Today’s Easy Toffee Chocolate Bundt Cake starts with a cake mix to streamline your tasks. Add some pudding and eggs for richness and you wind up with a super easy, delectable chocolate cake! Make it even better by adding a light and fluffy chocolate frosting with toffee bits on the top for caramel flavor and texture. This is one amazing cake!
I love bundt cakes because the pan does most of the work for me. Decorating is not my strongest suit so having tools that make it easier for me is key. One trick to using a bundt pan is to be sure it releases easily in every nook and cranny. I always use butter and gluten-free flour but you can use vegetable oil spray if you prefer. To make this gluten-free safe, be sure the spray does not have any flour in it!
I used King Arthur’s gluten-free chocolate cake mix and it worked beautifully. I recommend it as a great stand-alone cake or as part of a recipe like today’s. It is sold in many grocery store chains or you can buy it online. It is a great product to have in your pantry for last minute events.
A clue to better baking is to let your batters and doughs rest for a while before putting them in the oven. This allows the flour time to fully absorb the liquids and, in the case of gluten-free baking, helps reduce the chance of grittiness. This trick benefits both gluten-free and regular flour baking.
This is like a dump cake – you dump all the ingredients in the bowl and mix together then bake. No muss, no fuss, this is a super easy cake to make! The hardest things is waiting for it to cool before you can frost and eat it!
Because this is a large cake and rises high in the oven, be sure to use a large bundt pan. My swirl pan is my biggest and it held most of the batter. The cake rose high nearly spilling over the center of the pan. Just to be safe, I baked it on a Silpat-lined baking sheet to catch any drips. Also, I had the oven rack on the second to the bottom level to give it enough room to rise. I got lucky and the pan was big enough to handle it!
Be sure to fully cool the cake before adding the frosting or it will make a mess. The frosting is lovely, smooth and soft enough to slump attractively over the top of the cake. You can always nudge it if you want it to drop further.
The recipe for the lush frosting will make more than you need for this cake, but you can save the extra and use it for another baking project like frosting cookies or as the filling for sandwich cookies. What else would you use it for?
When you are checking your cake for doneness, use a long wooden pick to be sure you get all the way to the center of the cake. Alternately, you can take the internal temperature which should be around 200°F.
I love the mild crunch that the toffee bits add to the cake, a beautiful flavor and texture component. You can leave these off if you want, or even pass on the frosting, this cake will stand on its own.
This is one rich and luscious cake, perfect for special occasions, especially if you are baking for a true chocoholic. They will be thrilled!
Labor Day weekend is coming up and this Easy Toffee Chocolate Bundt cake would be the perfect way to celebrate an extra day off work! Chocolate goes with everything, LOL.
Happy Chocolate Monday everyone!!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let me know in the comments and leave a star rating, I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Easy Toffee Chocolate Bundt Cake:
- Chocolate cake mix, yogurt, eggs, chocolate instant pudding
- Vegetable oil, water, mini semisweet chocolate chips
- Unsalted butter, chopped chocolate, vanilla, salt, cocoa
- Confectioners’ sugar, sour cream, toffee bits
PRO Tip:
The trick to using bundt pans is to butter them really well, being sure to get into every nook, cranny, and crevice! I use a paper towel and extra butter to be sure – and don’t forget the center column too!
PRO Tip:
Be sure to use a large bundt pan for this recipe. It will likely overflow a smaller pan. Don’t fill the pan more than about 3/4 full to allow for rising. Just to be safe, I baked mine on a Silpat-lined baking sheet to catch any spills if they happened. Luckily it all fit in the pan!
How to make Easy Toffee Chocolate Bundt Cake:
- Prepare the Cake: Butter and flour a bundt pan. Mix together chocolate cake mix, yogurt, eggs, water, pudding mix, and oil. Beat together with a mixer until combined then increase speed and beat until creamy. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave the cake in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack and let cool for another hour.
- Make the Frosting: Combine the butter and chocolate in the bowl of your stand mixer or a large bowl. Set over a saucepan with 1-inch of simmering water, melting the two together, stirring often until smooth and fully melted. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the sugar and cocoa. Add half of this mixture to the chocolate/butter mixture. Mix on low until combined and stiff. Stir in the sour cream until smooth.
- Add remaining sugar/cocoa mixture and mix on low until incorporated, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Immediately spread the frosting fairly thickly over the top of the cooled cake and sprinkle with the Heath toffee bits. Set aside to let the frosting firm up. Slice and serve.
PRO Tip:
If you are not baking gluten-free, look for a Devil’s Food cake mix to use as the base for this recipe.
PRO Tip:
For any leftover frosting, place it in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate. When ready to use it, let it sit at room temperature for an hour or more until softened, then beat until soft and spreadable. It would be wonderful on cookies or as a filling for sandwich cookies.
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Bundt pan
- Mixing bowl
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
Gluten-Free Tips:
You can use 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend or any single gluten-free flour you like such as rice, sorghum, millet, etc. to flour the pan. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices as well.
If you choose to use an oil spray to coat the pan, be sure it does NOT have any flour in it! You will use a gluten-free flour or flour blend to stick to the spray.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Easy Toffee Chocolate Bundt Cake (Gluten Free)
Today’s Easy Toffee Chocolate Bundt Cake starts with a cake mix to streamline your tasks. Add some pudding and eggs for richness and you wind up with a super easy, delectable chocolate cake! Make it even better by adding a light and fluffy chocolate frosting with toffee bits on the top for caramel flavor and texture. This is one amazing cake!
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 (15 oz; 425g) pkg gluten-free chocolate cake mix (I used King Arthur’s)
- 1 cup (227g) plain or vanilla yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 4 large eggs (200g)
- 1/2 cup (4oz; 113g) warm water
- 1 (3.4 to 3.9-oz; 96g to 111g) pkg gluten-free chocolate instant pudding mix (such as 365 Whole Foods brand)
- 1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (177g) miniature semisweet chocolate chips, optional
Cake Frosting and Topping
- 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup (170g) semisweet chocolate, chopped (such as Guittard’s)
- 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt (don’t add if you used salted butter)
- 3-1/2 cups (396g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (21g) unsweetened cocoa, preferably natural
- 3/4 cup (170g) cold sour cream
- 1/2 cup (78g) Heath toffee bits
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Butter a bundt pan very well and dust with gluten-free flour* or all-purpose flour. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, yogurt, eggs, warm water, pudding mix, and oil.
- Make the Cake: Using a mixer, beat the cake ingredients until combined, 1 to 2 minutes, until glossy and smooth. Gently fold in the chocolate chips if using (I added them to my cake batter).
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack and lift off the pan. Cool an additional hour.
- For the Frosting: Place the butter and chocolate in the bowl of your stand mixer. Set the bowl over a saucepan with 1-inch of simmering water in the bottom. Melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring often until smooth and fully melted. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
- In another bowl whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder. Add about half of this mixture to the chocolate/butter mixture. Mix on low speed until combined – the batter will be stiff. Stir in the sour cream on low speed (it will be lumpy), then beat on medium speed until smooth, about a minute.
- Add the remaining sugar/cocoa mixture and mix on low speed until fully incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high, beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. The color will lighten and there will be no lumps left in the frosting.
- Immediately dollop the frosting fairly thickly over the top of the cooled cake** and sprinkle with the toffee bits. Set aside to let the frosting firm up. Slice and serve.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
*You can use 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend or any single gluten-free flour you like such as rice, sorghum, millet, etc. to flour the bundt pan. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices as well.
**If you have leftover frosting, place it in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate. When ready to use it, let it sit at room temperature for an hour or more until softened, then beat again with your mixer until it is soft and spreadable. It would be wonderful on cookies or as a filling for sandwich cookies.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Cake adapted from Sandy of the Reluctant Entertainer
Frosting adapted from King Arthur Baking
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 180Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 191mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 0gSugar: 8gProtein: 4g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate.
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