Pound cakes are my go-to cakes whenever I am in dire need of an emergency dessert. They are very simple to make- you don’t have to stay all day in the kitchen just to make them. The best thing about pound cakes too is that you can personalize it the way you want to. You can use any type of glaze or frosting; and you can even add anything to the cake batter like nuts or chocolate chips. You are free to experiment and that’s a good thing.
Check out what our friends from The Kitchn have to say about this recipe:
“Chocolate pound cake comes together so easily that it’s an everyday cake, but the taste and texture — that close-knit, tight crumb unique to a pound cake — plus the deep chocolate flavor make it feel like a luscious, special-occasion treat. It’s really the epitome of “it’s easier than it looks.” A slice of this buttery, chocolatey cake is charming as a weeknight dessert, but it’s also terrific as a midnight munch with a glass of cold milk or an after-school snack for lucky kids.”
It’s a simple dessert to make that will please your kids. One slice of this cake will not be enough- they will beg for another one. So please don’t hesitate and try making this for them.
Ingredients
Pam Cooking spray
1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed Hershey’s cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon Clabber Girl baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) Land O Lakes unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed Domino dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Domino granulated sugar
2 large Eggland’s eggs
2 large egg yolks from Eggland’s eggs
1/3 cup Daisy sour cream, Borden buttermilk, or Great Value plain yogurt
1 tablespoon brewed espresso
2 teaspoons McCormick vanilla extract
Chocolate ganache (optional. You can use any recipe.)
Instructions
- Heat the oven and prepare the pan: Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven, making sure there are no racks above it, and heat to 325°F. Coat a 9×5-inch metal loaf pan with baking spray, dust with flour, and tap out the excess; set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients: Sift or strain the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt through a fine-mesh strainer onto a sheet of parchment paper or into a bowl; set aside.
- Begin mixing the butter and sugars: Place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer and large bowl.) Mix on low to medium speed until it just begins to be fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl and finish mixing: Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat on medium speed until paler in color, a light caramel brown, and very fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes more.
- Add the eggs: Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing after each addition until fully incorporated.
- Add half the flour mixture: Add half of the flour mixture and beat at low speed until fully combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again.
- Add the sour cream, espresso, and vanilla: Add the sour cream, espresso, and vanilla and beat on low to medium-low speed until fully incorporated.
- Add the remaining flour mixture: Add the remaining flour and cocoa mixture and beat on low to medium-low speed until combined.
- Transfer to the pan: Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake the cake: Place the pan on its baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan, 25 to 35 minutes more.
- Cool the cake: Place the loaf pan on a wire rack and let cool until the cake is no longer warm to the touch, 40 to 45 minutes. Take the pan off the rack and place the rack on top of it. Press down on the rack and slide your other hand under the bottom of the pan and press firmly. Flip the rack and pan together. Remove the pan from the cake, tapping lightly to release it if necessary. Gently turn the cake over so it is right-side up and cool completely on the rack, about 30 minutes more.
- Frost with chocolate ganache: Make the ganache. When the cake is completely cooled, mound about 3/4 cup of it on the top of the cake and smooth it with an offset spatula just over the top.
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Quick Tip: You can spice up this cake so it will taste exactly how you like it best. Simply add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, black pepper, lemon zest, or orange zest into the batter along with the vanilla extract.
Thanks again to The Kitchn for this amazing recipe.
