This Chocolate Pound Cake is a good recipe to have on hand for when that craving strikes. It’s super simple to make, and you probably have everything to make it!
Recipe for Chocolate Pound Cake
If I am completely honest with y’all, too many times I find myself staring into my refrigerator or pantry looking for something chocolate to eat.
I’ll also admit that too many times I have resorted to eating chocolate chips because I couldn’t find anything … tell me you’ve been there before, too! 😅
This Sour Cream Chocolate Pound Cake recipe always hits the spot, though!
One of the things I love most about chocolate pound cake is that I always have all of the ingredients on hand to make it. If you’ve ever found yourself looking for an easy chocolate fix, this is it! I’m going to guess that you probably have all of the ingredients to make this too – and it’s super easy to put together.
Although we often serve this as is, sometimes, we feel fancy and serve it with ice cream or berries with fresh whipped cream. If you would like, you can also sprinkle a few chocolate chips over the top before baking.
Now you have an easy way to crush that chocolate craving and serve up a sweet treat for everyone in your house!! I hope you enjoy this buttermilk Chocolate Pound Cake recipe – and I hope that it satisfies that chocolate craving! 😉
Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
To make this Chocolate Pound Cake, you will need …
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour – there are lots of different kinds of flour, and all-purpose is the best for most baked goods, as it provides the right texture you’ll need.
- cocoa powder – we need some chocolate flavor, and this provides it in droves!!
- baking powder and baking soda – together, these are leavening agents that make baked goods rise (if you’re not using yeast).
- butter – most baked goods need a “fat” like butter or shortening to hold everything together in the batter or dough!
- egg – I use large eggs. They are another binding agent that holds the batter together.
- sugar – sweetens your cake, of course. Use the granulated kind.
- vanilla extract – enhances the flavors in your cake.
- sour cream – I know, if you’ve never baked before, it seems strange to make a cake with sour cream … BUT … this will give you the extra moist, extra rich texture you’re looking for!
- buttermilk – using buttermilk rather than regular milk in this chocolate pound cake means it’ll be a lighter treat!
Sour Cream Chocolate Pound Cake: FAQs
A little over an hour. You’ll only need 15 minutes to prep the recipe and 55 minutes to bake the cake!
About 12 servings, give or take! It’ll depend on how you slice the cake, of course.
Yes, for sure! Coffee grounds (or liquid coffee sometimes!) will end up in a lot of chocolate cakes as it intensifies the flavor. I don’t include it just because I think it’s faster to make it this way, and not everyone has coffee grounds on hand. Also, sometimes it makes the cake too chocolatey. But it’s something you’ll want to experiment with if you’re interested!!
No buttermilk? No problem! Place 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar into a 1 cup measure. Add enough milk to make 1 cup of total liquid. Stir to combine and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes (the mixture will begin to curdle). Measure out what you need for the recipe and discard the remaining buttermilk or use it in another recipe.
You can substitute plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream if desired.
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Chocolate Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup butter, softened 4 tablespoons
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg slightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine the sour cream and buttermilk.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat to combine. Add the sour cream mixture. Mix well. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix well.
- Spread mixture into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 minutes.
- Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- No buttermilk? No problem! Place 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar into a 1 cup measure. Add enough milk to make 1 cup of total liquid. Stir to combine and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes (the mixture will begin to curdle). Measure out what you need for the recipe and discard the remaining buttermilk or use it in another recipe.
- You can substitute plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream if desired.
Nutrition
Please note that the nutritional information listed on this page is an estimation based on the products I used. Ingredients and nutritional information can vary significantly between brands. Always be sure to read labels. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Likewise, recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them.
Originally published on January 8, 2014. Updated on August 12, 2022.
Looks great!
Always good to have this recipe around. I can also make it as muffins 🙂
Jamie, pound cake is by far my absolute favorite cake and….and a chocolate version sounds pretty awesome! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipe – pinned and sharing! Have a happy Wednesday!
Give me a loaf of that, a gallon of milk, and I'm good to go! Delicious 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Thanks, Eric!
Sounds so good! =)
I love chocolate!
This looks amazing! And I really DO have everything on hand to make it. Woohoo! That is great because I am now craving a big hunk of this cake!
Kristin from DizzyBusyandHungry.com
Hi Jamie! Thanks for sharing these delicious chocolate desserts! They look so yummy! Blessings from Bama!
I love pound cake and just came to the realization that I've never baked a chocolate one. Looks like you're going to help me remedy that… 😉 Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you for linking up at Family Fun Friday! Your pound cake looks delicious!
"When a craving strike" (every moment of my day) thanks for sharing this with us on foodie friday. I'm certain I will be making this very soon.
Your Chocolate pound cake looks great Jamie. I posted a Chocolate Pound Cake recipe this week too. I guess great minds really do think alike.
oh so yummy I shared a few dishes that would be great served with it come see over at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Your cake looks amazing! I'm swooning right now 🙂 Visiting you from Family Fun Friday!
Thanks so much for sharing them with Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party.
Have a great week.
Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above
Thank you so much for linking up this post to last week's The Weekend re-Treat on The Best Blog Recipes! I wanted to stop by and Pin your post to our Party Boards 🙂 Hope to see you again this week! We've got a few changes to our party and can't wait for you to check them out!
Shauna @ The Best Blog Recipes
easy recipe, I did substitute Splenda for sugar, still came out good, and less calories