Today, a recipe for the most Decadent Chocolate Bundt Cake ever (it’s vegan & gluten-free) PLUS a chance to win one of four copies of Julie Anne Hession’s gorgeous new cookbook, Beautiful Bundts: 100 Recipes for Delicious Cakes & More!
Good Monday morning, readers! I hope that your weekend was a restorative one. It was at our house. The decorations are up, some initial holiday baking took place, and, best of all, all three members of the house are completely cold-free. Make that all four; Fifi the cat is resplendent, as usual.
Here’s hoping that your Monday is running smoothly. But, just in case the day has you feeling less than ideal, allow me to offer, by way of today’s post, two remedies:
(1) Free stuff!
(2) Chocolate!
Both the free stuff and the chocolate are because of my friend, Julie Ann Hession, whose third cookbook, Beautiful Bundts: 100 Recipes for Delicious Cakes & More, was just released.
Julie is an extraordinarily talented baker and recipe developer. She is an award-winning (many times over) cook, too, but baking is her passion, and it shows with every recipe in this beautiful book. We met through our shared interest in cooking competitions and have been good friends ever since. Here we are in competition mode, looking a wee bit sweaty (glow-y?) after making multi-course Thanksgiving meals. In an hour. We both like challenges :).
Back to the book! Beautiful Bundts is a perfect book for bakers and cooks of all skill levels. Replete with gorgeous, glossy images of every recipe–all made, styled, and photographed by Julie–it is a shining example of what is possible when creativity, style, taste, and understanding of home bakers (i.e., this is a book for home bakers, not pasty chefs) converge in a single tome.
Julie’s recipes are crystal clear, and her voice comes through with the beautifully written, thoughtful (and, in many cases, funny!) headnotes and tips, making you feel like she is present, guiding you along.
Part 1 of the book, “All About Bundts,” answers just about every Bundt-related question imaginable. Part 2 is all about the recipes, PLUS, step-by-step photos for making different varieties of bundts, including filled, marbled, accordion-style, and more. All guesswork is eliminated.
Julie completely reimagines the Bundt pan, extending its utility far beyond cakes. With her guidance and recipes, you will soon be using your tried and true Bundt pan for everything from pasta bakes, savory breads, pull-apart loaves (monkey bread!), breakfast pastries, and more.
It’s a Bundt love-fest. If you are like me, you will have sticky notes marking copious recipes.
For today, Julie is letting me share her Decadent Vegan Chocolate Bundt Recipe.
Oh. My. Goodness. This cake! It has an intense chocolate flavor (thanks to a full cup of cocoa powder), is a cinch to make (prep time approximately 5 minutes), has a moist, decadent crumb, and the edges tastes like chocolate cookies.
I had to cut up and freeze the remaining cake yesterday, because Nick, Kevin and I polished off HALF of the cake in two days. If you can eat a donut for breakfast, you can eat a piece of this chocolate bundt cake, too (and a slice of this cake with some coffee? Heaven).
Another aspect of this recipe I love: no greasing and flouring of the pan. Simply spray with cooking spray and the cake slides out immediately, with ease, after a brief cooling. Fuss, be gone.
I used my basic Bundt pan , dusted the cooled cake with cocoa powder, and it was stunning in its simplicity.
The only change I made to the cake, with Julie’s permission, was to change the granulated sugar in the recipe to coconut sugar.
Also, I made the cake twice: once with all-purpose flour (called for in the recipe), and once with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. The baking time was identical for both, and the cakes were identical in appearance, too. The photos in this post are all of the gluten-free all-purpose flour version. (Note: For testing, I used the King Arthur GF measure-for-measure blend. I have no affiliation with the company).
And now (you have been so patient!) the GIVEAWAY! To celebrate Julie’s book, I am giving away not one, but FOUR free copies of her Bundt book!
To ENTER: Leave a comment at the end of this post with the name of your all-time favorite cake! That’s it! It would be lovely if you would consider liking my page on FB, too, but it is not required.
Entries are accepted from Monday, December 4, and until December 7 at midnight PST. Only 1 entry per person.
WINNERS: Winners will be selected at random on December 8th (using random.org) and notified via email. Winners will have 24 hours to respond, otherwise another winner will be chosen. Books will be mailed the day after a shipping address is provided.
In the meantime, enjoy Julie’s magnificent Chocolate Bundt Cake recipe! If you cannot wait to give a gift of this book to yourself or someone else, head on over to any major book-selling site (here it is on Indiebound, amazon, Powell’s and Barnes & Noble) and order a copy asap!
- 2-1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (see notes about flour, including using regular ap flour)
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups coconut sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil (I used melted virgin coconut oil)
- ½ cup strong brewed coffee
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk (well-whisked before measuring)
- Optional: extra unsweetened cocoa powder for sprinkling
- Preheat oven to 350F (or 325F if using a dark pan). Spray Bundt pan (minimum 10-cup capacity) with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in coffee, vanilla and vinegar.
- With mixer on low speed, alternately beat in flour mixture and coconut milk, making 3 separate additions of flour and two of coconut milk, and beating until incorporated. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 55 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then carefully invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- If desired, lightly dust cake with cocoa powder.
Flour: The original recipe calls for regular all-purpose flour. Feel free to use that if you do not need the recipe to be gluten-free. For recipe testing, I used King Arthur all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. Use any all-purpose gluten-free blend you like, but make sure it is a measure-for-measure blend .
Storage: Store the cooled cake in a cake container at room temperature or the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Alternatively, securely wrap and freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
My favorite cake is Carrot cake. I have tried many time to make a vegan version of it with various success.
Thank you for your wonderful blog.
Thank YOU, Julia!
My favorite cake is called Golden cake made with 5 egg yolks and 1 egg. It is really soft with fine texture, with a delightful citrus note. Unfortunately I have never attempted making a vegan version of it. Definitely will try this dreamy chocolate cake.
My all time favorite cake is a Southern delight that my mother always made for us. It is Cream Cheese Pound Cake!
Is it okay to have two faves? 🙂 It’s a toss up between carrot cake and good ol’ fashioned vanilla!
My all-time favorite cake (so far) is the Cream Cheese Pound Cake. Love it.
I’m really looking forward to exploring Julie Anne’s new cookbook.
I would have to say an orange or lemon Bundt is a fav!
This looks absolutly lovely. I love your blog I can’t wait to try this recipe. 😊😊😊
Before I went vegan 8 months ago, my favorite cake to make and eat was flourless chocolate cake topped with raspberries or strawberries and whipped cream. Now I’m learning to bake without using eggs, so my preferences are in the midst of being reorganized.
Lemon apricot bunds Cake 😻
My favorite cake is oreo ice creak cake! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes, Camilla!
Looks heavenly! I love bundt cakes so easy and look beautiful with little fuss to them. My favorite cake is Cranberry Lemon Bundt cake, with lemon glaze on top! Yum!
My favorite is German Chocolate cake. Always want it for my birthday. I’m going to try this Bundt, it sounds yummy.
My favourite cake is cinnamon swirl coffee cake with crumblies on top. 🙂 I can’t wait to try this bundt cake recipe! Thanks so much!
I love lemon cake with lemon icing!
I love chocolate cake!
I love chocolate flan cake. The flan goes to the bottom and bakes bake, its like magic! Looking forward to trying the chocolate bundt.
I have never met a chocolate cake I did not like. It is always my favorite!
My favorite cake is Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting
Any kind of gingerbread cake is my favorite. Thanks for offering this giveaway!