The Kitchen McCabe’s Chocolate Cinnamon Espresso Bundt Cake

By Kayley McCabe, The Kitchen McCabe

If you’ve ever fallen down a late-night TikTok or Instagram baking rabbit hole, you know just how mesmerizing it can be. You get caught up in the gooey but crispy-edged cookies, the perfectly piped frosting, and the cozy kitchens they’re baked in. Before you know it, two hours have gone by in a blink, and you’re drooling. Oh, how the times have changed, to where social media has become the new cookbook! In this fall and holiday season-inspired baking roundup, we’re highlighting some of the most talented bakers who have taken over our feeds (and even our kitchens) with their irresistible creations, like Kayley McCabe’s Chocolate Cinnamon Espresso Bundt Cake!

Kayley is a chef, baker, and self-taught photographer based in Utah and Rhode Island, and is the creative mind behind The Kitchen McCabe. What began as a small home kitchen blog grew into a celebrated space for artful recipes and evocative imagery. Inspired by seasonal ingredients and the beauty of handmade food, Kayley brings a soulful, visual storytelling approach to every dish she creates—where baking becomes both craft and expression.

VIE: What makes the holiday time special for you?

Kayley: Probably the nostalgia behind it, more than anything. I think the way that the holidays feel is something that is impressed upon us from a young age. As we grow up, we collect and store all those feelings, sounds, tastes, and smells that form our perception of the holidays. When the holidays return each year, they allow us to jump back into that childlike state of mind where everything is magical, peaceful, and extraordinary.

VIE: What makes baking around the holidays important to you?

Kayley: Holiday baking is a tactile reminder that time is meant to be savored and enjoyed. Baking can’t be rushed. It needs intention, and the payoff is ever so sweet. It benefits all and is an opportunity to give to others. Holiday baking is always meant to be shared.

VIE: Are you the baker in the family, or are there others in the kitchen during the festivities?

Kayley: I’m definitely the baker, though everyone tends to drift through the kitchen at some point—to taste, to chat, or to “help” sneak bites of dough. It’s a shared space even if I’m the one orchestrating the bakes.

VIE: What’s a holiday tradition you did as a child that you still do or try to do today?

Kayley: As a child, we were forced to take a break from the Christmas morning frenzy and eat breakfast in between stockings and presents. As a parent, I maintain this tradition year after year, serving up piles of pancakes, sausage, blueberry muffins, and orange juice, just like my father did every year of my childhood.

VIE: What’s a holiday baking staple that you will always bake, year after year?

Kayley: I love baking cookies and giving boxed assortments as gifts during the holiday season. Soft and chewy gingersnaps are a must, along with my gingerbread tiles. Chocolate-dipped shortbreads and ornately iced sugar cookies always make the cut, as well.

Chocolate Cinnamon Espresso Bundt Cake

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup dark cocoa

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

3 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

1 Tbsp vanilla

2/3 cup espresso

1 stick(8 Tbsp)butter, melted

1/3 cup light olive oil

1/4 cup Kaluha

2 cups dark chocolate, chopped (60% cacao)

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsp instant espresso powder

1 Tbsp corn syrup

Coffee beans, to garnish

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt mold.
3. Place the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until combined.
4. In another mixing bowl, add the eggs, oil, sour cream, vanilla, espresso, and Kahlúa, and whisk until well combined and smooth.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.
6. Spilled the mixture into the prepared Bundt pan and leveled the top. Drop on the countertop three times to force out any air bubbles.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Invert the Bundt cake onto a serving platter. Let the cake cool completely before glazing.

1. For the Glaze:
2. Add the chocolate chips and butter to a mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat heavy cream in a small saucepan until simmering. Remove immediately and whisk in the espresso powder.
4. Pour the heavy cream mixture over the chocolate in the bowl and let it sit for one minute. Whisk until glossy and smooth. Add the corn syrup and whisk until completely combined and shiny.
5. Pour the glaze over the cool Bundt cake and top with coffee beans.

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To explore more recipies, visit thekitchenmccabe.com and follow @thekitchenmccaabe on Instagram.