This rich, moist Chocolate Pound cake recipe is the best bundt cake you’ll taste. Easy to make and triple the chocolate!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Pound Cake
In my business, I’m surrounded by some crazy talented friends. If you haven’t been following Mary at Barefeet in the Kitchen…go do that right now. Then don’t forget to come back here for this decadent Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe.
Mary is the author of three amazing cookbooks: The Weeknight Dinner, The Weekday Lunches and Breakfasts, followed by the newest book, The Weeknight Dessert Cookbook.
I’ve shared several of Mary’s recipes here, including her Margherita Chicken, Sour Cream Coffee Cake, and Almond Bars. But if you’re in the mood for something chocolatey, this Triple Chocolate Pound Cake is perfect!
Here’s why you’ll love it:
- It’s made for a weeknight. Which means it’s easy to whip up anytime you have a craving for chocolate!
- As with all pound cake recipes, it’s moist and rich, and the addition of chocolate also makes it decadent.
- This is the kind of dessert that’s as perfect for a party as it is for a weeknight. Just because it’s a weeknight dessert doesn’t mean it’s not a wow-worthy treat for a special occasion!
Important Ingredient Notes
For the cake:
- Unsalted butter – Soften this so it’s easy to incorporate into the other ingredients.
- Light brown sugar – This has a milder molasses flavor than dark brown sugar.
- Plain Greek yogurt – You can use sour cream if you prefer—both options will give you a moist, tender crumb.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – Be sure to use the kind meant for baking, not hot cocoa mix!
- Espresso powder – If you’re not a coffee fan, don’t worry! Espresso adds some depth and richness, enhancing the chocolate flavor. It won’t make your cake taste like coffee!
- Dark chocolate chips – Semisweet chocolate chips are fine too if that’s what you have on hand.
For the ganache:
- Dark chocolate chips – Again, semisweet are fine!
- Heavy whipping cream – Don’t try to get away with half-and-half or milk. You really need heavy cream for a thick, rich ganache!
How to Make Chocolate Pound Cake
Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 6-cup bundt pan or loaf pan with butter and cocoa powder. (As an alternative, you can use a generous amount of nonstick spray.)
Make the Batter:
- Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add the eggs and Greek yogurt, then beat until well blended.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients. Beat until combined, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
Cool: Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully invert the pan onto a cake plate. Allow the cake to cool completely.
Finish:
- Combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a glass bowl.
- Microwave for 60 seconds. Stir and heat for an additional 15 seconds, then stir until smooth.
- Pour the ganache over the cake and enjoy.
Tips and Tricks
- I buy my espresso powder on Amazon. If you can’t find it, use instant coffee.
- Add some extra chocolate chips on top of the chocolate ganache. There’s no such thing as “too much” in my vocabulary.
- Dark chocolate chips are my favorite for today’s pound cake. You’ll love that deep, rich chocolate flavor!
- If you love chocolate bundt cake, be sure to try my chocolate zucchini bundt cake recipe!
- You could also use our homemade goop, which helps cakes release from the pan!
- Make sure the cake fully cools before you add the ganache. If the cake is warm, the ganache will melt.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. After baking and cooling the cake, freeze slices of chocolate pound cake in airtight container or ziploc freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and enjoy.
Yes. If you have a larger bundt pan (12-cup) this recipe easily doubles. You may need to bake a little longer, so check it at 45 minutes, up to 60 minutes!
This recipe calls for chocolate ganache, but you can also add homemade whipped cream, fresh fruit, powdered sugar, or homemade caramel sauce, either instead of or in addition to the ganache.
More Cake Recipes
- 7 Up Pound cake
- Coconut Cake
- Peanut Butter Cake
- Watergate Cake
- Carrot Bundt Cake
- Yellow Birthday Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
- More Easy Dessert Recipes
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Chocolate Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup dark chocolate chips
For the ganache
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- 3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 6-cup bundt pan or loaf pan with butter and cocoa powder (or using a generous amount of baking spray).
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs, Greek yogurt and beat until well blended.
- Add in flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
- Cool pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the pan onto a cake plate. Allow cake to cool completely.
- Make the ganache by combining chocolate chips with heavy cream in a glass bowl. Microwave for 60 seconds. Stir and heat for an additional 15 seconds. Stir until smooth. Pour ganache over the cake and enjoy.
Notes
- If you don’t have plain greek yogurt you can substitute with sour cream. Either ingredients adds a whole level of moisture to this cake!
- I buy my Espresso powder on Amazon. If you can’t find it, use instant coffee. It doesn’t make your cake taste like coffee, but instead brings out the rich chocolate flavor.
- Add some extra chocolate chips on top of the chocolate ganache. There’s no such things as “too much” in my vocabulary.
- Dark Chocolate Chips are my favorite for today’s pound cake. You’ll love that deep, rich chocolate flavor!
- If you love chocolate bundt cake, be sure to try my chocolate zucchini bundt cake recipe!!
Nutrition
This rich, moist Chocolate Pound cake recipe is the best bundt cake you’ll taste. Easy to make and triple the chocolate!
Aimee, you had said in your other pound cake posts that you prefer to only use cake flour. If I used cake flour would the measurements be the same? Can I use cake flour instead of AP?? Also, if I double or triple it would I just double and tripe the ingredients??
This recipe came from a friend’s cookbook, so I followed her recipe (without testing other flours). I also haven’t tested doubling the recipe. If you try it, let us know how it turns out.
This looks delicious! Can it be made without the espresso powder and chocolate chips? And what size loaf pan?
If you make it and leave out the ingredients you mention then that is not the actual recipe and probably would not taste the same. That is my opinion and not of the authors.
thanks so much for the free recipe.
I’ve made this morning it’s delicious 🤤 but if I wanted to double the. Recipe would I have to the whole recipe.
Can I bake in a loaf pan instead?
Aimee, I’m making your cake right now. I wanna skip the choc chips. Is that gonna change my ratios?
If I don’t have heavy cream for the ganache, can I use sweetened condensed milk?
Not sure why you insist on using ‘cups’ as a measurement. This is baking. We weigh everything….what the heck is half a cup of butter? 2/3 a cup of chocolate? Seriously? There’s this new invention called grams. And it works.
Angry much? Here in the US these are the measurements we use. Hope you have a better day.
Aimee, I’m making your cake right now. I wanna skip the choc chips. Is that gonna change my ratios?
My HERO
You are so right. Some people are just nuts. I bet he is a real wacko. Sorry but he needs to get a life
idiot. go back to wherever you came from.
You can’t be seriously complaining about a recipe posted for FREE. If you don’t like it, move on
or do the conversions yourself. She doesn’t work for you. In the US we post recipes in cups, we don’t use grams as a rule. Ever heard of it?!?
Perfect Layla. That guy has a couple of screws missing!!
The guy who is so angry needs to see a shrink. He must have a very small life to get so angry about a recipe that we here in the US can make easily with those measurements!
You are NUTS!
I made this cake today, its great.
Can you split this recipe between 2 loaf pans
Your photos are making me crave this cake all over again! I’m so happy that you’re enjoying the cookbook!
I’m so proud of you my friend. Your cookbooks are simply the best.
I love it that this recipe is for a small bundt cake. I have a small pan and very few recipes work with it, but a whole bundt cake just never gets eaten. THIS will get eaten, maybe this weekend!
I love chocolate – this cake was TDF!! Definitely making it again!
1 cup of flour seems such a small amount for 1 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp. baking powder. It looks moist.
If you notice it’s a 6cup bundt pan, so it’s a small sized one!
This is definitely a cake for chocolate lovers!
Also, I love that bundt pan – so pretty!
Thank you four posting the chocolate pound cake recipe. I’ve been looking for a good one for quite a long time. Hope to make this cake over the weekend. And, to sweeten the bake, I have the same bundt pan.
Isn’t it a lovely pan???
Can you give the flour amount in weight please?
I’m sorry I don’t measure flour in weight in the US.
Is your recipe for Chocolate Pound Cake correct in saying you use only 1 cup of flour?
Yes it is 🙂
I LOVE that cookbook! This cake is so rich and fudgy, it is the best!