Chocolate Pound Cake

This chocolate pound cake recipe has all the typical makings of a pound cake—flour, butter, sugar and eggs—plus one special ingredient that makes it rich and chocolaty: baking cocoa. The warm, spongy cake takes just over an hour to bake, however preparing the batter requires only 15 minutes of quick prep work. To ensure this is one of the best chocolate pound cake recipes you’ll ever make, take your time when combining the ingredients by working in small batches as you alternate between mixing and adding more. A gentle dusting of confectioners’ sugar once the cake has completely cooled adds a hint of sweetness to this dainty, delicate dessert.

Ingredients for Chocolate Pound Cake

• Butter and shortening: The softened butter and shortening creamed together with sugar give the cake its richness and help it maintain its structure as it rises while baking.
• Sugar: The sugar gives this chocolate pound cake recipe its adequate sweetness level to balance the cocoa’s richness.
• Eggs: Bring the eggs to room temperature to help them incorporate into the batter more efficiently and achieve a fluffier pound cake.
• All-purpose flour and baking powder: The flour helps bind the wet and dry ingredients together, while the baking powder, a leavening agent, ensures the cake batter rises while baking.
• Baking cocoa: The cocoa transforms this simple pound cake recipe into a chocolate lover’s dream with its concentrated flavor and potency.
• Milk: The 2% milk is added between additions of the wet and dry ingredients to help emulsify them more easily when preparing the cake batter.
• Vanilla extract: A tablespoon of vanilla extract gives the cake a warming flavor, further highlighting the chocolate notes.
• Confectioners’ sugar (optional): Although it’s not necessary, dusting the cooled cake with confectioners’ sugar gives it a subtle hint of additional sweetness and an elegant look.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the cake batter

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, five to seven minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Combine the milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk mixture. Mix everything well.

Step 2: Bake the pound cake

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Pour the batter into a greased 10-inch tube pan. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, sprinkle the cake with confectioners’ sugar.

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Chocolate Pound Cake Variations

• Add a vanilla glaze: For even more sweetness, prepare a homemade vanilla glaze to drizzle on top of the chocolate pound cake once it’s completely cooled.
• Make a chocolate ganache: For an even more decadent chocolate pound cake, prepare homemade chocolate ganache to drizzle on top of the dessert.
• Use a loaf pan: You can prepare the pound cake in loaf pans instead of a tube pan, but note that the cooking time will vary depending on the size of the pan.
• Add chocolate chips: Just before transferring the batter into the pan, fold in semi-sweet chocolate chips for an extra pop of chocolate flavor.
• Lower the oven temperature: If baking the cake at 350° is too hot, lower the temperature to 325°.

How to Store Chocolate Pound Cake

Store the cooled pound cake in an airtight container at room temperature for three to four days, or in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days.

Can you freeze chocolate pound cake?

Yes! You can freeze the cooled chocolate pound cake in an airtight container for up to six months. Simply thaw it in the refrigerator or at room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Pound Cake Tips

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What makes a pound cake different from a regular cake?

A traditional pound cake consists of a pound of butter, eggs, flour and sugar. Meanwhile, a regular cake deviates from a pound cake’s ratios and incorporates a few added ingredients into the batter, such as baking powder, baking cocoa and milk. Pound cakes also tend to have a richer consistency than regular cakes, due to the higher butter content.

What makes a pound cake turn out dry?

Ultimately, the ratio of flour to butter can alter the dryness level of a pound cake. Typically, a dry pound cake results from too much flour and not enough wet ingredients, such as butter or milk.

How do you keep a pound cake from sinking in the middle?

To prevent a pound cake from sinking, avoid moving the pan during the first half of the baking time. Moving the pan before the batter has set can cause the trapped air bubbles to escape and the center to collapse. If you need to rotate the pan, you should only do it after the first half of the baking time has passed.