Perfect Chocolate Pound Cake (Moist Crumb)

If you’ve been looking for the perfect Chocolate Pound Cake, here it is! This recipe will give you a delicious, rich chocolate flavor with a texture that stays nice and moist for days!

With this recipe, all you’ll need is some pantry-staple ingredients to get the Chocolate Pound Cake of your dreams. It is easy to make, but it’s also foolproof with tips and tricks to make sure you get it right every time.

If you love chocolate cakes as much as I do, this Chocolate Pound Cake is about to become your next favorite!

What is Chocolate Pound Cake?

A Chocolate Pound Cake is the chocolate-flavored version of the traditional pound cake. A pound cake is called so because it was traditionally made using a pound each of sugar, butter, egg, and flour.

It’s a much denser and richer cake than a classic butter cake. It is absolutely delicious to have especially if you love the flavor of chocolate.

The only problem that many people have while baking a Chocolate Pound Cake, is that many of them turn out dry because of the long baking times.

But this is where my recipe absolutely excels! If you follow my recipe, you’ll get an incredibly delicious cake that has a strong and incredible chocolate flavor and one that’s also moist.

I have added simple pantry-staple ingredients and easy steps to this recipe to ensure you get a beautifully rich and moist cake. I’m sure you’re going to fall in love with it!

How to Get Strong Chocolate Flavor in Chocolate Pound Cake

We all want a nice, strong chocolate-flavored Pound Cake, but will we get that from just adding more cocoa powder?

Well, the answer to that question is simply no. If you add enough cocoa powder to get the flavor you need, the cake will become too dry. You can’t decrease the amount of flour used, because the cocoa powder doesn’t provide any structure to the cake while baking as flour does.

So then, what do you do for a delicious, strong-flavored Chocolate Pound Cake?

Well, there are two ways you can go about it:

Blooming Cocoa Powder

The first way is through blooming cocoa powder.

When cocoa powder is ‘bloomed’ the powder is combined with a hot liquid, given a good stir to break up any lumps, and then left to settle for a minute or two before being used.

As the cocoa powder dissolves, the liquid thickens and flavor particles inside the powder are released as the blooming ‘opens up’ the cocoa powder.

The cocoa powder itself contains ground endosperm of the cocoa bean. Many particles of this are still enclosed in pieces of membrane and seed coat.

This means that these create a barrier between our taste buds and the cocoa solids, leading to a milder taste.

By opening up the cocoa through the process of ‘blooming’, all the flavor is released and enhanced by almost double.

This process brings out the best in cocoa powder and allows it to reach its full potential as the perfect pantry-staple ingredient for a delicious chocolate flavor.

Using Coffee to Enhance Flavor

The second way is by adding coffee to enhance the flavor of chocolate in your dessert.

Coffee and chocolate share the same flavor profile. Adding coffee to chocolate enhances those rich flavors with hints of spice.

Interestingly, a study conducted in 2020 found that coffee increases our sensitivity to sweet flavors and decreases our sensitivity to bitter flavors.

My recipe calls for the simplest way of intensifying chocolate flavor in your pound cake – by blooming cocoa powder. Cocoa powder is the ultimate pantry-staple ingredient that’s often not appreciated as much because it isn’t used right.

This recipe will give you a deliciously intense chocolate flavor that you’re going to absolutely love!

But if you want an even more intense flavor, you can replace the boiling water with freshly brewed black coffee for blooming the cocoa powder.

You can also mix espresso powder or instant coffee granules in boiling hot water to bloom the cocoa powder.

What is the Difference Between Natural Cocoa Powder and Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder?

You’ll notice that my recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa powder. You’re probably wondering what that is and if there are different types of cocoa powder out there.

There are many two types of cocoa powder that we can use. Natural cocoa powder, which we also call unsweetened cocoa powder, and the other is Dutch-process cocoa powder.

Natural cocoa powder

Usually lighter in color, is more acidic in nature, and because of the acidity, it also has a sharper chocolate flavor.

Dutch-process cocoa powder

A cocoa powder that has been treated to make it more alkaline and that gives it a milder flavor. Simultaneously, you’ll get a deeper, darker color.

Fun fact: extra Dutch-processed cocoa is what’s used in Oreo cookies. This type of cocoa powder has been stripped of most of the chocolate flavor and that gives us the classic Oreo flavor.

When you see unsweetened cocoa used in a baked dessert, it’s not advisable to switch it out for Dutch-process cocoa powder as you’ll need to adjust the leavening agent to get the same results.

Unsweetened cocoa powder is incredibly easy to come by in a grocery store. It gives a deliciously rich flavor that everyone seems to love. All it takes is to bloom it correctly to bring out all the flavor, that’s what my recipe does to give you the most delicious Chocolate Pound Cake.

How to Make Sure You Get a Moist Crumb

If you follow my recipe to a T, you’ll get the most delicious and moist Chocolate Pound Cake you’ve ever had.

Here are the most important steps you should pay attention to in order to get a nice and moist crumb:

• Cream the butter and sugar well: Make sure to cream the butter and sugar well till it turns light and fluffy. This will ‘create air’ in your cake that will allow it to leaven correctly to produce a beautiful, light, and fluffy Chocolate Pound Cake with a moist crumb.
• Add eggs one at a time: It might take a little longer to add your eggs one at a time, but doing so will make sure the eggs are incorporated properly into your batter for the perfect even suspension of liquid in fat.
• Measure your ingredients: Make sure to measure out your ingredients when using them in this batter. Always remember that baking is science and precision is incredibly important.
• Add sour cream: My recipe calls for a little sour cream. Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products that adds enough moisture to your batter to make it moist and rich. This is especially important for pound cakes due to their long baking times.
• Avoid overmixing: It’s also important to not overmix your batter. Follow my steps and avoid the urge to mix more than is mentioned in the recipe.
• Don’t overbake your cake: Another problem that can lead to a dry cake. If you bake your cake for too long or at the wrong temperature, you can get a dry cake. I recommend getting an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature.

What You Need to Make Chocolate Pound Cake at Home

This Chocolate Pound Cake is incredibly easy to make. Here’s everything you need to make it at home:

All-purpose flour: All you need is simple all-purpose flour to give your Chocolate Pound Cake structure.

Cocoa powder: We’ll be using unsweetened cocoa powder, aka natural cocoa powder for this recipe. It’ll give you an incredibly deep, chocolate flavor, and since we’ll bloom it as well you’ll get a beautiful dark color too.

Baking powder: This will be our leavening agent for this recipe to give you a cake that is well risen and light and fluffy.

Salt: By adding a little bit of salt to the batter will enhance the flavor of chocolate to give you a rich and delicious flavor.

Sugar: We’ll be using fine granulated sugar to sweeten your Chocolate Pound Cake to the right level of sweetness. In case you’re planning on glazing or frosting your cake, keep the amount of sugar to 1 ¼ cup, if you are not icing or frosting the cake, then increase the measurement to 1 ½ cup sugar.

Wet Ingredients

Eggs: We’ll be using 3 large eggs at room temperature for this recipe. They will not only give structure to your cake but also aerate them to the right level of a beautiful, moist crumb.

Vanilla extract: We’ll use a teaspoon of vanilla extract to bring out all the flavors and enhance them to the right level.

Sour cream: Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products and is essential for this cake to give it the right level of moistness. I don’t recommend substituting this with buttermilk since it isn’t as fatty and you won’t get a moist enough cake. Instead, if you want to take out sour cream from the recipe or as a substitute you can mix two tablespoons plain yogurt and two tablespoons heavy cream and add it to the recipe.

Water: We’ll need some boiling hot water to bloom the cocoa powder to bring out all the flavors. You can also substitute this with hot coffee to intensify the flavor of chocolate even more.

Butter: This is the main fat in this recipe that will moisten the cake. Make sure to cream the butter and sugar well together for a delicious Chocolate Pound Cake. The butter needs to be at room temperature for the best results, which means the butter will be soft but not melting.

How to Make Chocolate Pound Cake Step by Step

This Chocolate Pound is super easy to make and will give you the most perfect cake you’ve ever made. Here’s how to make it step by step:

To start, take a small bowl and mix or whisk the unsweetened cocoa powder with the boiling water in it until you get a paste-like texture.

Next, in a large bowl, or a stand mixer bowl, add the butter and beat until lighter in color. Now add in the sugar and beat until well combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to mix it properly.

Add the vanilla and an egg, and beat the mixture until combined. Keep on adding the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined.

Now is the time to add the sour cream, and the batter will curdle but do not worry, this is how it is supposed to be.

Add the cocoa mixture to the batter and beat until combined.

Time to add the dry ingredients. Sift the flour with salt and baking powder and add this flour mixture to the batter. Mix well but on low speed until combined. Scrape the edges and mix again for a few seconds with a spatula.

Baking the cake

Pour the batter into a prepared pan that has been previously lined with parchment paper. I’ve used a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan for this recipe.

With the help of a spatula try to even the surface of the batter and then using a butter knife run it in the batter in Z-like motion or from side to side.

Using a knife, again insert two inches from it in the batter and run it in a horizontal line as if you are cutting the cake batter in half.

Bake the cake in a preheated oven 180C/350F. Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the toothpick or a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out with a few wet crumbs.

Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack. Glaze or frost the cake before serving. Chocolate ganache or a chocolate glaze goes really well with this Chocolate Pound Cake.

Your delicious Chocolate Pound Cake is ready to be served. Have it by itself with a cup of tea or coffee, or with fresh berries and ice cream or whipped cream on the side.

Tips to Make the Best Chocolate Pound Cake Ever

Here are some useful tips you can follow to make sure your Chocolate Pound Cake turns out perfect every single time!

• If you are planning to glaze or frost the cake keep the amount of sugar to 1 ¼ cup, if you are not icing or frosting the cake, then increase the measurement to 1 ½ cup sugar.
• You can replace the boiling water with boiling black coffee for a more intense flavor.
• The texture of this cake is a little different than regular Vanilla pound cake because of the addition of cocoa powder. However, you will enjoy a delicious cake with tender crumbs!
• The baking time may vary depending on your oven. However, since the size of this cake is large, and it will take a long time to cool it will continue to cook. So, it’s best to pull the cake out of the oven if you see a few wet crumbs on the toothpick when inserted in the middle of the cake.
• You can bake this cake in a Bundt pan.
• If you want to take out sour cream from the recipe or as a substitute you can mix two tablespoons plain yogurt and two tablespoons heavy cream and add it to the recipe.
• You can add chocolate chips, roasted nuts, or caramel chips to the batter if you wish to add more flavor.
• Always preheat the oven at least 20 minutes before baking the cake unless you are baking my Whipping Cream Pound Cake.

Recipe Variation Ideas

This delicious Chocolate Pound Cake is perfect as is, but it’s also the perfect recipe to customize to your palate! Here are some ideas that you may like:

• For a delicious nut variation, add some chopped pecans or walnuts to your batter before baking it.
• Top off your cake with some Chocolate Ganache or Chocolate Glaze to give it a double-chocolate flavor!
• Add some dried fruits or white chocolate chips to change things up.
• Serve it with fresh berries on the side of some whipped cream or ice cream for a fun treat.

How to Store Chocolate Pound Cake

You can store your Chocolate Pound Cake by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and keeping it at room temperature for up 4 days if the room is cool. Your cake will also stay fresh in the fridge for up to 2 weeks if kept in an airtight container.

You can also freeze this cake for up to 3 months. Make sure to let the cake cool completely before covering it with plastic wrap and storing it in a freezer bag.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

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Lemon Pound Cake: If you love lemon-flavored desserts, then you’re going to absolutely love this Lemon Pound Cake. It has a beautiful moist crumb, with a delicious lemon flavor that’s absolutely unbeatable! I definitely recommend you check out this recipe!

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