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Chocolate Pound Cake ~ rich and decadent, this easy to make dessert is topped with a silky smooth chocolate glaze – perfect for the chocoholic in your life!
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had problems with your cable, Internet and telephone service provider. Now keep those hands up if you’ve ever gotten so fed up you told them … you know … to stick it? We had a big storm the other night and everything went out. We called to report the outage and were told they didn’t have any reports of outages in our area. “Well I’m calling to tell you we have an outage.” I won’t bore you with the details but after days of trying to get someone to come out, and hours on the phone trying their way first, we finally said forget it we’ll get someone else. We’re lucky to have options I know there are some that don’t. Anyway – we’re going to save $30 a month and have faster Internet, but it will be another week before everything is working again.
This is a problem if you’re a blogger and need access to the Internet to write posts, visit favorite websites, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. and do on-line banking. My son and daughter-in-law were kind enough to let me bring the laptop over and work on my post today. The weirdest thing about being in the dark, is living without the Weather Channel. I need my weather forcast. It’s a blessing I have a smart phone – or I would be seriously lost! Have you ever tried living without TV, Internet and telephone for two weeks? Yeah – an interesting experience. I’ll be back visiting and commenting soon – so please forgive me for disappearing/ going dark/ off the grid!
Thanks for reading my rant but I bet you came to see about this lovely, rich, decedent, simple, easy chocolate pound cake! I don’t blame you. Chocolate cures a lot of things, maybe not the cable connection, but many others!
A few weeks ago I was invited to a friend’s house to give a little class in baking a cake. While I’m not a professionally trained baker I do have years of experience and am happy to share my tips – you know … pass it on. And since many of my readers are young bakers or new moms, I thought I’d get into more detail with this post and share a few tips.
First if I’m going to the trouble to bake something homemade, I use good ingredients. I’ve recently found this high-end cocoa and am very pleased with the results. I’m sold.
Over the years I’ve used Gold Medal, White Lily and others, but King Arthur is my favorite. I’ve found unbleached works great in anything calling for all-purpose flour (sometimes referred to as AP flour). I’m not an expert on the difference between bleached and unbleached flour, but there is tons of information on the web – so Google away. If you are concerned be sure to sift before baking.
Hands down – I never use anything other than Land O’Lakes unsalted butter in all my baked goods. Period. I’ve made the mistake of using a more generic brand with terrible results. This is especially important when making candy or fudge. I always use unsalted because it has a much better flavor and I prefer being in control of the salt. All my recipes are tested with unsalted butter.
If you don’t bake often, make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. Whenever I open a new can or box (use aluminum-free baking powder) I mark the date on the can so I don’t have to guess. It is fairly cheap so I replace the can at least every six months.
I always use real – pure vanilla extract. No imitation vanilla flavoring for me. I love this brand but again it’s not cheap. Keep in a cool dark place and it will be good for a long time.
Domino sugar is the best, and they didn’t pay me to write that. They are welcome to send me some free sugar to use however!
Now that you’ve bought everything you need, next pre-measure and set out all your ingredients before starting. The main reason I do this is to prevent a mistake or forget to add something like vanilla, etc. I’ve done it and it is easy to do. I usually read a recipe several times and even make notes if I’m going to make changes. For young mothers I know how hard it is to bake and cook with a little one around. The distractions are multiplied if you have several children along with a dog and a cat, etc. Play it safe. Get everything ready and measured before starting. I may not be a young mom, but I am a grandmother. Baking with a two year old is a little more confusing.
Pound cake recipes always tell you to cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. What does that mean exactly? I tried to take some pictures that might help. The room temperature butter was blended with the granulated sugar for a minute or two. It’s still grainy and not at all smooth. It’s not ready.
It still looks a bit sandy – beat some more.
It starting to look better but still not as smooth as it could be. Why is this important? Creaming the butter and sugar will give you a more consistent cake crumb and a lighter, loftier texture overall. Beating adds air to the mixture.
This is more pale in color and appears puffier. I think it’s good.
Not grainy, just light and fluffy.
I always put my eggs and butter out a few hours before baking. Room temperature ingredients yield the best results but don’t worry if you don’t have time. It will turn out good regardless. If you need your butter softened, put it in the microwave at 30% power for about 1 minute. Don’t melt it, just softened enough to cream with the sugar. When a recipe calls for multiple eggs to be added one at a time, I will often put them all in a container with a spout. With the mixer running you can pour them in one at a time, beating well after each addition. Don’t walk off – this doesn’t take long. Just stay with the mixer and as soon as the yellow disappears, add another egg. Give it another good 30 seconds of mixing, taking the time to scrape down the sides with a spatula.
Pound cake recipes usually say to add the flour mixture and buttermilk or other liquids alternatively. Be sure to start and stop with the flour mixture and beat just until combined, you don’t want to liquefy the batter. My husband adores buttermilk so I know it won’t be wasted in our house. But if you don’t want to buy it there are alternatives to buttermilk. There is a dry buttermilk powder from Saco available in the baking aisle of your favorite store or you can make your own by mixing vinegar or lemon juice with regular milk. Problem solved!
Once you pour the batter in the prepared pan, take a dull knife and swirl the batter around until it is distributed evenly. Always preheat your oven and it’s a good idea to check and make sure the oven is level from time to time. If you move it to clean or retrieve a cat toy, it may get out of whack. Just saying – this has happened to me.
Yeah! We baked a cake. The aroma of baking chocolate cake should get your attention long before it burns, but still use a timer!
This cake would be perfect served just like this.
Maybe a sprinkle of sifted confectioners’ sugar so it will be purdy.
But this is a special birthday cake for my choc-o-holic boss. I added a rich, satiny, chocolate glaze to send it over the top.
So easy, so delicious and homemade.
Do you think he’ll notice that I sliced it before bringing it to work? Ha-ha I hope he doesn’t mind but I had to show you the texture of this cake. Dense is good sometimes and this is one of those times. For that special someone in your life that loves chocolate – this is the cake!
Don’t forget your PIN!
Chocolate Pound Cake
Yield: 10 slices
Course: Cake, Dessert
Rich and chocolatey and easy to make with a silky chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in ¼ cup hot (not boiling) water
- 1 cup buttermilk (not non-fat)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutch-processed
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
For the glaze:
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To prepare the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow yolk disappears. Beat in the vanilla until blended. Add the flour mixture alternatively with the buttermilk and espresso liquid, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Spray the Bundt pan with a non-stick baking spray such as Pam with flour. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for about 30 minutes then remove from the pan and invert onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once cooled dust with sifted powdered sugar, chocolate glaze or icing.
To prepare the satiny chocolate glaze:
- Place a heat proof bowl over a pan of hot but not boiling water. Add the butter, chocolate chips and corn syrup. Heat and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Add the vanilla and stir well. Drizzle over the cake and serve
Recipe Notes
(adapted from recipes on allrecipes.com)
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
Nutrition
Calories: 746kcal | Carbohydrates: 93g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 283mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 68g | Vitamin A: 1121IU | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 3mg
Are you a cook or a baker? I guess it’s no secret I prefer to bake, but since I also love to eat – I am a cook. I guess I’ll go cook something now and vacate my son and daughter-in-law’s house and get off their Internet! Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week!
Tricia
Tammi Lynge
Did anyone else have to bake this pound cake for way more than 60 minutes? I thought 325 degrees seemed like it was a bit low. Perhaps my oven is off?? Anyway I hope it finally bakes through without drying out.
Tricia Buice
Hi Tammi. I’ve never had trouble with it baking through at 325 degrees F. If you bake it at a higher temperature, the outside would be over-baked and the inside raw. My other large pound cakes bake slower at 300 degrees F. Hope this turns out for you. Such a delicious cake indeed!
Joy Wilson
I made the cake exactly how the recipe called. but it came out very dry. not sure why. it has a great taste but dry.
Tricia Buice
So sorry you had trouble with the cake Joy. This typically is very fudgy and moist so I’m very surprised. Make sure you are lightly scooping flour into the measuring cup, then leveling off. Also butter can vary from brand to brand. I always use Land-O-Lakes. Hope you might try again one day – and perhaps double check your oven temperature to ensure its baking at the right temp. Thanks for trying the cake and for taking the time to provide feedback.
Arvy
Great cake easy to make
Tricia Buice
Thanks Arvy – glad you liked it. So chocolatey – and so good.
Andrés
Hello! I did this cake but came out sunken from the oven and sticking to the pan 🙁 I wonder if there is something missing in the recipe ?
Tricia Buice
Hi Andrés. Nothing seems to be missing from the recipe. Not sure what happened. Did you grease the Bundt pan? I would double check my oven temperature sometime. Sorry it didn’t turn out for you. Here’s a link to the original recipe: Chocolate Pound Cake IIIChocolate Pound Cake III
cheri
Hi tricia, we had trouble with our interent a few years ago and after days and days of complaining they came out and rewired whatever they do and we have been fine since (knock on wood) wish you the best. Chocolate does make everything else better, love this cake.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Cheri! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!~
SavoringTime in the Kitchen
Loved your tutorial! Yes, years of experience are just as good as a certificate. It seems I always learning new things and sometimes still forget to buy fresh baking soda and powder! <br /><br />What a gorgeous cake! A chocolate lover's dream.
thecompletecookbook
We recently had an 18 hour power outage so fully appreciate what you are saying. Your pound cake however makes all those problems seem light years away. Fabulous of you to do a tutorial for the younger bakers.<br />Have a happy day.<br />;-) Mandy xo
Abbe@This is How I Cook
I admit to not wanting to read this post because I knew it would be too enticing. I was right! And don't even get me started on phone calls to utilities. They require me to eat a piece of this cake just so I can try to remember what kindness is. And service!
Anna and Liz Recipes
What a beautiful pound cake! We too lost Internet for 4 days last week- which put me so behind on everything, and this happens all the time giving everyone in the house a lot of stress as well. But we're glad you managed to publish this wonderful post !! Have a great week !! Xxoo Anna and Liz
Mallory Frayn
Isn't it crazy how everything goes to crap without the internet? I'm glad you managed to get this post published though! Looks amazing!
Kitchen Belleicious
did you get my last comment? Its not showing up:( was just saying how much I love that your pound cake looks and has the same moist texture and richness as a chocolate cake and that is hard to come by
Kitchen Belleicious
sometimes i have a problem with chocolate pound cakes bc I always want to them to have the exact same texture as a chocolate standard cake but yours looks like that is not a problem at all. It looks so moist and rich! Job well done
Elzbieta Hester
What a beauty! Great instructions and photos. Thanks, Tricia!<br /><br />ela<br />Gray Apron
Angie Schneider
Look at the texture! Almost like chocolate truffle! The pound cake looks awesome, Tricia.<br />We changed our provider years ago, it's cheaper and better!
Wendy Sondov
This pound cake is chocolate simplicity at its finest, Tricia! Lucky boss. The chocolate glaze definitely puts this cake over the top! 🙂 How in the world did you slice it so perfectly?! I have this pinned to try in a care package. Sturdy cakes like pound cake ship well, especially if I make this in my mini-bundt pan. <br />Technology is amazing but we become so dependent on it. Then a power
Cheri Savory Spoon
Hi Tricia, you certainly are the master of desserts, great instructions and tips! I know….. why is something like the internet so hard sometimes. And I remember back in the day we did not have internet or cable bills.
June
That looks soooo good right now…all that chocolate glaze <3 Looks like a great pound cake recipe to have handy!
Chris Scheuer
Tricia, how fun to go to a cooking class with you as the teacher! So many great tips. I know your boss loved this cake. And yes, we were without power once for 10 days. I know what it's like and it really stinks!!
Sue/the view from great island
Great post, it's like a mini class! I agree with most of your brand choices, too. And I'm SO sorry about your outage, I go stir cray without my Internet, hope you get 'plugged in' soon!
Monica
I was hooked on the title alone and then I see this chocolate-heaven of a dense chocolate cake. It's a chocoholic's dream (mine!). Love your baking tips. I heard those special wraps on the Land o Lakes butter sticks really make a difference. And you have mixed this pound cake to fluffy perfection.<br />I have been cooking a lot more in the last couple of years…it's amazing all
Big Dude
That looks delicious Tricia. When I was a kid, I like to take cake like this (without icing) and mix it all up with soft ice cream – similar to a DQ Blizzard.