This chocolate pound cake is baked in a tube pan. It's an excellent cake for a special occasion. It is moist and delicious plain or with a scoop of ice cream, but feel free to add a chocolate glaze or dust it with powdered sugar. It's a great cake to take to a party or bake sale.
Dutch-process cocoa powder produces a cake with great flavor and excellent deep brown color. If you plan to use natural cocoa powder instead of the Dutch-process, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the recipe to balance the acidity.
If you take it to a party, take a few copies of the recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (room temperature (plus more for greasing the pan)
- 1/2 cup shortening (room temperature)
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (13 1/2 ounces)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cocoa powder (Dutch-process)
- 1 cup milk (8 ounces)
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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Heat the oven to 325 F. Butter a 10-inch tube cake pan and dust it with cocoa powder (or use flour).
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In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and shortening until creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
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Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until well blended.
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In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa; use a whisk or spoon to blend thoroughly.
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Add about one-third of the flour mixture to the batter. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 cup of the milk and beat until blended. Repeat with another one-third of the flour mixture and the remaining milk and beat until blended. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until blended. Do not overbeat.
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Spoon the batter into the prepared tube cake pan and spread evenly.
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Bake for about 70 to 80 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake. Don't open the oven until the cake has reached the minimum time of 70 minutes.
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Cool in the pan for 10 minutes; carefully turn the cake out onto a rack to cool completely.
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Serve with ice cream or whipped cream or dust with sifted powdered sugar.
Tips
- Most of the leavening in pound cake comes from the air incorporated into the fat and sugar mixture. Make sure you beat the butter, shortening, and sugar until they are light and creamy, and don't overbeat when adding the remaining ingredients.
- Pound cake is cooked at a lower temperature than many other cakes. If the oven temperature is too high, the cake could be soft or undercooked in the center.
- If your pound cake is dry, it could be for one of two reasons: too much flour or overbaking. Weigh the flour if at all possible, and check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer.
- Reducing the sugar or fat can alter the texture and flavor.
- The pound cake batter is dense, so a cracked top is normal. As the exterior of the cake bakes, the cake rises and the top cracks to release steam.
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
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393 | Calories |
22g | Fat |
47g | Carbs |
4g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
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Servings: 12 to 16 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 393 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 22g | 28% |
Saturated Fat 11g | 54% |
Cholesterol 93mg | 31% |
Sodium 164mg | 7% |
Total Carbohydrate 47g | 17% |
Dietary Fiber 1g | 3% |
Protein 4g | |
Calcium 80mg | 6% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
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