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Moist Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake (With Cake Mix!)

Melissa Jo Posted: Last Updated:
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A close-up of a chocolate bundt cake topped with glossy chocolate icing and red berries. A hand is lifting a slice, revealing the moist, rich texture inside. A modern kitchen is blurred in the background.

If you need a foolproof chocolate dessert that always comes out moist, rich, and totally irresistible, this Moist Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake is the one. It starts with a simple yellow cake mix, but once you add instant chocolate pudding, sour cream, espresso powder, and a full cup of dark chocolate chips, it transforms into the softest, most decadent chocolate bundt cake ever.

And since you’re already here, make sure to check out some of my most viral cakes too — Easy Cannoli Cake, Tiramisu Cake, Hot Cocoa Cake, and my super fun Banana Split Cake. These are the dessert recipes people make over and over again!

This cake is delicious just as it is — honestly, it’s perfect plain because it’s that moist and chocolatey. But since I was making this for the holidays, I dressed it up with dark chocolate curls made from a Ghirardelli bar. You can absolutely make it festive like that, or keep it simple with a dusting of powdered sugar, or even drizzle a quick glaze on top. It’s the perfect all-year-round chocolate bundt cake because you can make it look as fancy or as simple as you want. If you’re look for the best Holiday Side Dishes, or Holiday Desserts, or even Holiday Appetizers. I got them all lined up and ready for you just click the text!

🗒 More Delicious Recipes

A close-up view of flour being poured from a plastic bag into a metal mixing bowl, with hands holding the bag and red nail polish visible.
A hand holds a box of Jell-O chocolate instant pudding mix above a large metal bowl containing chocolate powder. Kitchen cabinets and a countertop are visible in the background.
A hand holds a jar of King Arthur Espresso Powder above a large metal bowl filled with flour and cocoa powder, ready for baking.

One of the keys to this recipe is this delicious espresso powder!

A hand with red nail polish uses a whisk to mix a bowl of dry ingredients, likely flour and cocoa powder, on a wooden countertop.
A metal bowl with dry baking ingredients and a mound of brown sugar sits next to a white bowl containing four cracked eggs on a wooden surface.
A hand holds a bowl of thick white yogurt above a metal mixing bowl containing a blend of dry and wet baking ingredients on a wooden countertop.
A hand with red nail polish stirs chocolate cake batter in a large metal mixing bowl using a spoon. The bowl is on a wooden surface in a kitchen.
A hand with red nail polish holds a spoon of white powder above a measuring cup filled with chocolate chips on a wooden surface. A metal mixing bowl is partially visible to the left.
A metal bowl filled with chocolate cookie dough, topped with chocolate chips and a dusting of flour, sits on a wooden surface. A metal spoon is sticking out of the bowl.
A metal bowl filled with thick, creamy chocolate batter being mixed with a metal spoon, sitting on a wooden surface.
A close-up of a bundt cake pan coated with pats and smears of butter, sitting on a wooden surface, ready for cake batter.
A thick chocolate cake batter is being poured from a metal bowl into a greased bundt pan, ready for baking.
A bundt cake pan filled with chocolate cake batter sits on a wooden surface. The pan is greased with visible streaks of butter or shortening. In the background, a mixing bowl with more batter is partially visible.
A partially opened bag of Ghirardelli 72% cacao dark chocolate chips sits on a white plate. The purple packaging displays images of chocolate chips and a cookie, with baking and cacao content details visible.
A Ghirardelli Intense Dark 72% Cacao chocolate bar, partly unwrapped, lies on a wooden surface next to a black-handled vegetable peeler.
A bundt cake with light brown glaze drizzled on top, decorated with fresh red cherries, sits on a white plate in a kitchen setting.
A smiling woman in a floral dress stands in a bright kitchen beside a chocolate bundt cake with cranberries and a cookbook on the counter. White cabinets and a window appear in the background.

Interested in my dress? You can find it here 🙂

A close-up of a chocolate bundt cake drizzled with chocolate glaze, topped with red cherries. A hand is lifting a slice, revealing the cake’s moist, rich texture. The background shows a modern kitchen.
A slice of chocolate cake with chocolate shavings, a cranberry, and whipped cream sits on a plate. Behind it, the rest of the cake is topped with chocolate glaze and cranberries on a cake stand.
A slice of chocolate bundt cake topped with chocolate shavings and a cherry, served with a dollop of whipped cream on a white plate. The whole cake, decorated similarly, is displayed in the background on a stand.

Tips & Notes

  • Coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor but doesn’t taste like coffee.
  • Sour cream gives it that ultra-moist, bakery-style texture.
  • Tossing chocolate chips in flour keeps them from sinking.
  • A chocolate bar makes the best curls, but baking chips work inside the cake.

Items Featured in Video

A collage showing ingredients and tools for a moist chocolate chip bundt cake, including chocolate chips, cake mix, Jello pudding, sour cream, espresso powder, a spatula, whisk, measuring spoons, and a woman with the finished cake.

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store in an airtight container for 6-7 days.

🤔 Common Questions

Can I use milk chocolate chips instead?

Yes! Any chocolate works — dark just gives that rich flavor.

Do I need to use espresso powder?

Not at all. It just deepens the chocolate flavor.

A close-up of a chocolate bundt cake topped with glossy chocolate icing and red berries. A hand is lifting a slice, revealing the moist, rich texture inside. A modern kitchen is blurred in the background.

Moist Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake (With Cake Mix!)

If you need a foolproof chocolate dessert that always comes out moist, rich, and totally irresistible, this Moist Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake is the one. It starts with a simple yellow cake mix, but once you add instant chocolate pudding, sour cream, espresso powder, and a full cup of dark chocolate chips, it transforms into the softest, most decadent chocolate bundt cake ever.
And since you’re already here, make sure to check out some of my most viral cakes too — Easy Cannoli Cake, Tiramisu Cake, Hot Cocoa Cake, and my super fun Banana Split Cake. These are the dessert recipes people make over and over again!
This cake is delicious just as it is — honestly, it’s perfect plain because it’s that moist and chocolatey. But since I was making this for the holidays, I dressed it up with dark chocolate curls made from a Ghirardelli bar. You can absolutely make it festive like that, or keep it simple with a dusting of powdered sugar, or even drizzle a quick glaze on top. It’s the perfect all-year-round chocolate bundt cake because you can make it look as fancy or as simple as you want.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 small 3.9 oz box instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • 4 eggs whisked before adding
  • ½ cup oil
  • ½ cup water
  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 1 cup dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolate chips tossed in 1 tablespoon flour so they don’t sink
  • Butter for generously greasing the bundt pan
  • Dark chocolate bar for shaving curls on top — optional but beautiful

Instructions
 

Mix the dry ingredients

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yellow cake mix, instant pudding mix, and espresso powder.

Add the wet ingredients

  • Add the oil, water or coffee, sour cream, and the four whisked eggs. Mix until smooth — about 1-2 minutes.

Add the chocolate chips

  • Toss the chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon flour, then fold them gently into the batter.

Prep your bundt pan

  • Generously butter the entire inside of the bundt pan — this is the key to a clean, pretty release.

Bake

  • Pour in the batter and bake at 350°F for 45–50 minutes. Mine was perfect at 50 minutes.

Flip & cool

  • Let it cool for 10–15 minutes, flip onto a cake plate, and let it finish cooling completely.

Decorate (or keep it simple!)

  • For the holidays, I shaved a dark chocolate bar with a potato peeler to create beautiful chocolate curls.

But you can also:

  • Dust with powdered sugar
  • Drizzle with a simple vanilla glaze
  • Or leave it completely plain — it’s so moist it doesn’t need anything!
Keyword bundt cake, Chocolate Bundt Cake, chocolate chips
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Make It Holiday-Ready: Dark Chocolate Ganache & Festive Garnishes

If you want to give this cake a beautiful holiday moment, here’s exactly how I dressed it up. I took about ¾ cup to 1 cup of Ghirardelli 72% dark chocolate chips and added around ¼ cup of heavy cream (adding a little extra if needed). I microwaved the mixture in 10-second intervals, stirring each time, until it became smooth, glossy, and pourable.

Once the ganache was ready, I transferred it into a Pyrex measuring cup and slowly poured it over the cake, letting it naturally drip down the sides. Then I decorated the top edge with fresh cranberries all the way around for that perfect pop of holiday red.

To finish it off, I took a Ghirardelli 72% dark chocolate bar, used a potato peeler to make delicate chocolate curls, and sprinkled them on top right before serving. It’s simple, stunning, and makes this cake look like a holiday showstopper with barely any effort at all.


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