This decadent Chocolate Pound Cake is rich, moist, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! It’s the best homemade cake recipe for chocolate lovers.
Make sure to try my Classic Pound Cake recipe too!
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This Is My Favorite Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe!
I am obsessed with this chocolate cake! It’s made with cocoa powder and coffee granules to give it the richest chocolate flavor. Every bite is a chocolatey dream come true!
This pound cake is made in a bundt pan, so it looks pretty before it’s even decorated. You can leave it plain or add a fun topping like ganache or powdered sugar. If you’re a chocoholic, this cake recipe is for you!
Recipe Ingredients
- Instant Coffee Granules
- Hot Water
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, make this simple buttermilk substitute!
- Butter: Bring your butter to room temperature.
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Kosher Salt
- Baking Powder
- Cocoa Powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe.
- All Purpose Flour
- Powdered Sugar – if you want to dust the top!
How to Make Chocolate Pound Cake
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously coat a 10 – 12 cup bundt pan with baking spray and set it aside.
- Dissolve Coffee Granules: In a medium bowl, dissolve the coffee granules into the hot water. When dissolved, stir in the buttermilk. Set aside.
- Cream Butter & Sugar: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add Eggs: Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing until combined and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the vanilla, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder and mix until combined and smooth.
- Combine Buttermilk Mixture & Flour: Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour and the buttermilk mixture in alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure the mixture is evenly combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 60 – 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let Cool: Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, and then loosen the cake from the sides of the pan using a butter knife. Invert the cake onto a wire rack or lake plate to cool completely.
- Garnish: Once cooled, dust your cake with powdered sugar if desired & serve!
How to know when your pound cake is done baking:
When your pound cake is done baking, the surface of the cake will appear firm. The best way to tell if it’s done is by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake between the outer and inner edge of the bundt pan.
If the toothpick is covered in wet batter, let the cake continue baking. When you notice a few small crumbs come out with the toothpick, your pound cake is perfect! Be careful not to overbake it or it won’t be moist and tender.
Tips for the Best Chocolate Pound Cake
- Don’t Omit the Coffee: Coffee plays an important role in this recipe – it intensifies how chocolaty the cake will be! If you don’t have instant coffee granules, just use 1/4 cup of hot coffee instead. (Reduce the buttermilk by 1/4 cup to keep the amount of liquid in this recipe the same.)
- Scrape the Mixing Bowl As Needed: To ensure your ingredients combine correctly, scrape the sides of your mixing bowl whenever necessary.
- Save Some Leftovers: Believe it or not, this pound cake tastes even better the day after you make it. Save a few servings and see for yourself!
Serving Suggestions
- Top with Chocolate Ganache: Make your pound cake even more heavenly by topping it with my Pourable Chocolate Ganache!
- Serve with Ice Cream: Serve your chocolate pound cake with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream for the ultimate summer dessert.
- Frosting: Try using my Creamy Chocolate Frosting recipe!
- Add Chocolate Chips: If you want your cake to be even chocolatier, go ahead and add some chocolate chips into the batter.
- Serve with Fruit: I love serving this cake with some fresh strawberries or raspberries!
How to Store Homemade Pound Cake
Store leftover pound cake in an airtight container or resealable bag at room temperature. It will stay fresh for about three days. If you want to store it for longer, transfer it to the fridge after day 3 and enjoy it within a week.
Looking Foe More Pound Cake Recipes? Try These:
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Chocolate Pound Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This decadent Chocolate Pound Cake is rich, moist, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! It’s the best homemade cake recipe for chocolate lovers.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- Optional – powdered sugar to dust or chocolate ganache
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously coat a 10 – 12 cup bundt pan with baking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, dissolve the coffee granules into the hot water. When dissolved, stir in the buttermilk. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the vanilla, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder and mix until combined and smooth.
- Turn mixer to low and add in the flour and buttermilk mixture in alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure mixture is evenly combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 60 – 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, and then loosen the cake from the sides of the pan using a butter knife. Invert the cake onto a wire rack or lake plate to cool completely.
- Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar or pour chocolate ganache on top!
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Best cake ever. Rave reviews from family. Getting ready to make my 3rd cake. So delicious and moist.
Why should I cut back on the buttermilk if I use hot coffee instead of water with coffee granules? Either way the liquid is still the same.
Why would you reduce the buttermilk rather than just eliminating the 1/4 cup of water?
Have tried and found many ok cakes but none I would keep the recipe for UNTIL THIS ONE! This is the perfect cake I have looked many years for. Made it with the ganache and first one Ive made that I didnt want ice cream with, its perfect by itself. Tastes better everyday and super moist. Thankyou, love it and no other from now on!
This is a very dense cake….also very delicious. The toughest thing to do was to ice the cake, but I accomplished the task, and then came the tasting, and tasting, and tasting!
Will definitely make it again.
This is literally the best chocolate cake I have ever made and I’ve made a lot! I frosted it with cream cheese frosting and it was heaven! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
LOVE hearing this!!
Excellent recipe!! So moist and full of chocolate flavor. This is my go-to chocolate pound cake recipe. I drizzle a ganache on top to make it next level.
This cake takes care of the chocolate craving spot on! This cake is delicious! I didn’t have instant coffee so used 1/4 cup brewed coffee and used 1/4 cup less buttermilk! So good with a dollop of redi whip!