Chocolate Kiss Bundt Cake

At holiday time I am often desperate for help in the kitchen. If you stop by to visit while I’m cooking, you may find yourself wearing an apron, and I’m not picky about age or gender. I handed the recipe for this chocolate bundt cake to an eleven-year-old boy. I was up to my neck preparing casseroles, and I was running out of time to finish the baking. He had never baked a cake before, and he did an amazing job. He’s my official sous chef now. His cake was the centerpiece for the dessert table. I think it has everything that makes a cake perfect. It’s easy, it’s pretty, and it’s chocolate.

Print Recipe

Chocolate Kiss Bundt Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 (3.9 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
14 chocolate kisses, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use vegetable shortening to grease a bundt pan, then dust pan with flour. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sugar, sour cream, eggs, oil, water, and vanilla. Mix for 2 minutes, scrape bowl sides, then mix for 1 additional minute at medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place chocolate kisses evenly around the top of the batter. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, or until cake springs back to the touch. Cool in pan 3 minutes, then remove from pan to a cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional chocolate kisses

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Use a piping bag to pipe frosting in rows over cooled cake. Place a chocolate kiss on top of each row of piped frosting.