Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe.

This chocolate pound cake recipe is perfect for you if you love complex chocolate flavor, the signature texture of pound cakes, and cake recipes you can easily whip up in a few minutes using only one bowl.

Why you’ll love this chocolate pound cake?

If you love pound cakes at least half as much as I do, this chocolate pound cake recipe is definitely for you for three main reasons:

• I personally love chocolate cakes that are not too sweet as I find it becomes cloying quite easily. I made sure this cake had the perfect amount of sugar without impacting the texture.
• For some reason, a lot of pound cake recipes on the internet are literally just traditional cakes baked in loaf cake pans. This is not the case with this recipe, it’ll give you the signature pound cake texture.
• Finally, this recipe is a one-bowl recipe, which means fewer dirty dishes, which means it’s basically a perfect cake recipe.

How to make this chocolate pound cake from scratch?

Possible adaptation of this recipe.

Ingredients and substitutions.

This chocolate cake recipe requires different ingredients, some of which could be substituted according to your needs :

• Room Temperature Unsalted Butter: as with any pound cake, I don’t think you can skip it as it gives its signature texture and flavor to the cake. You’ll also need some for the frosting.
• Granulated Sugar: while you could reduce it, I don’t recommend it as it would impact the texture of the cake.
• Eggs: If you don’t eat eggs, you can try and swap them with an egg replacer.
• Buttermilk: I personally often swap buttermilk for a DIY buttermilk alternative (using milk and vinegar/lemon juice), and I swear nobody can tell the difference.
• Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder: you could try using Dutch-processed cocoa powder but the natural cocoa powder also helps activate the baking soda, so your cake might end up heavier.
• Cake Flour: If you don’t have any cake flour on hand, you could try swapping it with an easy cake flour substitute. Keep in mind the texture of your cake will be a little bit different.
• Baking Soda: it acts as a leavening agent for a signature dense but not heavy cake.
• Chopped Dark Chocolate: you’ll need some for the chocolate ganache. You can swap it with semi-sweet chocolate depending on your personal preference.

Size adaptation of your chocolate pound cake.

I tend to write my recipes for an 11×4-inch loaf cake pan, which also happens to be perfect for a 9×5-inch loaf cake pan. You can easily adapt the recipe to bake bigger/smaller cakes. Simply multiply the grams measurements by:

• 0,5 for an 8×4 inch cake pan.
• 1,66 for a 12-cup bundt cake pan.

If you end up having to divide an egg, quickly mix the white and the yolk of the egg, then, add the desired quantity to your cake batter.

Bake the chocolate pound cake.

1. Preheat your oven to 330°F (165°C) and prepare your cake pan.
2. To your mixing bowl, add the sugar and the room-temperature butter. Mix it on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (two to three minutes).
3. Next, add one egg at a time, mixing on low speed between each addition. Once you add the eggs, you have to be careful not to overmix your batter.
4. Now, add half of the dry ingredients (the flour, the sifted cocoa powder, the baking soda, and the baking powder) and mix at the lowest speed.
5. Then, add the buttermilk and vanilla essence. Mix until incorporated.
6. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and mix it until incorporated again.
7. Pour your batter into your cake pan and bake it at 330F° (165C°) until a toothpick comes out clean (around 45 minutes).
8. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes before taking it out from the pan.
9. Let your cake completely cool before frosting it.

Prepare the chocolate butter ganache.

1. Melt your chocolate and butter using a double boiler (in a glass bowl over simmering water in a saucepan). You can also use your microwave (use 30-second increments and mix your ingredients between each round).
2. Keep mixing until there are only a few bits of unmelted chocolate left.
3. Now, turn off the stove (stop microwaving) and keep mixing until all of your chocolate has melted thanks to the residual heat.
4. Pour the ganache on your cake.

Baker’s secrets.

In order to make sure you end up with the best results, here are three baker’s secrets (that are not so secret really):

• I cannot stress enough how using a kitchen scale is a game-changer when baking. I know the cup system is practical and easy, but once you try weighing your ingredients, you’ll regret not starting sooner both in terms of texture and taste.
• Temperature is also another game changer. Always use room temperature ingredients unless stated otherwise and preheat your oven, you’ll taste the difference.
• Finally, do not overmix your cake batter, once you’ve added the eggs. Honestly, nine times out of ten, when someone has a problem with a cake recipe, it’s because they overmixed their cake batter.

Can you make your chocolate pound cake ahead?

You can easily make this cocoa pound cake ahead. You have several options:

• The chocolate loaf cake (without frosting) can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• You can also store it longer, up to a week, in the fridge (including the frosting).
• Finally, you could easily freeze it for up to 1 month (with the frosting too).

Whatever option you choose, always make sure to keep your cake in an airtight container, and wrapped with cling film if you’re putting it in the fridge/freezer. Always bring your cake to room temperature before serving it.