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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Pound cakes supposedly got their name because bakers would simply take a pound each of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter and mix them into a batter! These days, pound cakes are better known as easy to make, satisfyingly dense and moist cakes that go great with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea!

This recipe takes the classic pound cake and makes it even better with the addition of a little bit of chocolate and coffee!

For a simpler chocolate cake, why not make this Chocolate Cake Recipe? Or make this Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe instead?

A single slice of chocolate bundt cake sits on a white plate, with a cake stand holding the remaining cake in the background. A bottle of milk and utensils are nearby on a light table.

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This pound cake is easy to make and keeps well!
Total Time: You will need to set aside about 1 hour and 20 minutes to make this cake, but I promise, it’ll be worth it!
Variations: I suggest topping this pound cake with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, but you can use whatever topping you like! Try a brown sugar and butter crumb topping, a powdered sugar glaze, or toppings like strawberry sauce or a chocolate ganache!
Tools For This Recipe: You will need a bundt cake pan, an electric hand mixer, and a cooling rack to make this recipe! If you make a lot of cakes and don’t want to waste a lot of toothpicks, consider getting yourself a cake tester as well!

A slice of moist chocolate bundt cake on a white plate with a fork, with milk and chocolate pieces blurred in the background.

What You’ll Need for Ingredients

Cocoa Powder: Feel free to use whatever cocoa powder you have on hand for this recipe! Just make sure that you keep it stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place such as your pantry or cupboard to make sure that you get the most cocoa flavor you can!

Butter: Even though it’s called a pound cake, this recipe only takes 3/4 of a pound of butter to make! You can make your life easier by buying sticks of butter and using three—no further measuring required!

Assorted baking ingredients on a white countertop, including eggs, butter on a wooden board, bowls of sugar, flour, cocoa powder, milk, vanilla extract, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and coffee grounds.

Instant coffee granules: Any recipe that calls for cocoa or chocolate benefits from just a little touch of coffee! By the time everything’s baked together, you won’t really taste it, nor will you feel the effects of the caffeine, but the acidity and bitterness of coffee enhances the fruity richness of chocolate and will make your cake taste even richer and more delicious! Karlynn’s Tip: If you don’t have instant coffee granules at home and don’t feel like buying any just for this recipe, feel free to use instant espresso powder or even just a little bit of strong coffee or espresso instead! Just make sure to use it as a substitute for the water indicated in this recipe, as adding too much liquid to the batter will ruin the texture of your final cake.

How To Make Chocolate Pound Cake

This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

A stainless steel mixing bowl with butter, brown sugar, and white sugar sits on a marble counter, surrounded by bowls of cocoa powder, espresso, flour, shredded coconut, vanilla, eggs, and a whisk.

A mixing bowl filled with creamed butter and sugar sits on a marble countertop, surrounded by bowls containing cocoa powder, flour, vanilla extract, liquid, eggs, and a stand mixer whisk attachment.

Preheat your oven to 325°F and grease and flour a round bundt pan. In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the coffee granules. Set aside until cooled, then mix into the milk.
Add the room temperature butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar to a bowl and beat with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer) until fluffy—about 4 minutes.
Add in the eggs, vanilla, and cocoa and mix on medium speed until just combined.
Turn your mixer to low and beat in the flour mixture (in fourths) alternating with the whole milk mixture (in thirds), beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure even mixing.
Pour the batter into your prepared bundt pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick (or cake tester) inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes, then transfer from the pan to the rack and cool completely. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners sugar before serving.

A chocolate bundt cake dusted with powdered sugar sits on a white plate; one slice is cut. A milk bottle, metal cake server, powdered sugar sifter, and a white plate with a cake slice are nearby on a marble surface.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Chocolate Pound Cake

Cool It: If you’ve ever had trouble getting a cake out of a bundt pan, one of the best tricks is to make sure that you let it cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before trying to demold it. After that, invert the whole thing onto your wire rack and let gravity do its thing! If it doesn’t release on its own, you can use a rubber spatula to loosen the edges, give the bottom of the upside-down pan a couple of whacks, or place a hot, damp towel over the top of the pan for a few minutes!
Room Temp: Room temperature eggs and butter mix together quickly and incorporate easily, making it a lot easier to avoid over-mixing your batter! Make sure that you prepare a little ahead of time by bringing your butter and eggs out of the fridge to hang out on the counter so you can get the lightest, most tender pound cake for your efforts!

A chocolate bundt cake dusted with powdered sugar sits on a white cake stand, with bottles of milk and a sifter in the background on a white countertop.

Storage Instructions

Wrapped up tightly with plastic wrap or kept in an airtight container, leftovers of this cake will keep at room temperature for up to 4 days. Storing it at room temperature will help to keep its texture and flavor at its best!

Refrigerator: You can wrap your cake tightly in plastic wrap or put it into an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days, just be careful to seal it up securely, as it will dry out quickly if exposed to the open air.

Freezer: To freeze this cake, double wrap it in plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil (or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then place it into a zip-top bag). It will last for up to 3 months in the deep freeze. When you want to eat it, allow the cake the thaw in your refrigerator overnight before topping it, slicing it up, and serving!

More Delicious Cake Recipes

Looking for another easy, cozy bake? Give my Fully Loaded Carrot Cake a try!
Want to use up some bananas but don’t just want to make a loaf of banana bread? Why not try out my Classic Banana Cake?
For a light and fluffy classic that’ll remind you of the sunny days of spring, give my Daffodil Cake a try!

I love chocolate pound cake! Not only is it a lovely and hearty dessert (or snack!), it also pairs great with ice cream, fresh fruit, or just your favorite icing! Even though it takes a while in the oven, the rich chocolate flavor and moist, dense crumb make for a satisfying bite that’s absolutely worth the wait!

Give this chocolate pound cake a try and let me know what your favorite way to serve it is in the comments below!

Happy Baking!

Karlynn