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To make a chocolate pound cake, beat 1 cup of soft butter with 1½ cups of sugar until pale and fluffy, add 3 eggs one at a time, then mix in flour, unsweetened cocoa powder and a little leavening alternately with sour cream. Spread the thick batter in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake at 325°F for 60 to 70 minutes, until a skewer shows a few moist crumbs and the center reads about 210°F.
Pound cake gets its tight, velvety crumb from air beaten into butter and sugar, not from oil or a pourable batter, so it slices cleanly and keeps for days. Half a cup of unsweetened cacao powder or cocoa powder supplies all the chocolate flavor, with no bar chocolate to melt.
What makes chocolate pound cake different from other chocolate cakes?
Its texture. A pound cake is a butter cake built on creaming: the sugar crystals cut tiny air pockets into the butter, the eggs hold that air, and a pinch of leavening helps. The result is fine, close and buttery. Here is how it compares with our moist, glazed chocolate bundt cake:
| Feature | Pound cake (loaf) | Bundt cake |
|---|---|---|
| Fat | Butter, creamed | Oil plus melted butter |
| Batter | Thick, spreadable | Thin, pourable |
| Oven | 325°F, 60–70 min | 350°F, 45–55 min |
| Crumb | Tight, velvety | Soft, open, very moist |
| Finish | Plain or dusted | Cocoa glaze |
Ingredients (one 9×5-inch loaf, 10 to 12 slices)
- 1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (42 g) unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder, natural
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (113 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon soft butter, for the pan
Any natural, unsweetened cocoa (cacao) powder works here. Set the butter, eggs and sour cream out about an hour ahead. Espresso powder does not taste like coffee here; it deepens the chocolate.
How do you make chocolate pound cake?
- Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) with a rack in the center. Grease a 9×5-inch metal loaf pan with the soft butter and line it with a strip of parchment that hangs over the long sides.
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift the cocoa first if it has lumps.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat 4 to 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy, scraping the bowl twice.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, about 30 seconds each, then the vanilla.
- On low speed, add a third of the flour mixture, then half of the sour cream. Repeat, ending with the flour, and mix just until no dry streaks remain. Finish with a few folds of a spatula.
- Spread the thick batter into the pan, smooth the top and tap the pan on the counter twice to settle it.
- Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until a skewer in the center shows a few moist crumbs and the center reads about 210°F. If the top darkens early, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it after 45 minutes.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, lift the cake out by the parchment and cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.
Let it cool all the way: a warm pound cake is still setting inside, and slicing early makes the crumb look gummy. Use a serrated knife.
How long should you cream butter and sugar for pound cake?
About 4 to 5 minutes with a stand or hand mixer on medium speed, after a minute of beating the butter alone. The mixture should turn several shades lighter and look fluffy, almost like frosting. This step does most of the lifting, so rushing it gives a short, heavy loaf. Use butter that bends without cracking but still feels cool, around 65°F: cold butter will not hold air, and greasy butter lets it escape. If the batter looks curdled after the eggs, keep going; it smooths out once the flour goes in.
Natural or Dutch-process cocoa for pound cake?
This recipe is balanced for natural cocoa. Natural (non-alkalized) cocoa is acidic, and the small amount of baking soda reacts with it and the sour cream. Dutch-process cocoa is washed with an alkali, so little acid is left. The rule we follow:
- 3 tablespoons of cocoa or less: swap natural and Dutch 1:1.
- More cocoa with baking soda only: Dutch rises poorly, so add an acid such as sour cream or buttermilk.
- Baking powder only: natural cocoa works fine, because baking powder carries its own acid.
For Dutch-process cocoa in this loaf, leave out the baking soda and use 1 teaspoon of baking powder. The cake comes out darker and mellower. More detail is in natural vs Dutch-process cocoa powder and our guide to baking with cocoa powder.
Can you bake chocolate pound cake in a Bundt pan?
Yes. Double the recipe for a 10- to 12-cup Bundt or tube pan, grease every ridge and dust it with cocoa, and bake at 325°F for about 75 to 90 minutes, checking at 75. For the softer, glazed style, use our chocolate bundt cake recipe, which is built for that pan.
Why did my chocolate pound cake crack, sink or turn out dry?
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Crack down the top | Crust sets before the center rises | Normal for pound cake; leave it |
| Dark crust, gooey center | Oven too hot, or dark or glass pan | Bake at 325°F; tent with foil at 45 min |
| Wet, sunken middle | Underbaked, or extra leavening | Bake to about 210°F; measure leaveners |
| Dense streak at bottom | Short creaming or cold butter | Cream 4–5 min with cool, soft butter |
| Dry, crumbly slices | Overbaked or too much flour | Weigh the flour; check at 60 min |
| Tough, tunnels inside | Overmixed after the flour | Mix on low just until combined |
Kansas State University’s 4-H baking guide lists about 210°F for a done pound cake, and America’s Test Kitchen notes that a 9×5-inch pan bakes a little faster than an 8½x4½-inch one.
How do you store and freeze chocolate pound cake?
Wrap the cooled cake tightly and keep it at room temperature for up to 4 days; the flavor and texture are often best on day two. To freeze, wrap the whole loaf or individual slices in plastic, then foil, for up to 3 months, and thaw it still wrapped. Slices are great lightly toasted, with a spoonful of chocolate whipped cream or a drizzle of hot fudge sauce.
With no melted chocolate in the batter, the cocoa is the whole chocolate flavor of the cake. Grevista is a natural, non-alkalized, unsweetened cocoa from single-origin Vietnamese Trinitario cacao grown in Đắk Lắk, with a bright, fruity chocolate taste, and it works with the leavening in this loaf as written. Learn more about natural cocoa powder. See sizes on the Grevista cocoa powder page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bake this chocolate pound cake with cacao powder?
Yes, use the same amount. Most of it is natural (non-alkalized), so it works with the baking soda here just like natural cocoa. Unroasted versions taste a little more bitter and tangy. Our cacao powder guide explains how the two names overlap.
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Yes, use the same amount of plain whole-milk Greek yogurt.
Can I add chocolate chips or nuts?
Yes. Toss ¾ cup of chocolate chips or chopped toasted nuts with a tablespoon of the flour mixture and fold them in last, or scatter the nuts over the top before baking.
Can I bake this as a layer cake?
Pound cake batter is too heavy for tall layers. For a layered cake, use our chocolate cake with cocoa powder.
Sources
- Kansas State University 4-H, When are Baked Goods Done? (checked October 29, 2026).
- America’s Test Kitchen, Chocolate Pound Cake (checked October 29, 2026).
- King Arthur Baking, Ingredient Weight Chart (checked October 29, 2026).
- King Arthur Baking, Dutch-process vs. natural cocoa (2020).
Written by the Grevista Editorial Team. Last updated November 7, 2026. How we check facts: Editorial Policy.