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overhead shot of chocolate pound cake sliced on a cooling rack.
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4.45 from 9 votes

Chocolate Pound Cake

This Old Fashioned Chocolate Pound Cake is rich, buttery, and made the traditional way with real butter, eggs, and cocoa. It has a classic crumb, deep chocolate flavor, and doesn’t rely on shortcuts or extras to be good.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake, chocolate pound cake, Pound cake
Servings: 10
Calories: 327kcal
Author: Joanna Cismaru

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 5 large eggs separated, at room temperature
  • 1 cup butter unsalted, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar granulated
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350℉. Spray a 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inch loaf pan generously with cooking spray.
  • Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl; the flour, cocoa powder and salt. 
    process shots showing how to make chocolate pound cake.
  • In a bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
    process shots showing how to make chocolate pound cake.
  • In another bowl mix the butter with the sugar until well combined and creamy.
    process shots showing how to make chocolate pound cake.
  • Mix in the eggs and vanilla until well until combined.
    process shots showing how to make chocolate pound cake.
  • Add half the flour mixture and half the egg whites and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix well. Fold in the remaining egg whites with a spatula. Do not over mix!
    process shots showing how to make chocolate pound cake.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour. The cake is done baking, when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
    process shots showing how to make chocolate pound cake.
  • Let the cake cool in the loaf pan for about 15 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the loaf pan to loosen the cake in case it’s stuck and turn it over onto a cooling rack. Turn it upright and allow it to cool completely before slicing.

Video

Notes

  1. Make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature before you start. It makes a big difference in how smoothly everything comes together.
  2. Whipping the egg whites is part of the method and helps give the cake a lighter texture, so don’t skip that step.
  3. Dutch process cocoa powder works just fine and will give the cake a darker color and slightly richer flavor.
  4. A crack on top is normal for pound cake and nothing to worry about.
  5. This cake slices best once it has cooled completely, even though it is very tempting to cut into it early.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 142mg | Sodium: 155mg | Potassium: 87mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 702IU | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
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