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Cakes, Layer Cakes

My Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe with a Cheesecake Center

by Lisa

Trained pastry chef

Chocolate Bundt cake cut open to show a creamy cheesecake center

5.0 (6)out of 5, 6 ratings

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Prep
10 min
Bake
1 hr
Total
1 hr 10 min
Makes
12 slices

The smell of warm chocolate drifts through the house as it bakes, and the first slice reveals a creamy cheesecake center in the middle of the dark cake. That's exactly what this Bundt cake (a Gugelhupf, as we call it in Germany) is made for: a moist chocolate cake with a cheesecake filling that brings two classics together in a single Bundt pan and looks really impressive when you cut into it.

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I use real melted couverture chocolate here (chocolate with a high cocoa butter content that melts smoothly; in the US use good-quality baking chocolate bars or couverture wafers, not chocolate chips, and in the UK couverture chocolate or a good-quality cooking chocolate bar) instead of cocoa powder (pure unsweetened cocoa powder; in the US not hot cocoa mix, in the UK not drinking chocolate). That gives the cake its deep chocolate flavor and keeps it nice and moist the next day, too. The filling is a mix of cream cheese and quark with cornstarch and two egg yolks, and it sets just as the cake finishes baking. I grease the pan the classic way with soft butter and dust it with flour, just as I learned in my training. Only one thing really matters: turn the cake out while it's lukewarm, not hot and not cold, or the soft center will break or the fat in the cake will firm up. Here is my moist chocolate cake recipe as a cheesecake Bundt cake:

Ingredients

Makes 12 slices

Chocolate batter

  • 9 oz250 gchocolateBittersweet
  • 1 stick plus 3 tbsp150 gunsalted butterSoftened. German butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter (European-style unsalted butter is closest); in the UK, unsalted butter.
  • 1 ¼ cups240 ggranulated sugar
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 5large eggs
  • 3 cups375 gall-purpose flourIn German recipes plain flour means soft wheat flour Type 405 unless stated otherwise. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.
  • 1 tspbaking powderGerman baking powder is sold in 15 g packets, each meant for about 500 g (4 cups) of flour. In the US and the UK use baking powder, 1 tbsp plus ¾ tsp per 15 g packet.

Cheesecake filling

  • ¾ cup150 ggranulated sugar
  • 2 tspvanilla sugar1 packet = 2 tsp (8 g). Sugar flavored with vanillin (artificial vanilla), sold in small packets of about 8 g. In the US use 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar for each 8 g packet; in the UK, vanilla sugar sachets, or 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar per sachet.
  • 2large egg yolks
  • 1 packetcustard pudding powderVanilla; or use cornstarch instead. Custard pudding powder is a packet of flavored starch (about 37 g) that is cooked with 2 cups (500 ml) of milk and sugar into a thick pudding. In the US use about ⅓ cup (40 g) cornstarch plus 1 tsp vanilla extract per packet; only when the recipe cooks it with milk as a pudding, one box of cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix (not instant) per packet, with the recipe's sugar reduced because the mix is sweetened. In the UK use custard powder, about 40 g per German packet (it is unsweetened, so it swaps 1:1 by weight). Cornstarch is a fine starch, usually made from corn, used to thicken creams and lighten cakes (UK: cornflour).
  • 14 oz400 gcream cheeseYou can also use some quark or schmand instead. Cream cheese is a soft, full-fat fresh cheese: in the US use full-fat cream cheese, in the UK full-fat soft cheese. Quark is a fresh, mild and slightly tangy cheese with a spoonable texture, used in German cheesecakes, doughs and creams: in the US use full-fat Greek yogurt strained overnight, or farmer's cheese; in the UK, quark from the supermarket chiller (choose a full-fat one if you can find it). Schmand (thick sour cream) is a thick cultured cream with about 20 to 24 percent fat, richer than American sour cream: in the US use full-fat sour cream, or half sour cream and half crème fraîche; in the UK, soured cream mixed with an equal amount of crème fraîche.

Method

Chocolate cake batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C) convection (fan). Grease the Bundt pan and dust it with flour.

  2. Beat the butter with the salt, sugar & vanilla sugar until light and fluffy.

  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in thoroughly.

  4. Mix the flour & baking powder and stir them into the batter, then spoon about ¾ of it into the pan and spread it up the sides.

Cheesecake filling

  1. Stir all the ingredients together well, with a little patience. Then carefully spread the filling in the pan.

  2. Carefully dot the remaining chocolate batter over the cheesecake filling in spoonfuls and spread it until the filling is "hidden".

  3. Bake the Bundt cake for about an hour. If needed, cover it loosely with a little foil so it doesn't get too dark.

  4. After baking, let the cake cool in the pan for about an hour, then carefully turn it out while it's still lukewarm!

  5. If you like, decorate it with a little chocolate cake coating (a ready-made compound chocolate coating that sets glossy without tempering; in the US use chocolate candy melts or compound coating, or chocolate melted with a little coconut oil, and in the UK chocolate cake covering, or chocolate melted with a little coconut oil).

Questions and answers

Why did my chocolate Bundt cake turn out dry instead of moist?
For me, it's usually down to the flour. As soon as the flour and baking powder are in the batter, I only mix briefly until everything is combined. If you keep mixing for too long, the batter gets tough and the baked cake turns crumbly. The couverture chocolate does the rest: it keeps the crumb nice and moist.
When can I turn the cheesecake Bundt cake out of the pan?
Exactly when it's lukewarm, so after about 20 to 30 minutes of cooling. Carefully feel the bottom of the pan. If it's still hot, the cheesecake filling inside is still too soft and the cake can break apart. If you wait too long, the fat in the cake firms up and the cake won't come out of the pan anymore.
Can I use just cream cheese or just quark instead of both?
Of course. I had two open packages, which is why I used a mix. With cream cheese only, the filling turns out a little denser and creamier, in the style of a New York cheesecake. With quark only, it's lighter and fresher. Both work, you just need the same total amount.
Why does my cheesecake filling look so dry at first?
That's completely normal. The sugar and cornstarch look dry at first, but as soon as they come into contact with the quark and egg yolks, the sugar starts to dissolve. Just keep stirring patiently, and within a minute the mixture comes together into a creamy filling.
How do I spread the chocolate batter in the pan so the filling doesn't leak out?
I put about two thirds of the batter into the pan and then use a spoon to pull it up the outer side of the pan and up the center tube, too. That creates a proper well. The filling goes in there, and I seal everything on top with the remaining chocolate batter. The important thing is that the filling is wrapped in batter all the way around.
Which Bundt pan works best for this recipe?
A classic pan about 8 ½ to 9 ½ inches (22 to 24 cm) in diameter is right for this amount. Mine was almost too full this time, so you can avoid that by using a slightly bigger one. What matters is that you grease the pan carefully with soft butter and dust it with flour, then the cake will come out later without any drama.