Chocolatey and rich, this perfect chocolate pound cake is one of the most delicious pound cakes I’ve ever had. Whether served slightly warm, room temperature, or cold from the refrigerator, it tastes fantastic. Paired with vanilla sauce or chocolate ganache, this snack cake is the treat you definitely deserve this week.
Why do I love pound cakes so much? They are easy to make, perfect for every occasion (or no occasion at all)! They can be delicious on their own or dressed up with a little vanilla sauce, ganache, whipped cream, or ice cream for an extra special treat with guests. While this cake is based on my chocolate sour cream bundt cake, the ratios of butter, eggs, and sour cream vary slightly.
This cake has been in recipe development for a little while… as all perfect cakes take time! While figuring out this recipe, I baked the top chocolate pound cake result according to Google, but was underwhelmed with the taste and texture results. Most chocolate pound cake recipes I tried used too many eggs and too much cocoa powder.
After much trial and error, I found the perfect ratios of cocoa powders, sugars, flour, and eggs… giving you the perfect chocolate pound cake. Despite this, the household is torn on the best topping: creamy vanilla sauce or fudgy milk chocolate ganache. Let me know in the comments below what your preferred topping is! (My favorite was the fudgy milk chocolate 1:1 ganache!)
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Let’s talk about a few of the ingredients first!
Cocoa & coffee: To boost the chocolaty flavor, use a blend of 100% dutch process cocoa and black cocoa for its rich, dark chocolate flavor. Adding instant coffee powder simply helps enhance the chocolate flavor and is undetectable after baking.
Sour cream: Using sour cream enhances the cake’s richness and provides a slight tang. It’s one of the best additions you can make to a chocolate cake so I wouldn’t recommend making substitutions.
White & brown sugar: A mixture of white and light brown sugar gives moisture to the cake, too, as well as a subtle caramel flavor.
Eggs: Too many eggs in pound cake resulted in a pound cake that was a little too spongy. More eggs made the batter wetter and increased bake times.
Baking soda versus baking powder: The cake I made with baking soda instead of baking powder retained the perfect texture and rise- perfectly dense, with just enough air in the sponge.
How to make the perfect chocolate pound cake
- Prep your loaf pan. Line the pan with a layer of parchment paper. I use this gorgeous non-toxic loaf pan from Caraway because the cake releases like butter from the perfect non-stick sides.
- Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl: Flour, cocoa powders, coffee powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cream butter and sugars. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add eggs. Add eggs one a time, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything mixes together evenly. Lastly, add the vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients and sour cream. Add half the dry ingredients, add all of the sour cream, and add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing together well between each addition.
- Bake. Pour batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake in a 350°F/177°C oven for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, and then lift up on the parchment paper to remove loaf from pan and cool completely (preferably on a wire rack) before glazing.
Helpful tips to make perfect pound cake
- Room temperature ingredients: Eggs & butter should be room temperature when making any cake so that they don’t cease up and separate when making the batter. Pro tip: Cut the butter into smaller cubes to allow it to warm to room temperature faster.
- Sift dry ingredients: For the smoothest batter possible, sift your dry ingredients into the batter to eliminate lumps of flour, cocoa, or baking soda.
- Cool fully: Allow cake to cool fully before glazing & slicing for best results!
More delicious chocolate cake recipes
- Red Wine Chocolate Cake: Rich, moist, and flavorful, this red wine chocolate cake has an amazingly unique taste and fudgy, chocolatey flavor.
- Easy Homemade Chocolate Cake: It’s a classic chocolate cake that is decadent, moist and full of rich chocolate flavor.
- Vegan Chocolate Cake: Rich and fudgy, made with basic ingredients and topped with a vegan chocolate ganache for a decadent and irresistibly delicious cake.
- Chocolate Layer Cake: This rich and moist chocolate layer cake is sure to cure all your chocolate cravings. It’s layered with an irresistibly fudgy chocolate frosting and tastes absolutely incredible. It’s perfect for celebrating any occasion!
Perfect Chocolate Pound Cake
Perfectly chocolatey and rich, the perfect chocolate pound cake is decadent, delicious, and easy to make! It pairs well with a variety of toppings.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch process)
- 2 Tablespoons (18g) black cocoa powder (substitution: dutch process cocoa powder)
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (225g / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (237ml) sour cream
Instructions
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Prep your loaf pan. Line the loaf pan with a layer of parchment paper for easy release and soft edges.
-
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl: Flour, cocoa powders, coffee powder, baking soda, and salt.
-
Cream butter and sugars: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
-
Add eggs & vanilla: Add eggs one a time, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything mixes together evenly. Lastly, add the vanilla.
-
Add the dry ingredients and sour cream: Add half the dry ingredients, add all of the sour cream, and add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing together well between each addition.
-
Bake: Pour batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake in a 350°F/177°C oven for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
-
Cool & store: Allow to cool for 15 minutes, and then lift up on the parchment paper to remove loaf from pan and cool completely (preferably on a wire rack) before glazing. Store cake in an airtight container and leave at room temperature without glaze for up to 5 days for maximum freshness. Store glazed cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days for maximum freshness. Pound cakes freeze extremely well in an airtight container. Glaze after thawing if freezing first.
Recipe Notes
Toppings: pair with a 1:1 ganache or homemade vanilla sauce for extra indulgence.
