Chocolate Pecan Bundt Cake - a simple white cake with chocolate chips and pecans. Serve simply with powdered sugar.
Friends, there are so many things I have to tell you.
Things I will probably never get around to telling you because I am here so infrequently these days.
I said to my husband the other night "I think I'm going to shut down the blog"
and as predicted he responded with "don't - I like that you blog."
It's not the blogging that he likes. Or even the free goods that fall into my lap from time to time - which we all can fully admit are far more than fun (and my kids will argue that cereal and seeds are the best part of this blog).
It's the fact that I do this, do something. It's creative. It's only for me.
Blogging is rather pointless on the grand scheme of things. I get that. And the notion that I need a purpose, or that I lack a real purpose, drives my feeling that "I might as well just shut this thing down."
But it's like that box of watercolors and the canvas in the closet or the fancy camera bought with great aspirations that now only gets pulled out for school performances... if I gave it away, or sold it in a yard sale, it would be gone and with it, I would lose the opportunity. And the next time the stars aligned just right and I not only felt like playing around in the kitchen, but I found I had some time to do so, and wanted to chronicle my results - because let's face, its the recording and telling you about it that I like the best - I wouldn't have the tools. The desire to create would go unfulfilled. Lost. Like paints hopelessly dried up.
I've determined that this blog is a 100% completely selfish endeavor. This is not for you, it's for me.
A better blogger would focus on her readers. A better blogger would have made this cake and posted the recipe sometime in March so you could look at it and consider it for your Easter brunch. Because it would have been perfect for Easter Brunch.
An even better blogger would have done a Mother's Day Dessert round-up post so you could add this to your Mother's Day lunch plans. Because it is so easy and the perfect contrast to things sweeter and creamier and probably fruity-er that are most likely sitting on that buffet table.
But here it is almost June. Mother's Day long gone. And I am going to share with you a cake. A bundt cake. A Chocolate Pecan Bundt cake with lots of cinnamon, which I made for no real occasion or reason other than I felt like baking one day. And I liked the way this one turned out, so here it is.
I'm more than okay with this. I am a decent baker and I made this cake. And I liked this cake so I'm sharing this now so that I can remember how good this cake was for the next time I want to make it.
How to make Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Pecans
- Like most cakes, this one bakes at 350. I like a round bundt pan. It looks nice and will mean it bakes for about 40 minutes.
- In a small bowl combine cinnamon, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and pecans. You will add this later to the batter. You will add some of this directly to the top of the cake (or the bottom of the cake pan) and the rest to the batter.
- In another bowl combine dry ingredients. Give it a quick whisk to evenly combine.
- I use my stand mixer, you can use a handheld mixer if you don't have one. Cream butter and white sugar until creamy and smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add the sour cream. Beat again.
- Once wet ingredients are smooth, add dry ingredients. Beat at low speed until just combined. Remove from the stand mixer, scrape the side of the bowl, and gently fold in the rest of the pecan and chocolate chip mixture.
- Before pouring the batter into the bundt cake pan, sprinkle about ¼ of the pecan and chocolate mixture into the cake pan. Then pour the batter over top. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
More bundt cake recipes
Bundt cakes are some of my favourite cakes. I think it's their round donut-like shape. Here are a few more of my favourite bundts:
Chocolate Pecan Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- ¼ cup whole pecans
- 1 12- ounce package of chocolate chips
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup 1 stick butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan. I spray with cooking spray and then lightly dust with flour. Sprinkle the whole pecan along the bottom of the pan. I tried to line them up neatly between the scallops of my bundt pan. I like they way the peak out once the cake is dusted with icing sugar later on.
- In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and cinnamon, and set aside.
- In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until completely blended. Beat in eggs and then sour cream until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Add the sifted dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla. Mix until batter is well blended.
- Take about ¼ cup of the pecan and chocolate chip mixture and sprinkle evenly over the pecans already in the bundt pan.
- Fold the remaining pecan and chocolate chip mixture into the batter until evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the pan, spread evenly, and bake 35-40 minutes. To test that the cake is done, I stick a toothpick into the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
- Cool the cake for at least 20 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a serving plate. Best to use a plate or platter that more than covers the open end of the bundt pan. Place the plate upside down on top of the cake pan, hold firmly in place while you flip the cake over. Gently life the cake pan and the cake will slide right out assuming it has cooled properly. (I like to very gently run a very thin knife around the edge of the cake before I try to invert it onto a platter. This is more to check that the cake is coming away from the sides of the pan properly than to cut it away from the pan.) Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
More cakes - plain & fancy
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
I'm a selfish blogger too-and that's ok! It's ok and these spaces on the internet are for us 😛
This bundt cake looks DELICIOUS-I always love chocoooolate