Chocolate Pound Cake

This chocolate pound cake is velvety, buttery, and chocolaty! It has everything a good pound cake should. It's a little dense, yet still moist and tender.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate bundt cake recipes, chocolate cake recipes, pound cake recipes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Cooling Time 1

Total Time 2 5

Servings servings

Calories 689kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk shaken well
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Ganache:

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cake:

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour (3 cups), cocoa (5 tablespoons), espresso powder (1 teaspoon), baking powder (1/2 teaspoon), and salt (1/2 teaspoon); set aside.
Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, beat butter (1 1/2 cups) on medium speed, until light and fluff, 6 minutes.
Gradually mix in sugar (3 cups) until blended. Beat on medium for 1 additional minute.
Add eggs (5), one at a time, mixing after each addition just until the yolk disappears.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture and buttermilk (1 cup), beginning and ending with flour mixture, on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla (1 tablespoon).
Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with no stick baking spray or grease and flour. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan. Tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Cover with foil and continue to bake, about 45 minutes longer, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in a pan on a wire rack for 1 hour. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Ganache:

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate (6 ounces) and butter (2 tablespoons).
In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring the cream to a boil. While the cream (1/2 cup) is heating, microwave the chocolate and butter for 30 seconds at 100% power. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and butter. Whisk until the mixture melts and becomes smooth.
Pour the ganache over the top of the cake. Allow the ganache to set for about 20 minutes, then cut the cake and serve.

Notes

Room Temperature: Start with room temperature ingredients. This will ensure everything mixes properly and you will get the maximum volume from the ingredients.
Over Beating: This may sound strange after you read the recipe and see that the first thing you do is beat the butter for 6 minutes! It’s after the eggs are added that you need to beat just to incorporate. Do NOT over beat your eggs! Add your eggs and mix until the yolk disappears.
Baking: It’s very easy to over-bake a pound cake. I like to bake it until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Size: I use a 12-cup Bundt pan for this recipe.
Cake Release: I use Baker Joy no-stick spray. This cake has always released from the pan perfectly for me with this spray. I spray the pan heavily after I make the batter, just before I pour it into the pan. That way the spray doesn’t have time to slide down the pan.

Nutrition