Chocolate Pound Cake
This chocolate pound cake has a perfect melt-in-your-mouth quality. It has all the classic pound cake ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs etc. But it also has cocoa which turns it into a chocolatey masterpiece. A dusting of powdered sugar is all you'll need to add, or go ultra-rich with an option of a fudgey icing.
If you are in search of a classic Chocolate Pound Cake recipe, please keep reading. I'm sharing the recipe and more, including the stories of two blue ribbons. I almost missed them both!
If a recipe page looks old, tattered, splattered and worn...
that's the recipe you want!
Origin of the Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe
I was digging through my mom's favorite recipes when I came across this one which was well worn. She told me is was a recipe she jotted down from a friend and coworker many years before. See how the recipe has check marks, looks old and is splattered upon? Well, I've learned from experience these are the recipes you want! Here's a picture of the recipe in my mom's handwriting. I haven't changed the ingredients AT ALL which is out of character for me since I'm always "tweaking" recipes.I did have to call and ask my mom about one part of the instructions. She had written to bake it for "25 to 30 minutes". Well, the first time I made it, I checked after 30 minutes and the cake was no where close to done. I called her and we figured out that it should have read "1 hour and 25 to 30 minutes". After making this cake many times, I've reduced the recommended cooking time to 1 hour and 20 to 25 minutes.
Chocolate Pound Cake wins Blue Ribbon
That's me with my chocolate pound cake (and hubby with his cheesecake). This is actually the second blue ribbon I've won with this recipe. On a whim I decided to enter my chocolate pound cake in the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair in Jacksonville, Florida. But when I made the pound cake it cracked on top (which is actually the bottom when removed from the pan) so I changed my mind and decided NOT to enter. It just wasn't going to be "pretty enough" to win. I KNEW it would taste good enough, but looks count for something too. Then at the last minute my husband convinced me to carefully trim the top (soon to be bottom) of the cake and enter it anyway. So I did, and to my surprise I won a blue ribbon!
We bought the chef's jackets for each other just for fun since we like to cook. My husband also won a blue ribbon with his cheesecake. The cheesecake recipe remains a closely guarded secret.
Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing between additions. Add flour mixture and evaporated milk alternately and mix well.(*The original instructions don't tell exactly how to do this so this is what I do: I add 1/3 flour mixture, one-half of the evap. milk, 1/3 flour mixture, one-half of the evap. milk, 1/3 flour mixture.) Add vanilla and mix well. Pour batter into a greased and floured** 10-inch tube pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
**See section on preparing pan.
Important Note: This recipe is old. The amount of batter is intended for use with a 10 inch pan. The cake pan I use is a 9 inch pan. If you use a 9 inch pan too, you can hold out 1 - 1 1/2 cups of the batter and bake that separately in another small dish (for a chef's sampler :-). Personally I use the whole recipe and it is probably too much (see picture to the left), but my family loves the resulting cracks etc. from the full pan. I could try to adjust the recipe for a smaller amount of batter, but we like it just the way it is.
Most popular Chocolate Pound Cake question is...
Can I substitute butter for the shortening?
I finally tested this question tonight after all these years. I made the pound cake substituting butter for the shortening in the recipe. With the change, the cake had a total of 3 sticks of butter and no shortening at all. And the answer to the burning question is a resounding....YES! Here's a picture of a couple of slices and the texture is still just right and the flavor is still great. Feel free to substitute butter for the shortening. Just so you know...
This cake will sometimes have a "sad spot"
depending on which pan is used
and other factors I strive to understand.
A "sad spot" is part of a cake that
has fallen a little and makes a "gooey" area.
Interestingly, some folks believe that only
true pound cakes have sad spots,
and at least one crack in the top.
Honestly, these are our favorite parts of the cake.
How I prepare a pan for the Chocolate Pound Cake
After reading Margaret's message in the guestbook, I decided to try my tube pan again with this recipe. It turned out WONDERFULLY by the way. Not too much of a sad spot at all...the family was a little disappointed though (too funny-they love that "sad spot").Here's a picture of the prepared pan before I added the batter. I used a coating of shortening and then dusted the pan with cocoa. If you can find sweetened cocoa it really is the best choice since unsweetened is somewhat bitter. Ghirardelli makes a product called Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa and it's my first choice for dusting the pan. Unfortunately I don't always have it on hand because it can be hard to find. I'll add a link for it below in case you're interested in ordering it.
Why don't I use flour? Because it leaves an uneven white surface on the pound cake.
Here's how it turned out. You can see where the top cracked a little, but that's not a problem around here. In fact, I prefer the cracked top since it gives the pound cake a crunchy edge.
I made this cake for a bake sale to raise money for our local lighthouse. I'm really glad it turned out so well.
Ghirardelli Chocolate Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa
Ghirardelli Chocolate Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa, 3 Pound Can
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 12/26/2009)
This is the perfect product for dusting your pan.
Right out of the pan
Here's a picture of the cake right out of the pan without any powdered sugar added.Once the cake has cooled for 10-15 minutes, I place a cooling rack on top of the cake and carefully turn it over. The pan will usually lift off, but if I feel any resistance I'll use the wooden end of my kitchen knife and tap the pan a little then lift it off.
If you look closely you can see where I missed a few of the edges when greasing the pan. This pan has lots of "nooks and crannies" so you really have to grease and flour it (for chocolate cakes I use cocoa) very well.
The pan I use
Fleur De Lis meaning "Flower of the Lily"
Nordic Ware Platinum Non-stick Cast Aluminum Fleur De Lis Pan
Amazon Price: $36.00 (as of 12/26/2009)
Be sure to grease this pan with shortening, covering all the nooks and crannies thoroughly. Then dust the pan with cocoa powder (for chocolate cake) so nothing will stick. After your cake is baked and cooled use a sifter to sprinkle it with powdered sugar (unless you are using the icing). The powdered sugar accents the pan's architecture (see photo at the recipe).
Here are some other cake pans I like to use.
The Icing
The icing is optional (in my opinion)
I rarely add this icing/frosting, but most people do. I don't for this reason: I use a shaped pan (pictured above) and icing poured over the cake would cover its shape. When I use my plain tube pan, I do use this icing. It's thick and fudgey and I use it for other desserts too. We recently used it to frost a groom's cake.4 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick)
1 pound unsifted confectioner's sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Melt chocolate and butter in bowl over hot water using double boiler method. Combine sugar, salt, evaporated milk and vanilla stirring until well incorporated. Stir into chocolate mixture. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until thick. Spread onto pound cake.
All you need is love.
But a little chocolate
now and then doesn't hurt.
- Charles M. Schulz
The First Blue Ribbon
My first Blue Ribbon was at the Effingham County Fair in Springfield, Georgia. A friend was entering her Homemade Wheat Bread and she suggested we enter something also. We entered our daughter's Blueberry Bread. She was only 8 years old and the competition would be a great experience for her - ribbon or not. My pound cake entry was thrown in as a "let's just see what will happen" entry. After all, I can't think of a tougher competition than the Pound Cake Category in a southern Georgia county fair. Can you?We didn't make it to the fairgrounds on judging day, but went down the next day to find my daughter had won a Blue Ribbon for her bread!
But what was that in the back of the case? Was I looking at a slice of MY pound cake entry...with a blue ribbon draped on it? Yes! I had won a blue ribbon too.
KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer
KitchenAid K45SS Classic 250-Watt 4-1/2-Quart Stand Mixer, White
Amazon Price: $198.96 (as of 12/26/2009)
It comes with a flat beater, wire whip, and dough hook.
Usually ships in 24 hours
More Pound Cake recipes to explore
- Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- When I'm making regular pound cake, this is my hands down favorite. I clipped it from a Southern Living magazine back in 1995. It was submitted by a mailman named Eddy McGee. It earned the ever-so-rare perfect rating from Southern Living. Use this link and scroll down passed the Moravian Sugar Cake. This recipe and my chocolate pound cake recipe are the only two I make.
VERY IMPORTANT SPECIAL NOTE: I just realized the recipe at this link states "8 teaspoon salt". It should read "1/8 teaspoon salt". - Chocolate Pound Cake from Food Network Kitchens
- Ingredients include "instant espresso powder". Sounds good to me.
- Double Chocolate Pound Cake from Wilton Kitchens
- Check out the neat looking oversized cupcake pan they used.
- Good-For-You Chocolate Pound Cake
- From MomCentral: "When I saw the name of this recipe, I thought to myself: Is it even possible to have a pound cake that is good for you?..." From the Cake Mix Doctor.
- Chocolate Sour Cream Buttermilk Bundt Cake
- From the description at the webpage: "Not as dense as your typical pound cake - in fact, the texture is soft and tender and almost reminds me of a cake-mix based cake." Sounds really really good.
- Cake-Baking Secrets from Alton Brown
- Alton Brown gives advice on making pound cake. Also shares an old Chocolate Pound Cake recipe.
Come on! Enter YOUR favorite recipe in a contest!
Or your favorite photo, or your biggest pumpkin. At some point years ago, I made a New Year's Resolution to enter a contest. Why hadn't I been doing it all along? Intimidation I guess or maybe I thought I'd never actually win. Well, I was wrong.You are an expert at something! Find out about contests near you and enter. Help your kids or grandkids enter. The experience will last them forever and you might uncover a hidden talent. Contact your State or County Fair and find out what categories are offered and send in that entry. Let me know how you do.
Here's a link to get you started: State Fairs
More Tube Pans
Cuisinart Chef's Classic Nonstick Bakeware 9-Inch Tube Cake Pan
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/26/2009)
List Price: $30.00
Calphalon Classic Bakeware 10-Inch Round Nonstick Angel Food Cake Pan
Amazon Price: $20.00 (as of 12/26/2009)
List Price: $20.00
Wilton Angel Food Pan, 10 Inch
Amazon Price: $18.99 (as of 12/26/2009)
List Price: $18.99
What's your favorite pound cake & who makes it?
Grandma? Aunt Libby?
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Reply
- CreativeArtist CreativeArtist Dec 15, 2009 @ 8:49 am
- Excellent lens, I enjoyed reading all the little tidbits about using the dusting of cocoa and that butter can be used instead of shortening. Lensrolling this to Chocolate Lovers Day.
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Reply
- Margaret Margaret Nov 25, 2009 @ 5:52 am
- Looking at the picture, I am in desperate need of a pound cake pan like the silver one in the picture, can anyone PLEASE let me know where to get one like that.
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Reply
- puzzlemaker puzzlemaker Nov 25, 2009 @ 9:24 am
- Hi Margaret,
Thanks for stopping by. That particular pan was given to me by my husband's grandmother. Gosh, it must be 50 years old or even older. I added some links just above this guestbook for options for ordering a similar pan. Be sure to get the right size. Most are available in many sizes (like 7" or 10"). I just measured the one I have and it is a 10". But, if you need it today (for Thanksgiving tomorrow), check with a kitchen store and ask for a "tube pan" or "angel food cake pan with feet". Some sales clerks have to be told EXACTLY what to search for.
Or another option is to ask an elderly neighbor - I think those simpler styles were all that was available many years ago and chances are you will find one. Good luck with your search.
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Reply
- Candi Candi Nov 23, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
- I can't wait to try this! I have a similar recipe, but it seems to be lacking something...maybe a little more cocoa and vanilla is just what it needs! I've also substituted an extra stick of butter for the shortening, and I think it makes for a slightly crunchier bottom (which is the best part!).
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Reply
- puzzlemaker puzzlemaker Nov 24, 2009 @ 4:08 pm
- Candi,
Thanks so much for your comment. We love the crunchy bottom/top too. Matter of fact, see the picture at the very top of this page that shows the cake from the side? Well, I HAD to take the picture from the side because my family started pulling off hunks of the crust from the other side! They wouldn't wait for me to take the picture. I sure hope you like this recipe!
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