Chocolate Pound Cake

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This delicious chocolate pound cake is moist, tender, and full of rich chocolate flavor. It’s topped with an elegant dusting of powdered sugar to finish it off and is perfect for chocolate lovers. If you’re looking for a classy, yet simple dessert, this is sure to be a hit.

Moist & Easy Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe

Craving cake but don’t want to dive into a complex recipe? This chocolate pound cake is the perfect solution. With just 20 minutes of prep time and a little over an hour of baking, you will have yourself a simple but utterly delicious cake that is perfect for dessert or with a morning cup of coffee.

Let me tell you a little bit about this quick and easy homemade pound cake. The batter is loaded with chocolate flavor and bakes up into a beautifully moist, tender, dense dessert. I love the density of this sweet treat. It makes it so satisfying to bite into. The cake is made in a bundt pan which gives it an elegant appearance along with the light dusting of powdered sugar that finishes it off. Easy to make and pretty!? What are you waiting for?

What Is A Pound Cake?

A pound cake is a dense, moist cake that comes in a variety of flavors and is typically baked in a loaf pan or in a bundt pan (I used a bundt pan here). In the old days, a pound cake is one made with 1 pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. The art of baking has evolved a bit and we are no longer using the same 1:1:1:1 ratio but the recipe remains simple, quick, and easy, and produced a dense cake.

What’s The Difference Between a Pound Cake and a Bundt Cake?

The term “bundt cake” refers to the pan the cake is cooked in. You can make a pound cake in a bundt pan, making it a bundt cake, but you could also make a pound cake in a loaf pan. So a pound cake is still a pound cake, in whatever form. But a pound cake is quite dense and not all bundt cakes are pound cakes. There are many other kinds of bundt cakes out there. Try my Almond Amaretto Bundt Cake or this Pineapple Walnut Upside Down Bundt Cake.

Recipe Ingredients

There’s nothing too crazy in this list. Here’s a list of what you will need to make chocolate pound cake. Be sure to scroll to the recipe below for measurements. 

• All-purpose flour – Feel free to use your favorite 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour instead. 
• Natural unsweetened cocoa powder – You can use dutch processed cocoa powder instead. You will get a stronger, slightly more bitter chocolate flavor if you do and your cake make be a little more dense.
• Baking soda – I don’t always use leavening in my pound cakes. It just doesn’t need it. They’re supposed to be dense. But this one does benefit from a touch of baking soda to add a little tenderness and just a smidge of lightness.
• Salt – The salt will bring out the flavor of the cake. 
• Unsalted butter – The butter should be at room temperature. Cold butter will not cream properly with the sugars. 
• Sugar – I suggest using granulated sugar. I tried using brown sugar but I found that it dulled the flavor of the chocolate. 
• Eggs – Make sure they are large (not medium or extra large) and at room temperature. They will mix into the batter more easily than cold eggs, helping to keep you from overmixing. 
• Buttermilk – Don’t try to use another milk here. The buttermilk adds extra moisture and tenderness that other kinds of milk won’t. I also suggest starting with room-temperature buttermilk. It will incorporate into the batter more easily than cold buttermilk. 
• Vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar – For dusting the cake after it’s come out of the oven. It’s an elegant touch but you can leave it off if you’d like. 

How to Make Chocolate Pound Cake

I love how quick and easy this pound cake is to throw together. Here’s what to do. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions. 

• Prep. Preheat oven to 325°F and grease a 10-14 cup bundt pan. 
• Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 
• Cream together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 

• Mix together the wet and dry ingredients until combined. 
• Finish the batter. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract and mix to combine.
• Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 65-75 minutes. 

• Cool the cake for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. 
• Dust the cake with powdered sugar. 

Tips for The Best Homemade Pound Cake

Even the simplest cake requires attention to detail. Here are a few tips and tricks that will help you achieve a perfectly moist, perfectly delicious homemade pound cake. 

• Grease the pan thoroughly. Bundt pans have a lot of creases and crevasses. Make sure to really get in there with that cooking spray otherwise, your cake will stick when you take it out of the pan. 
• Measure your flour properly. I like to use a food scale or the spoon and level method to get the flour measurement right. Too much flour will give you a dry pound cake. 
• Room temperature ingredients. Cold butter will not cream properly with the sugars and cold buttermilk and/or eggs will have a hard time incorporating into the batter smoothly. So think ahead and let your ingredients come to room temperature before beginning. 
• Don’t over mix the batter. Over mixing the batter will cause the glutens to overdevelop, giving you a tough, unpleasantly dense cake. 

Serving Suggestions

I love the simplicity and the elegance of a dusting of powdered sugar over this homemade pound cake but that’s not the only way to do it. Here are some fun ways to serve this delicious treat.  

• With icing on top. Pound cakes are often served with icing on top. Try the simple vanilla glaze from my Giant Cinnamon Roll Cookie Cake. If you’re really in a chocolate mood, my Chocolate Ganache Recipe.
• With a scoop of ice cream. Scoop a bit of vanilla ice cream on top of a slice of chocolate pound cake and watch it melt into the depths of this glorious dessert. 
• A dollop of whipped cream. Try my Homemade Whipped Cream Recipe, Strawberry Whipped Cream Recipe, or even this Baileys Chocolate Whipped Cream. 
• As breakfast. Sure you can enjoy this chocolate pound cake loaf as a dessert but it’s also a wonderful breakfast treat served with a steaming cup of coffee or a glass of hot chocolate. 

How to Store Chocolate Pound Cake

Once the cake has cooled completely, place it in a cake carrier and store it at room temperature for up to 5 days. There is no need to refrigerate here. No cake carrier? No problem. Wrap the whole cake or individual slices in a double layer of plastic wrap. You can also slice the cake and arrange the slices in a single layer in an airtight container. 

Can I Freeze This?

You can! Allow the cake to cool completely before wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap (you can either wrap the whole cake or individual slices). Store the cake in the freezer for up to 2 months. Alternatively, you can slice the cake and arrange the pieces in a single layer in an airtight container before storing it in the freezer. When you are ready to enjoy, allow it to thaw in the fridge, bring to room temperature and dive in. 

More Chocolate Cake Recipes:

Are you as excited about chocolate cake as I am? Well, then you’re in luck. This chocolate pound cake is sure to have any chocolate lover singing with delight but, just in case, here’s a list of other chocolate cake recipes that I’m sure you’ll love. 

• Best Chocolate Cake
• Copycat Hershey’s Chocolate Bar Cheesecake Cake
• Drunken Chocolate Truffle Cake
• Raspberry Chocolate Layer Cake 
• Chocolate Mousse Cake 
• Peanut Butter Truffle Chocolate Cake
• Nutella Chocolate Cake 
• Chocolate Oreo Cake 
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Cake 
• Easy Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake

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