We can’t get enough of these mini Bundt cakes! They are loaded with chocolate flavor, and the vanilla cheesecake mixed into the batter makes them extra special. The cakes are topped with a vanilla glaze and sprinkles.
I love all Bundt cakes – you must try my pumpkin Bundt – but, unsurprisingly to those who know how much I love mini cupcakes, these mini Bundt cakes are my favorite. You bake them in a special pan that makes six at a time so they are totally perfect for sharing. Everyone loves getting their own personal cake!
If you don’t have a mini Bundt cake pan, you can make this recipe as a full-sized cake; you’ll need to increase the bake time.
Baking Tips
Most Bundt cakes, including this one, call for buttermilk. If you don’t have any, you can make buttermilk by placing 1 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and then adding milk to the 1/2 cup line. Let it sit for ten minutes before using it.
For the cheesecake component, make sure that the cream cheese is at room temperature. If it’s too cold, it won’t mix well and you’ll end up with lumps.
One of the biggest problems people have with Bundts (mini or regular) is the cake not releasing cleanly from the pan. There are several things you should try to make sure the cakes don’t stick:
- Grease each cavity really well with melted butter or cooking spray.
- Dust with cocoa powder. Dusting with cocoa powder helps the chocolate cakes to easily release without putting white specks that you would see from dusting with flour all over the exteriors of the cakes.
- Let the cakes rest for just five minutes before turning them out.
Decorating
I used to think that to get a perfect drip glaze, the glaze should be really thin and drippy. I was wrong! Your glaze should be nice and thick.
Pipe a thick ring of glaze onto the top of each cake.
Then, wiggle the cake or shake the plate it’s on up and down to encourage the glaze to gently slide down the cake.
Top with sprinkles!
Variations
To make a holiday version of this cake, mix 12 melted Candy Cake Hershey’s Kisses into the cheesecake filling and top the glaze with crushed candy canes instead of sprinkles!
To make it extra chocolaty, try topping cakes with chocolate ganache instead of the vanilla glaze.
I prefer the cheesecake swirled throughout the batter, but you can also layer the chocolate batter with the cheesecake batter if you want to see a clear cheesecake layer in the cake. Or, you can leave the cheesecake out entirely if that isn’t your thing.
Mini Bundt Cakes
Ingredients
Cheesecake Ingredients
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 egg
Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder plus a little extra for dusting the pan
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Glaze Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 tablespoon hot water
- sprinkles to taste
Instructions
Cheesecake Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and set aside.
Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Grease the wells of a mini Bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder )or do the same with one 10 inch Bundt pan).
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- Mix in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk in three additions until just combined.
- Add the cheesecake mixture and stir gently so you see a swirl. Do not overmix. You want the batters swirled together, not fully combined.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the mini Bundt pan's wells.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a mini Bundt comes out clean.
Glaze Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Add extra water if needed to make a thick glaze that will flow very slowly off of a spatula.
- Pipe glaze around the top of each cake.
- Shake each mini Bundt cake to encourage the glaze to drip down the side.
- Top with sprinkles.
