Description
This chocolate pound cake is a dense and flavorful pound cake covered in a rich, decadent ganache glaze for a silky-smooth finish. It’s the perfect dessert for a party or special occasion! Serve it with berries or whipped cream.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 ½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup Dutch cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon (3.75g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (2g) espresso powder (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (339g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups (570g) granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (295ml) whole milk, at room temperature
For the Ganache Glaze
- 6 ounces (1 cup) semi sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup (177ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Generously grease and flour or use a pan release to grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan (affiliate link). Allow the butter, eggs, and milk to come to room temperature.
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt to a medium bowl, and whisk together. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. A stand mixer is recommended, but you can also use a hand mixer.
- Slowly add eggs 1 at a time and make sure each one is well mixed before adding the next egg. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl after the third egg. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- With the mixer set to low, add half of the dry ingredients and mix until combined followed by half of the milk, and mix just until combined, repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and milk. Continue mixing until all ingredients are just combined, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
- Bake at 325° for 55-65 minutes. Check to see if your cake is done by inserting a toothpick into the middle. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Baking times may vary by oven and type of pan. Allow the cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before attempting to remove it from the pan.
- Gently run a knife around the outside and inside edge of the cake to release, and flip it out onto a cooling rack. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
- When the cake has cooled, make the glaze; place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Microwave the cream until it is just starting to simmer, but do not boil it, about 1-1 ½ minutes. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips, place a plate on top, and let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Then use a whisk to stir it together. It may take a few minutes, just keep stirring. Once it comes together let it sit for about 10-15 minutes to thicken. Pour over the top of the cake, letting it ooze over the sides. Let the ganache glaze firm up, for about 2 hours at room temperature or 1 hour in the fridge before serving.
Notes
- Storage: Leftover cake can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. Cake can be stored tightly covered in the fridge, but will become dry faster.
- Dutch-processed cocoa is preferred for baking as it is less bitter than natural cocoa and will give the cake a darker chocolate color. Natural cocoa can be used if you can’t find Dutch cocoa.
- Chocolate: You can use 6 ounces of chopped chocolate bars in place of the chocolate chips for the glaze. bittersweet, dark, or milk chocolate will all work, but for a rich flavor ganache, I like to use the semi-sweet.
- Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature before beginning. If you add an ingredient that is too cold it could curdle the batter. You can speed up this process by lightly microwaving the milk and setting the eggs into a large bowl of hot water to warm up faster.
- Greasing and flouring the cake pan is very important to ensure the cake comes out of the pan with ease. I recommend greasing the pan with Crisco shortening and then dusting it with a combination of equal parts flour and cocoa powder. You can also make a homemade pan release that will keep this from occurring. Mix equal parts neutral oil, vegetable shortening, and flour until well combined, and then use a pastry brush to liberally apply it to the pan, making sure to get every nook and cranny.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 794
- Sugar: 72 g
- Sodium: 176.2 mg
- Fat: 42.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 100 g
- Fiber: 3.4 g
- Protein: 10.2 g
- Cholesterol: 187 mg