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Close-up of a glossy chocolate-glazed Bundt cake, the finish for this chocolate pound cake recipe
Chef Emma

Chocolate Pound Cake with Ganache

A dense, moist chocolate Bundt pound cake made with butter, sour cream, eggs and Dutch-process cocoa, drizzled with a two-ingredient chocolate ganache.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cooling and setting 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 16 slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 390
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cake
  • 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks / 227 g, softened
  • 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar 500 g
  • 1/2 cup sour cream 120 g, room temperature
  • 5 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 344 g
  • 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder 42 g, plus 1 tbsp for the pan
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder plus 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp instant espresso powder optional
  • 3/4 cup whole milk 180 ml, room temperature
Ganache
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 85 g
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream 60 ml

Equipment

  • 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan
  • Stand or hand mixer
  • Wire cooling rack

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust it with cocoa.
  2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder.
  3. Beat the butter 1 minute, add the sugar and beat 5 minutes until fluffy. Beat in the sour cream.
  4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
  5. On low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 parts alternating with the milk in 2 parts, just until combined.
  6. Spread in the pan and bake 65 to 75 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs (about 205 to 210°F / 96 to 99°C inside).
  7. Cool 15 minutes in the pan, turn out, and cool completely, about 2 hours.
  8. Pour hot cream over the chocolate, wait 5 minutes, stir smooth, thicken 10 minutes, and drizzle over the cake.

Notes

Marble version: leave the cocoa out of the dry mix, then stir 1/3 cup cocoa with 3 tbsp hot milk into half the batter and swirl. Do not eat the raw batter. Calories are an estimate per slice (1/16, with ganache) from USDA FoodData Central values.