Red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake starts with a boxed mix and adds sour cream, mayonnaise, and semisweet chocolate chips. The result is a rich ring cake with a thick cream cheese finish. Use a standard 15.25-ounce mix and a well-prepared ten- to twelve-cup Bundt pan rather than relying on a pan’s outside diameter alone.
The listed wet ingredients replace the box’s directions; do not add its oil, water, or eggs a second time. Allow full cooling before frosting, then chill the finished cake briefly for neater slices. This recipe yields about twelve dessert portions.
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Why This Recipe Works
The cake mix provides the dry base, while the added dairy and mayonnaise enrich the batter. Red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake has a different texture from a plain mix prepared exactly by its box. The chocolate chips create small pockets through the crumb, so a tester that hits melted chocolate needs to be checked in another spot.
Careful pan preparation matters because a fluted cake has many surfaces where batter can catch. Grease every groove and the center tube, dust lightly with flour, and remove the excess. That work is easier before the batter is mixed.
Ingredients for Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Choose ordinary full-fat sour cream and real mayonnaise for the written formula. They supply both fat and moisture, so reduced-fat spreads are not necessarily equivalent. Measure one cup of semisweet chocolate chips rather than adding an entire bag without checking its volume.
For red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake frosting, soften the brick cream cheese and quarter cup of butter without melting them. Sift the powdered sugar and use the separate teaspoon of vanilla for this stage. The frosting is thick enough to spread or pipe in broad lines; it is not a thin liquid glaze.
Cake
- 1 15.25-ounce box red velvet cake mix
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Frosting
- 8 ounces brick cream cheese (softened)
- ¼ cup butter (softened)
- 2½ cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pan Preparation
- as needed butter or oil (for greasing every groove)
- as needed flour (for light pan dusting)
How to Make Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Heat the oven to 350°F and prepare the pan thoroughly. Blend the eggs, sour cream, oil, water, mayonnaise, and cake vanilla, then incorporate the dry mix until smooth without extended beating. Fold in the chips and spread the batter evenly into the pan, keeping the fill no higher than about two-thirds.
Bake red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake for about 45–55 minutes, checking the thickest section away from a visible chip. The surface should be set and a tester should show no raw batter. If the pan runs deep or the oven heats gently, allow more time rather than removing a wet-centered cake.
Rest the cake in its pan for fifteen minutes, loosen only where necessary, then invert carefully onto a rack. Allow about ninety minutes more or until fully cool. Beat the frosting ingredients smooth, cover the cold cake, and refrigerate for thirty minutes before cutting. Extend cooling if the center is still warm.
How to Serve
Cut red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake into twelve slices with a clean knife. Its rich batter and frosting suit modest portions. A flat cake plate supports the ring, and chilling the frosting makes the initial slices easier to lift without smearing.
The cake may soften a little at the table before eating, but keep dairy handling time in mind. Add berries alongside if desired rather than changing the batter’s moisture with fruit. This is a homemade cake-mix dessert, with no need for a bakery name or a claim of an identical commercial recipe.
Storage
Refrigerate red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake covered at 40°F or colder, and use within four days. Limit total room-temperature decorating and serving time to two hours, or one hour above 90°F. A covered cake keeper prevents the cut face from drying out.
Freeze the unfrosted cooled cake or slices for up to two months for quality. Wrap closely and place inside a freezer bag or container. Thaw covered in the refrigerator before frosting. The frosting can become softer or less smooth after freezing, so storing the components separately is usually neater.
The cake-mix, sour cream, mayonnaise, and chocolate-chip formula draws on 24 Hour Family’s Red Velvet Bundt Cake. The instructions specify pan capacity and full cooling independently.
The FDA safe food handling guidance explains prompt refrigeration and temperature checks for perishable foods.
Tips and Variations
A correctly sized pan is important for red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake. If the batter would exceed two-thirds of the pan’s capacity, bake the surplus separately in a suitable small dish with its own earlier checks. Do not squeeze it into the center tube or fill a small decorative mold to its rim.
Keep chocolate streaks distinct from raw batter when testing. A second clean probe in another part of the cake gives a clearer picture. Do not frost simply because the exterior feels cool if the thick inner ring is still warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I add the cake mix box ingredients too?
No. Use only the wet ingredients listed here with the dry mix, otherwise the batter receives duplicate eggs, water, and oil.
What pan capacity does red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake need?
Use a 10–12-cup Bundt pan and keep the batter below about two-thirds of its capacity.
Is the red velvet chocolate chip bundt cake topping a glaze?
No. It is a thick cream cheese frosting that can be spread or piped onto a fully cooled cake.
Why is my tester chocolate-covered?
It may have passed through a chip. Test a second part of the thick cake ring for wet batter.
Can I leave the finished cake out overnight?
Keep the cream-cheese-frosted cake refrigerated and limit room-temperature handling to the stated short serving window.
More Recipes to Try
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 15.25-ounce box red velvet cake mix
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Frosting
- 8 ounces brick cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 2½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pan Preparation
- as needed butter or oil for greasing every groove
- as needed flour for light pan dusting
Instructions
- Heat to 350°F. Grease every groove and the center tube of a 10–12-cup Bundt pan, dust with flour, and tap away excess.
- Blend eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, water, mayonnaise, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add the dry 15.25-ounce cake mix and mix until evenly combined. Do not add any extra ingredients from the box directions.
- Fold in the cup of semisweet chips. Spread into the pan, filling no more than two-thirds deep. Bake for 45–55 minutes or until the thick section is set and a tester away from chips has no raw batter.
- Let stand in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert carefully onto a rack. Cool completely, about 90 minutes more or longer as needed.
- Beat softened cream cheese and ¼ cup butter smooth. Gradually incorporate powdered sugar and the frosting vanilla. Spread or pipe onto the cold cake and refrigerate 30 minutes before cutting into 12 slices.
