This recipe is for all the chocolate lovers! With a rich chocolate flavor from the Dutch-processed cocoa powder and addition of espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor, this chocolate pound cake recipe is magical. It will be your new favorite recipe because it is easy to make and produces a decadent chocolate pound cake. The addition of cream cheese gives this cake a flavorful and moist crumb. Serve it with a dusting of powdered sugar or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect simple dessert.
Classic pound cake is often made in a bundt pan. To make this recipe easy, I opted for pound cake in a loaf pan. It comes together easily and yields 12 slices.
Looking for more chocolate cake recipes? Try my One Bowl Chocolate Cake and my Dalgona Coffee Chocolate Cake (this one does taste like coffee and it's a delicious cake!). Also try my Chocolate Chip Pound cake (made in a bundt pan) for a pound cake variation.
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Ingredients needed to make the best chocolate pound cake
- Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter for this recipe. Salted butters tend to vary in terms of the amount of salt added. If you only have salted butter, go ahead and use it and omit the salt or cut the amount of salt in half. Be sure to remove your butter from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to baking to ensure it has reached room temperature so it incorporates easily into the other ingredients. Cold butter will not incorporate well or evenly into the batter.
- Cream cheese: Use brick-style (block style) cream cheese for this recipe. Like the butter, be sure to remove it from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to baking so it has time to come to room temperature. TIP: with cream cheese, I like to smash the room temperature cream cheese with a spatula or the back of a spoon before adding it to the mixture. This smoothes out any lumps and prevents lumps of cream cheese from being in your finished batter.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar: either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe.
- Eggs: you'll need 3 large eggs for this recipe. Be sure to remove the eggs from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to using to allow them to come up to room temperature. Cold eggs will not incorporate well or evenly into the batter.
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Dutch processed cocoa powder: Dutch-processed cocoa powder is ideal for this recipe because the alkali used in its production gives the cocoa a richer, deeper hue and smoother taste that’s important for color and flavor intensity. If your cocoa does not indicate type on the label, check the ingredient list. Look for unsweetened cocoa powder that is “processed with alkali” - this indicates the cocoa is Dutch-processed. I do not recommend using natural cocoa because the chocolate flavor will not be as intense. Having said that, if you cannot find Dutch-process cocoa powder or you only have natural cocoa powder, it is certainly not the end of the world. Your pound cake will still taste good, although perhaps not as chocolatey.
- Espresso powder: Don't worry, your cake will not taste like coffee. Espresso powder does this magical thing where it enhances the flavor of the chocolate. It's just a little bit, but it goes a long way in bumping up the flavor of chocolate in the cake batter.
- Baking powder
- Salt: feel free to adjust the amount of salt to your taste.
If you love pound cakes, try my Moist Vanilla Chocolate Marbled Pound Cake, too!
How to make Chocolate Pound cake in a loaf pan
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line an 8x4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside. I like to spray the loaf pan first with nonstick cooking spray then trim a long strip of parchment paper to the width of the loaf pan.
Lay the parchment length-wise in the pan and press down gently so the parchment paper sticks to nonstick spray. Spray the parchment paper in the pan then lay the leftover piece of parchment across the pan.
There should be overhang on the sides of the pan, allowing you to easily lift the baked chocolate pound cake out of the pan later on. Set aside the prepared loaf pan.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or, if using an electric mixer, add to a large bowl the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
Mix on low speed for 30-60 seconds then mix on medium-high speed until well mixed and light in color. Stop the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
Step 4
Add the eggs, one at a time, allowing the eggs to incorporate into the mixture before adding the next one. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again for a few seconds to ensure everything is well mixed.
Step 5
Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Step 6
With the mixer off, add in half the dry ingredients and mix on low until incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl then add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
TIP: For best results, mix the dry ingredients in stages as specified. This method helps create a moist pound cake by allowing the dry ingredients to hydrate before adding more. Adding all the flour mixture at once causes you to have to mix the batter longer to fully incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, which will lead to a dry cake vs a moist cake with a tender crumb. The less mixing the better for a moist chocolate pound cake.
Scrape the bowl one last time and mix for a few seconds to ensure all dry ingredients are incorporated.
Step 7
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top with a spatula.
Step 8
Bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, rotating the loaf pan halfway through baking to ensure even baking. Once a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs and no wet batter, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes on a wire rack.
Step 9
Remove the chocolate pound cake loaf from the pan by using the parchment overhang to lift the loaf out of the pan. Serve warm or wrap tightly in plastic wrap while slightly warm to retain moisture.
FOR ALL MY FAVORITE BAKING TOOLS INCLUDING THOSE USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE, CHECK OUT MY BAKING RESOURCES PAGE!
How to store chocolate cake (pound cake)
To store this chocolate pound cake, wrap the cake while it's still slightly warm in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 3 days. Wrapping the cake while warm helps retain moisture, preventing the cake from drying out. Alternately, store the cake in an airtight container.
Store in the fridge for up to one week.
To freeze, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter 1 ½ sticks, room temperature
- 4 ounces brick-style cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line an 8x4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside. I like to spray the loaf pan first with nonstick cooking spray then trim a long strip of parchment paper to the width of the loaf pan. Lay the parchment length-wise in the pan and press down gently so the parchment paper sticks to nonstick spray. Spray the parchment paper in the pan then lay the leftover piece of parchment across the pan. There should be overhang on the sides of the pan, allowing you to easily lift the baked chocolate pound cake out of the pan later on. Set aside the prepared loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.1 cup all-purpose flour, ¾ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon espresso powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric mixer, add butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on low for 30-60 seconds then mix on medium-high speed until well mixed and light in color. Stop the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.¾ cup unsalted butter, 4 ounces brick-style cream cheese, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar
- Add the eggs, one at a time, allowing the eggs to incorporate into the mixture before adding the next one. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again for a few seconds to ensure everything is well mixed.3 large eggs
- Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- With the mixer off, add in half the dry ingredients and mix on low until incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl then add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Scrape the bowl one last time and mix for a few seconds to ensure all dry ingredients are incorporated.TIP: For best results, mix the dry ingredients in stages as specified. This method helps create a moist pound cake by allowing the dry ingredients to hydrate before adding more. Adding all the flour mixture at once causes you to have to mix the batter longer to fully incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, which will lead to a dry cake vs a moist cake with a tender crumb. The less mixing the better for a moist chocolate pound cake.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the top with a spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, rotating the loaf pan halfway through baking to ensure even baking. Once a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs and no wet batter, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the loaf from the pan by using the parchment overhang to lift the loaf out of the pan. Serve warm or wrap tightly in plastic wrap while slightly warm to retain moisture.
Notes
- To store, wrap the cake while slightly warm in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 3 days. Wrapping the cake while warm retains moisture.
- Store in the fridge for up to one week.
- To freeze, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.