottom (what used to be the top while baking) is domed, you can gently saw off the rounded bottom so that the cake sits flat on a plate.
This coffee bundt cake isn’t too sweet, is deliciously moist and has the perfect coffee flavor. You’ll love the elegant simplicity of this cake that makes it delicious with morning coffee or for dessert.
More bundt cakes to love:
Coffee Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 12-cup bundt pan - mine is 10.5 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep
Ingredients
Coffee Bundt Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams) softened
- ½ cup vegetable oil (120 ml) or canola
- 2 cup light brown sugar* (400 grams) packed
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream (240 ml) room temperature
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder feel free to use 2 tablespoons for a less intense flavor
- 2 tablespoons hot water (30 ml)
Chocolate Ganache
- 4 ounces dark chocolate (112 grams) around 50%, or feel free to use semi-sweet`
- ½ cup heavy cream (120 ml)
Instructions
Coffee Bundt Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C or 160C fan forced).
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a very large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and oil until creamy (seeing sugar granules is fine).
- Beat in the vanilla extract and eggs 1 at a time. Stop mixing when you no longer see pieces of egg in the batter.
- Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add in about ½ of the flour mixture and beat on a low speed until just combined.
- Add the coffee grounds to the hot water int a small cup or bowl and stir. Add the coffee and sour cream to the cake batter and mix with the beater on a low speed until combined.
- Turn off the mixer and add in the rest of the flour mixture. With a hand held whisk, whisk until smooth.
- Brush a non-stick bundt pan with pan release/cake goop or grease and lightly dust with flour.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then carefully invert the pan and slide the cake out.
Chocolate Ganache
- Chop the chocolate into very fine pieces and place in a heatproof bowl.
- Heat the cream until almost boiling.
- Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 3-5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- If there are still some lumps of chocolate, microwave for 30-second intervals at medium heat (not high heat, which is often the default) and whisk between each interval until smooth.
Assembly
- If the bottom of the cake is very domed (what was the top while the cake was baking), gently saw off the rounded top using a serrated knife.
- Place the cake on a plate or cake stand that you plan to serve it on.
- Pour/drizzle the chocolate ganache over top, letting it drip over the sides.
Notes
- Bundt Pan: Make sure to use a non-stick bundt pan. Even with a non-stick bundt pan, you will need to brush with pan release/cake goop or grease and flour. Be sure to get into all of the creases and cavities.Â
- Sugar: Feel free to use 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup dark brown sugar instead of 2 cups light brown sugar. If only using 2 tablespoons of instant coffee powder, you may want to reduce the sugar to 1 ¾ cups.Â
- Instant Coffee Powder:Â Feel free to use between 2 and 3 tablespoons of instant coffee powder depending on how rich of a coffee flavor you'd like.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered or in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Cake is always best fresh.
- Nutrition: Nutrition is an estimate only and based on 1 slice with ganache, assuming that the cake is sliced into 14 equal-sized pieces.Â
Made this cake las evening, instructions mentioned adding vanilla but it is not listed in in the ingredients. I took a guess and added 1/4 teaspoon. Tasted good but I wish I knew exactly what recipe called for.