Featured comment:
“I made this cake today and it turned out fabulous! Followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. Dark and chocolatey. I will definitely make this often.” ~LISA
A frosted chocolate pound cake is every bit as luscious as a layer cake, but so much easier to throw together. And somehow it feels a little less decadent, too (I’m not sure that’s true, but I’m running with it.) Â A stand mixer makes this a pleasure to bake. While it’s creaming the butter and sugar, I spray and line my loaf pan, whisk together the dry ingredients, and mix the wet. All I have to do is crack in the eggs, and then alternate between the dry and wet to make a beautiful batter.
The chocolate pound cake has a nice rich satisfying chocolate flavor, and it slices like butter! No wimpy chocolate for this recipe…I use extra dark cocoa powder for the cake and dark chocolate for the ganache. The result is an intense chocolate experience.
ingredient list
- butter
- butter gives this cake flavor, but you can also use a mild vegetable oil which makes the prep easier and keeps the cake extra moist.
- white sugar
- large eggs
- vanilla
- espresso powder
- this just gives a little ‘oomph’ to the chocolate flavor, you won’t taste it. Leave it out if you prefer.
- sour cream
- milk
- all purpose flour
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- salt and baking soda
- heavy cream
- dark chocolate
- use chopped bar chocolate or chocolate chips
notes for chocolate pound cake
- Be sure your butter and eggs are truly at room temperature or your batter won’t come together well. To warm up cold butter, unwrap it, and slice into four pieces. Microwave for 15 seconds. To warm up cold eggs, put them into a small bowl or glass and fill with warm water, let sit for 5 minutes.
- I used hershey’s special dark cocoa
which gives this cake it’s deep dark color. - Be sure your oven is at 325F. An inexpensive oven thermometer is an indispensable tool for checking this.
- The cake will be done when it is fully risen and not jiggly in the center. Use a toothpick to check, if there is wet batter, keep cooking a little longer. Check frequently because the cake can go from done to dry quickly.
- I don’t like to bake in glass pans because they cook too quickly. A good quality, heavy metal loaf pan will give you the best results, I like this one.
- Be sure to frost your chocolate pound cake while it is still in the pan, because the ganache starts out thin and then thickens as it cools. You want to keep all that lusciousness on the cake!
which gives this cake it’s deep dark color.more chocolate cake, please!
- Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Cake with Cranberry Buttercream
- Flourless Belgian Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Chocolate Pound Cake
Everyone should have a rich Chocolate Pound Cake in their recipe file, preferably right up front — this dark chocolate loaf cake is topped with a creamy chocolate ganache.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (1/2 cup = 4 ounces/ 1 stick)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp espresso powder
wet ingredients
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup milk
dry ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 Tbsp
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
ganache topping
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 6 ounces dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
Instructions
- Set oven to 325°F.
- Spray a standard 9×5 loaf pan and line it with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving the ends to hang long. This way you can lift the frosted cake out for cleaner cutting. Set aside.
- Using a a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or an electric hand mixer and large bowl), cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and espresso powder.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and milk.
- In another large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients alternately to the butter/sugar mixture, beginning and ending with dry. Blend only until mixed, don't over beat.
- Turn the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread out evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it. Check your cake on the early side to avoid over-baking. Set aside to cool.
- To make the ganache topping, heat the cream to a simmer and remove from heat. Add the chocolate and let sit for a minute, then stir until everything is melted and glossy. Pour over the cooled cake and then let the ganache firm up in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- If you have used a parchment paper ‘sling’, gently pull the cake out of the pan to slice it.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 slice · Calories: 486 kcal · Carbohydrates: 48 g · Protein: 7 g · Fat: 31 g · Saturated Fat: 21 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g · Trans Fat: 0.5 g · Cholesterol: 106 mg · Sodium: 269 mg · Potassium: 325 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 28 g · Vitamin A: 846 IU · Vitamin C: 0.4 mg · Calcium: 123 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Did You Make This?We love seeing what you’ve made! Tag us on social media at @theviewfromgreatisland for a chance to be featured.
Thanks for pinning this chocolate pound cake!
Pardon my ignorance, but I’m new at the baking game: is espresso powder the same thing as coffee that is ground for espresso-making? Or is there another product I am not aware of?
Espresso powder is basically instant espresso, but it’s not ground espresso beans. It’s stronger than instant coffee, but the same idea.
Tried this for muffins without ganache and reduced time to 35 min. Turned out super dry even though I added an extra 1/4 cup milk because the batter was too dry. The taste was disappointing, not nearly chocolatey enough. I went back and checked my measurements but it was all correct. Could do with less time to hopefully correct the dryness but not sure what to do about the lack of chocolate flavour.
Made this cake today. Smelled so good baking. Delicious
Tried out this recipe. Added about one fourth of a cup of water for added moisture. Rich, soft and delicious. This is gonna be my go to chocolate cake recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Made for my 4th of July family get together and it was wonderful! Everyone loved it. Will be making again for sure….. I didn’t have espresso powder, so I used Organic Roasted Drinking Cocoa instead with awesome results. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
Do you post nutritional info, such as carb count, etc? If so, I can’t find it
I don’t usually post that on desserts and baked goods, sorry Patricia. You can always plug it in to an online calculator if you need the info.
I’d like to make this cake but I have to ship it from New York to Colorado and it will take about five days to arrive. Do you think the chocolate ganache will melt and does the cake need to be refrigerated.
Awesome recipe! Easy instructions and used items I already in my house…this will stay in my rotation.
Thank you so much for sharing a very delicious choc cake. Hit the spot!
Any alterations for high altitude (5280′)? Thanks!
The general recommendations would be: Reduce the baking soda to just 1/4 tsp. Reduce sugar by 1 tablespoon per cup. Increase liquid by about 4 tablespoons. Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F. Check the cake 10 to 15 minutes early. Hope this helps!
Looking forward to trying this cake out soon. My question is, is it possible to make this a white cake ? If so, how do you recommend doing that.