Classic Chocolate Pound Cake with Milk

Better Than Traditional Chocolate Pound Cake

This classic chocolate pound cake is moist, soft and delicious with a tender crumb. Better than traditional chocolate pound cake because we add lightness by whipping the eggs and some milk for moisture. A simple recipe that takes just 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to bake. Absolutely delicious on its own but can be accompanied with so much more such as whipped cream, fresh fruits, and glazes.

If you looking for the best pound cake? I think you are going to love this chocolate pound cake. Soft, tender, and moist with a delicate crumb. I make it in a vanilla pound as well as this chocolate pound. It’s a huge hit every single time.

Did you know a pound cake is called pound cake because of how the ingredients in the recipe are measured? By the pound. Just four main ingredients and all one pound – Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour.  Dod you know that these four ingredients are all you need to make a basic cake.? Back in the early day’s egg was the only leavening in the cake no baking powder or baking soda.

Though the ingredients are so simple and straightforward baking a good pound cake is not so easy. Over-mixing can give you a bread-like cake. Over-baking can make it a dry pound cake.

Those of you that learned baking must start with the pound cake as the basics of all cake baking. I know I did. I’ve made quite a few pound cakes and I’ve had a fair share of ups and down with these.

About this pound cake.

As you can see my recipe has more than four ingredients. Today I am adding more lightness and moisture to my pound. Unlike traditional pound cakes, I am whipping the egg whites, and adding some milk.

If you are a cake decorator and need a firm, moist and less crumby cake recipe for a novelty cake – then this chocolate pound is a great cake to carve. Just change the number of servings below and the recipe card will multiply the recipe for you. I do also have a chocolate cake for carving recipe baked in a sheet pan.

The best part about this classic pound cake is that it is so versatile. If you ever feel like eating a chocolate cake without any frosting, you will love this. It doesn’t need any frosting. Perfect tea time snack.

If you have to entertain and need a little treat – add a light vanilla or chocolate glaze. I remember as a kid I used to eat a slice of this chocolate pound cake with Butterscotch sauce. Now I often serve it with cake fillings like these.

Classic Vanilla Bundt Cake Butter Pound Cake Recipe

Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe aka Perfect Vanilla Cake Recipe

One Bowl Vanilla Cake Recipe

Classic Vanilla Pound Cake (55)

Let’s talk ingredients and Substitutes (Save/Pin)

• Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter so I can control the quantity of salt in my recipe. And yet, if salted butter is all you have, go ahead and use it. Just omit salt in the recipe.
• White sugar – White sugar contributes to a nice soft tender crumb and gives a nice color. You can add brown sugar it will contribute to taste and color differently. 
• Cocoa Powder – simple dutch processed cocoa powder works best for this recipe. I’ve used regular but feel free to use dark or light.
• Eggs – Always use large size eggs when baking unless specified. The size of the eggs varies these days significantly. So as a guide one large egg weighs between 50 to 60 grams.
• Vanilla – A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. Premium vanilla can be expensive, which is why I make my homemade vanilla extract, bean paste or sugar.
• All-purpose flour – Yes, regular plain flour (maida) is all you need for this cake. And, since self-raising flours contain leavening they must be used with caution.

Useful Tips and Tools

• If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because often we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making a cake go ahead and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet. And, you don’t need an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer also works great.
• Personally, I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking.
• The same goes for my measuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
• I think one set of baking pans is a must for anyone a home baker. Personally, I like to bake my coffee cakes in Bundt Pans or Loaf pans. So I have a couple of bundt pans I wouldn’t part with. Therefore, having at least one good quality all-purpose bundt pan on hand is a great start. Same with a loaf pan that can be used to make bread or cakes. 
• Once baked always invert your cakes on a cooling rack. This encourages air circulation and prevents the steam from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
• Every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In the case of cakes, a skewer inserted in the center is a great indication. If the cake bakes too quick or too slow compared to the time given it might be a good idea to check if your oven needs calibration. An oven thermometer is a great little gadget to help keep the oven temperature in check. All you need to do then is adjust the temperature accordingly

How to Make A Better Than Traditional Chocolate Pound Cake (Save/Pin) 

For the cake (Makes one 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan)

• Preheat oven to 170 C / 340 F
• Butter and flour a loaf pan or line with parchment paper if you want.
• Combine cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and flour – sift or mix well.
• Whip eggs with cream of tartar – set aside
• Cream Butter and Sugar until light and fluffy
• Add yolks and vanilla
• Followed by flour and milk
• Lastly, fold in the whipped egg whites
• Pour into prepared loaf pan
• Bake for 40 to 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean 

For the chocolate glaze

• Combine the powdered sugar with the cocoa powder – mix well.
• Add two tablespoon milk, water or cream to the powdered sugar
• Mix it thoroughly – add more water by the teaspoon only as needed.

Storage

• This cake will stay at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• Wrap well and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Can be frozen well wrapped for up to a month.

Classic Vanilla Pound Cake with Milk

This classic vanilla pound cake is moist, soft and delicious with a tender crumb. Better than the traditional pound cake recipe because I give it a little more lightness by whipping the eggs and adding some milk. A surprisingly simple and easy recipe that takes just 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to bake.

Troubleshooting – Pound Cakes

Why is my pound cake so dry?

Over-baking a cake can make it dry. You must test the cake a few minutes before the cooking time guide because all ovens work differently.

Why is my pound cake so dense?

Often this could be the reason of overmixing the cake. When you activate too much gluten in the cake, the cake rises when baking but sinks as soon as it comes out of the oven. The resulting sink causes the cake to be dense.

Why is my pound cake wet in the middle?

Cakes bake from outside in so often the cake may appear cooked while still not finished cooking on the inside. That is why we need to test for doneness by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake. If the skewer inserted in the center comes out clean without any batter it means the cake is done.

Why did my pound cake fall?

Usually, too much leavening agent such a baking powder or baking soda.

Can I put a pound cake back in the oven?

Yes, you can. It will continue to cook the cake but it may not continue to rise. The baked cake may be a bit denser than the expected outcome but still not raw.

Frequently asked questions

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Classic Chocolate Pound Cake -Better Than Traditional Chocolate Pound Cake

Author: Veena Azmanov

4.86 from 14 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 50 mins

Total Time: 1 hr

Calories: 302kcal

$10

Adjust Servings Here: 10 servings

Description

This classic chocolate pound cake is moist, soft and delicious with a tender crumb. Better than traditional chocolate pound cake because we add lightness by whipping the eggs and some milk for moisture. A simple recipe that takes just 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to bake. Absolutely delicious on its own but can be accompanied with so much more such as whipped cream, fresh fruits, and glazes.

Ingredients

For the cake (Makes one 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan)

• 170 grams (6 oz) Butter unsalted
• 200 grams (1 cups) Sugar 
• 190 grams (1.52 cups) All purpose flour
• 25 grams (0.29 cups) Cocoa powder
• 3 (3 ) Large eggs separated
• 1 tsp (1 tsp) Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
• 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) Cream of tartar
• 1 tsp (1 tsp) Vanilla extract
• 120 ml (0.49 cups) Milk

Vanilla glaze (optional)

• 125 grams (1.04 cups) Powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) cocoa powder
• 2 to 4 tbsp milk water or cream

Or try any of these options

• 1 cup (1 cup) Whipped cream
• 1 cup (1 cup) Strawberry Filling
• 1 cup (1 cup) Raspberry Filling
• 1 cup (1 cup) Blueberry Filling
• 1 cup (1 cup) Cherry Filling
• 1 cup (1 cup) Blackberry Filling
• 1 cup (1 cup) Caramel Sauce
• 1 cup (1 cup) Butterscotch Sauce

ADJUST SERVINGS HERE – 10 servings

Instructions

For the cake – Makes one 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan

• Preheat oven to 170 C / 340 F
• Butter and flour a loaf pan or line with parchment paper if you want.
• Combine cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and flour – sift or mix well.
• Whip eggs with cream of tartar – set aside
• Cream Butter and Sugar until light and fluffy
• Add yolks and vanilla
• Followed by flour and milk
• Lastly, fold in the whipped egg whites
• Pour into prepared loaf pan
• Bake for 40 to 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean

For the chocolate glaze

• Combine the powdered sugar with the cocoa powder – mix well.
• Add two tablespoon milk, water or cream to the powdered sugar
• Mix it thoroughly – add more water by the teaspoon only as needed.

Recipe Video

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Equipment

Kitchen Scale

Stand Mixer

Meas Cups & Spoons

Measuring Spoons

Spatula

Mixing Bowl

Baking Tray

Loaf Pan

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Classic Chocolate Pound Cake -Better Than Traditional Chocolate Pound Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 302 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 9g45%

Cholesterol 86mg29%

Sodium 263mg11%

Potassium 153mg4%

Carbohydrates 36g12%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 20g22%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 515IU10%

Calcium 53mg5%

Iron 1.5mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

Keywords – chocolate, Pound, pound cake recipe

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