Chocolate Caramel Pecan Bundt Cake
San Francisco–based Guittard is the gold standard of chocolate, which is why chefs ask for it by name. The company's new cookbook is a collection of five generations' worth of recipes for everyone's favorite chocolate desserts. When it comes to baking, especially for something simple, like this decadent yet delicate chocolate caramel pecan Bundt cake, the best ingredients make all the difference.
There's something about the patterns that emerge on this delicate cake that make me feel like I've been transported to my grandmother's kitchen in the 1950s. This is an all‑in-one cake — caramel topping, pecan filling, and delicious cake that cook all at once! Guests will be convinced that you slaved over this Bundt cake, but it's really an easy recipe. Once you pop it in the oven, your work is done. I make this as often for brunch as I do for a dinner party.
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus 1 cup at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup pecan halves
- 3 1/2 cups Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Baking Wafers
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup Guittard Milk Chocolate Baking Chips or Guittard Butterscotch Baking Chips (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9‑inch Bundt pan if it is not nonstick.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the 1 tablespoon butter, corn syrup, water, and brown sugar. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved. Whisk until the mixture is smooth, pour into the prepared Bundt pan, and sprinkle in the pecans. Set aside.
- Melt the semisweet chocolate wafers and the remaining 1 cup butter together using a hot water bath or the microwave oven. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the water if you used a hot water bath and set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla on high speed until the mixture is light and has doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooled melted chocolate mixture on low speed. Gradually beat in the flour mixture until combined. Stir in the milk chocolate chips (if using). Pour the batter into the Bundt pan over the pecans.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven. Place a large inverted serving platter over the cake and quickly flip the cake upside down, gently shaking it to loosen the cake from the pan. Let the Bundt pan sit on top of the platter for up to 10 minutes to let all of the caramel drip out onto the plate. Cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.