In this article
My mother baked her chocolate pound cake in the same old tube pan as her plain one, and at every family reunion the two cakes sat side by side on the dessert table. My brother walked straight past the plain one every year and cut his slice of the chocolate cake from the middle, where it is the fudgiest, and he still does it today. The chocolate cake was always the first one gone. It is not a light, fluffy chocolate cake. It is a true pound cake: dense, buttery, with a fine tight crumb, only dark brown from crust to center and so moist that it almost clings to the knife.
Two things make this cake what it is. The first is the long creaming of the butter and sugar, because a pound cake gets its rise from the air beaten into that butter and from almost nothing else. The second is the cocoa. My mother never stirred dry cocoa straight into the batter. She whisked it into a little hot water first and let it sit, which wakes up the chocolate flavor and turns the cocoa into a smooth paste that blends into the batter without any dusty taste. Sour cream keeps the crumb tender and moist for days, and a low oven bakes that thick batter all the way to the center before the crust turns too dark. A thin chocolate glaze on top finishes it.
Why this chocolate pound cake works
- Cocoa bloomed in hot water. Hot water dissolves the cocoa and brings out a deep chocolate flavor, so the cake tastes of chocolate, not dust.
- A long creaming. Six to seven minutes of beating butter and sugar traps the air that makes a pound cake rise. Cut it short and the cake turns heavy at the bottom.
- Sour cream. It adds fat and a little acid, which keep the crumb soft and moist and help the cake stay fresh for days.
- Eggs one at a time. Each egg beaten in completely keeps the batter smooth and stops it from curdling.
- A low oven. At 325 degrees the thick batter bakes evenly to the center and the top cracks open the way a good pound cake should.
Ingredients
Makes one 10 inch tube cake, about 16 slices. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the cake
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (45g)
- 1/2 cup hot water (120ml)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (226g)
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening or an extra 1/2 cup soft butter (95g)
- 3 cups granulated sugar (600g)
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature (240g)
- 1/4 cup whole milk (60ml)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the chocolate glaze
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (42g)
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (16g)
- 3 tablespoons whole milk (45ml)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120g)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Natural unsweetened cocoa gives the classic reddish brown reunion cake; Dutch process cocoa gives a darker, smoother cake. Both work. Take the butter, eggs, sour cream and milk out of the refrigerator about an hour before you start.
How to make chocolate pound cake
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees (165°C). Grease a 10 inch tube pan generously with soft butter and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out the extra.
- Whisk the cocoa powder into the hot water until smooth and set it aside to cool. It will thicken into a glossy paste.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and shortening until creamy. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 6 to 7 minutes, scraping the bowl now and then, until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Beat in the cooled cocoa paste and the vanilla.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the milk into the sour cream.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour in three parts and the sour cream mixture in two, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until the last streak of flour disappears.
- Spoon the thick batter into the pan, smooth the top and tap the pan once on the counter to settle it.
- Bake for 75 to 85 minutes, without opening the oven for the first hour, until the top is cracked and a long skewer pushed into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edges and the tube and turn the cake out onto a cake plate. Let it cool completely.
- For the glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan, whisk in the cocoa and milk and bring just to a simmer. Take it off the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Let it cool for a few minutes, then spoon it over the top of the cake so it runs down the sides. Let it set for an hour before slicing.
Tips that make the difference
- Do not open the oven during the first hour. A heavy pound cake can sink if cold air rushes in while the middle is still setting.
- A chocolate cake is hard to judge by color, so trust the skewer. A few moist crumbs are perfect; wet batter means it needs more time.
- If the top is darkening too fast near the end, lay a sheet of foil loosely over the pan.
- Spoon and level the flour, or weigh it. Too much flour is the most common reason a pound cake turns dry.
Variations
- Chocolate chip. Toss 1 cup of mini chocolate chips (170g) in a spoonful of flour and fold them into the finished batter.
- All butter. Use 1 1/2 cups of butter (340g) and no shortening. The crumb is a little less tall but tastes richer.
- Cream cheese frosting. Skip the glaze and spread the top with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting for a birthday cake.
- Bundt pan. It bakes well in a 12 cup Bundt pan at the same temperature; start checking at 65 minutes.
Storage and make-ahead
Keep the cake covered under a cake dome or wrapped in plastic at room temperature for up to 5 days. It gets fudgier on the second day.
To freeze, wrap the cooled, unglazed cake or single slices tightly in plastic wrap and then foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the wrapping, then glaze.
A slice warmed for a few seconds and served with a spoonful of whipped cream makes a quick dessert out of the last of the cake.
Frequently asked questions
Why do you mix the cocoa with hot water?
Hot water dissolves the cocoa and releases its flavor, which is called blooming. The cake tastes more deeply of chocolate and the cocoa blends in smoothly instead of leaving a dry, dusty taste.
Why did my chocolate pound cake sink in the middle?
Usually the oven door was opened too early, or the cake came out before the center was set. Wait at least an hour before checking, and test with a long skewer in the deepest part.
Can I leave out the shortening?
Yes. Use the same amount of extra soft butter. Shortening makes the cake a little taller and softer, butter makes it a little richer.
Is the crack on top a problem?
No. A heavy pound cake sets on the outside first and the rising middle pushes up through the crust. The crack is the sign of a well beaten batter.
Bloom the cocoa, cream the butter longer than you think, keep the oven low, and save a slice from the middle for whoever in your family cuts there first.
Chocolate Pound Cake with Sour Cream (the Reunion Cake)
An old-fashioned Southern chocolate pound cake made with sour cream and cocoa bloomed in hot water, baked low and slow in a 10 inch tube pan at 325 degrees and finished with a thin chocolate glaze. US cups with grams.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening or an extra 1/2 cup soft butter
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees (165°C). Grease a 10 inch tube pan generously with soft butter and dust it with cocoa powder, tapping out the extra.
- Whisk the cocoa powder into the hot water until smooth and set it aside to cool. It will thicken into a glossy paste.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and shortening until creamy. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 6 to 7 minutes, scraping the bowl now and then, until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Beat in the cooled cocoa paste and the vanilla.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the milk into the sour cream.
- With the mixer on low, add the flour in three parts and the sour cream mixture in two, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until the last streak of flour disappears.
- Spoon the thick batter into the pan, smooth the top and tap the pan once on the counter to settle it.
- Bake for 75 to 85 minutes, without opening the oven for the first hour, until the top is cracked and a long skewer pushed into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edges and the tube and turn the cake out onto a cake plate. Let it cool completely.
- For the glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan, whisk in the cocoa and milk and bring just to a simmer. Take it off the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Let it cool for a few minutes, then spoon it over the top of the cake so it runs down the sides. Let it set for an hour before slicing.
