This high altitude chocolate caramel bundt cake starts with a moist chocolate cake, drizzled with sweet caramel and rich chocolate ganache, and topped with crunchy heath candy bars.
You might also love these caramel pecan coconut shortbread bars, banoffee pie (banana caramel toffee), and pecan caramel sticky buns.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Better than Sex. The flavors of this cake (chocolate, caramel, toffee, sweetened condensed milk) are very reminiscent of the “better than sex” sheet cake that used to be so popular, although without the layer of whipped cream. I had thoughts of naming this recipe “marry me chocolate cake”, but then stumbled across a Reddit thread where people expressed their hatred of all recipes with “marry me” in the title, so I decided against it. Regardless of the name, you’re going to love this recipe, which is definitely a chocolate lover’s chocolate caramel cake.
No Mixer Needed. You won’t need a mixer to make today’s chocolate caramel bundt cake, since the cake batter comes together easily with just a bowl and whisk.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Chocolate. You’ll need some good quality dark chocolate for both the cake and the ganache. Anything between 55-70% cacao is fine, and I used 70% Lindt dark chocolate.
- Cocoa Powder. Be sure to use a good Dutch processed (not natural) cocoa powder for the best color and flavor in your cake. I used Cacao Barry Extra Brute.
- Espresso Powder. I almost always add some instant espresso powder or instant coffee to my chocolate cakes, which really enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
- Caramel. For the caramel drip, I combined dulce de leche (a milk-based caramel) with a jar of salted caramel sauce. On their own, one is too thick and the other too thin, so together, they make a nice consistency. If you only buy one, I’d use the dulce de leche, and then try thinning it with just a small amount of cream.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 325 F, position a rack in the center of the oven, and thoroughly grease a 10-cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from the heat, and stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and chocolate with the oil, milk, sour cream, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, espresso powder, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk for 10-15 seconds until smooth and well combined.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it. Be careful not to over-bake, or the cake can dry out.
- Cool the cake in the pan for exactly 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack, carefully remove the pan, and let cool completely for about an hour.
Caramel and Ganache
- Set the cooled cake on a serving plate or cake pedestal.
- In a bowl, combine the dulce de leche and caramel sauce. The caramel sauce helps to thin out the dulce de leche to a looser consistency. Pour the mixture over the cake.
- To make the ganache, combine the cream and chocolate in a small saucepan. Over medium low heat, warm the mixture, stirring frequently with a spatula, until melted and smooth. Pour the ganache over the cake, right over the caramel.
- Let the ganache set up for a few minutes, then sprinkle heath bits or broken pieces of heath bars over the cake.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days.
You’ll need a bundt pan with a 10-cup capacity. I’ve baked this cake before in the “jubilee” bundt pan, but today I used the “kugelhopf” bundt pan.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Chocolate Caramel Bundt Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Bundt Pan (10 cup capacity)
Ingredients
Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 oz good-quality dark chocolate, 55-70% cacao, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup full-fat sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp espresso powder or instant coffee
- 1 ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Caramel and Ganache
- ½ cup dulce de leche
- 2-3 tbsp caramel sauce or caramel topping
- 2 oz heavy whipping cream
- 2 oz good-quality dark chocolate, 55-70% cacao, roughly chopped
- heath bars or toffee bits
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 325 F, position a rack in the center of the oven, and thoroughly grease a 10-cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from the heat, and stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and chocolate with the oil, milk, sour cream, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, espresso powder, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk for 10-15 seconds until smooth and well combined.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it. Be careful not to over-bake, or the cake can dry out.
- Cool the cake in the pan for exactly 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack, carefully remove the pan, and let cool completely for about an hour.
Caramel and Ganache
- Set the cooled cake on a serving plate or cake pedestal.
- In a bowl, combine the dulce de leche and caramel sauce. The caramel sauce helps to thin out the dulce de leche to a looser consistency. Pour the mixture over the cake.
- To make the ganache, combine the cream and chocolate in a small saucepan. Over medium low heat, warm the mixture, stirring frequently with a spatula, until melted and smooth. Pour the ganache over the cake, right over the caramel.
- Let the ganache set up for a few minutes, then sprinkle heath bits or broken pieces of heath bars over the cake.
My oven is broken right now, and I am so upset because all I want to do is bake this cake.
What is the brand of salted caramel sauce you used? I couldn’t seem to find it in your Amazon shop. Looking forward to making this, it looks yummy!
I use whatever I can find at my grocery store, usually Mrs Richardson’s or Smuckers.