Recipe: Milk Chocolate Bundt Cake
Creamy, chilled, sweet, and rich, chocolate milk is a cherished childhood memory for good reason. When added to a Bundt cake, it creates a mellow chocolate flavor that’s a little milkier, rounder, and gentler than a more assertive dark chocolate. If you’re a milk-chocolate lover in any capacity, this cake was made for you — and it’s just begging for a cold glass of milk.
Why Chocolate Milk?
Chocolate milk is the core ingredient in this cake. It adds milk chocolate taste, which is bolstered by the melted chocolate and liquor. Milk chocolate also adds sweetness (you’ll notice there’s a little less sugar as a result). Beyond promoting a pure milky taste without an iota of tartness, chocolate milk’s emulsifiers help make this a sturdy cake perfect for slicing and eating.
The 3 Types of Chocolate You Need in this Cake
- Chocolate milk: Choose a milk chocolate you love to drink. It’s as simple as that.
- Milk chocolate: Same as the chocolate milk, choose a chocolate you enjoy eating. I have made this cake with very fine Swiss and Belgian chocolates, as well as store-bought candy bars, but the difference is negligible.
- Chocolate liqueur: Chocolate liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that often serves the same job as an extract in baked goods. For this recipe, you can use a chocolate liqueur like Godiva, or a chocolate cream liqueur like Cadbury Cream or a Creme de Cacao interchangeably. The booze is burned away when the cake is baked, so it’s safe for kids. In this cake, the chocolate liqueur adds flavor for sure, but best of all it leaves its chocolate perfume tucked into the cake. If you don’t have it, you can simply skip it, but the fragrance is intoxicating.
By the way, I would avoid Khalua, Tia Maria. or another chocolate-plus-another-flavor liqueur, so the milk chocolate stays front and center.
Milk Chocolate Bundt Cake
Makes 1 (10-inch) bundt cake
Serves 10 to 12
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Cooking spray
- 2 sticks
(8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup
granulated sugar
- 2 cups
all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup
natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons
baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon
baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon
fine salt
- 4
large eggs, at room temperature
- 4
large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups
milk or chocolate milk, at room temperature
- 8 ounces
milk chocolate, melted
- 2 tablespoons
chocolate liqueur
- 2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
Chocolate syrup, for drizzling (optional)
Sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 325°F. Coat a 12-cup Bundt or tube pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer and large bowl.) Beat on medium speed until the butter is fluffy and lighter in color, 4 to 5 minutes, occasionally stopping to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed.
Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time on medium speed to the butter mixture, beating after each addition until fully incorporated. Reduce the speed to low, add half of the flour mixture, and beat until incorporated. Add the milk, melted chocolate, chocolate liqueur, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Level the top of the batter with a rubber spatula that has been sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Invert a cooling rack over the cake pan. Holding the wire rack and the cake pan bottom together firmly, gently flip the pan over onto the rack so that the bottom faces up. Remove the pan and cool completely before serving.
Drizzle chocolate syrup over the top if using. Serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Recipe Notes
Storage: This cake will keep at room temperature, lightly covered or tented with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, for up to 3 days. Do not refrigerate, as the cake will become quite stale.