This chocolate sour cream pound cake is baked in a Bundt pan and gets its depth from three sources working together: chopped 60% bittersweet chocolate, natural cocoa, and a teaspoon of instant espresso. Butter and tangy sour cream keep it melt-in-your-mouth tender and moist.
This chocolate sour cream pound cake recipe is from America's Test Kitchen (ATK). I've tested and tried different recipes for this cake but this version from ATK is the best and my absolute favorite. This is the chocolate cake that the chocolate lovers in my life request for birthday parties.
Pound cakes (aka Bundt cakes) make a great addition to any party. If you're looking for other flavors to try check out my recipe for vanilla bundt cake and Southern lemon pound cake.
Check out my article on tips for making great Bundt cakes.
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Cheryl's Baker's Notes
- Cocoa + Chocolate. Most recipes use cocoa powder only in the batter, but I love the taste of cocoa and chocolate in this cake. The natural cocoa brings a concentrated, deep chocolate flavor, and the bittersweet chocolate adds more chocolate flavor, plus the cocoa butter helps with a tender crumb.
- Sour Cream + Butter. I love using sour cream in my cakes. The combo of sour cream and butter along with the cocoa butter makes the difference in producing a moist tender cake. Don't substitute buttermilk or low-fat sour cream for the full-fat sour cream. The cake will end up dry.
- Cream properly, then don't overmix the flour. The butter and dark brown sugar cream for a full 4–5 minutes to build structure and aeration. Once the flour goes in, though, mix on low and only until just incorporated at each stage, the final 30-second medium mix is to ensure everything is mixed together properly
How Blooming the Cocoa and Chocolate Builds Flavor
It was fun learning this technique and now sharing it with you.
Pouring boiling water over the chopped bittersweet chocolate, natural cocoa, and espresso powder, melts and hydrates everything into a smooth mixture, and it lets the cocoa solids fully develop their flavor before adding the rest of the ingredients.
This is the part I learned from Rose Levy Beranbaum. Each cocoa particle is wrapped in a thin coating of cocoa butter. The hot water melts that coating, which releases the cocoa solids.
You can smell it happening. The mixture blooms into a deep chocolate aroma and flavor the moment the hot water hits it.
Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake Ingredients
- Natural Cocoa: This recipe uses natural cocoa which is acidic and reacts with the baking soda. Don't substitute with Dutch-processed (DP) cocoa. DP cocoa is alkaline which means it doesn't have the same acidity as natural cocoa and if you use it, the baking soda will have less to react with and it may change the taste of the cake.
- Bittersweet Chocolate: I tested the recipe to see if the type of chocolate would make a difference. At 70%, the cake came out on the dry side because higher-percentage bar carries less sugar and less cocoa butter, and that shows up as a drier crumb. At 60–62% there's enough fat and sugar in the chocolate itself to keep the cake moist. If 60% is all you can find, that's the right choice.
- Instant Espresso: The espresso enhances the chocolate flavor. This ingredient is optional, but I recommend not leaving it out. Instant espresso has a stronger more intense flavor than instant coffee so you can't make a 1:1 substitution.
- Dark Brown Sugar: The molasses in the brown sugar complements the chocolate in the cake and it adds moisture. You can use light brown sugar, but that will make the cake sweeter, which I don't prefer for this recipe. Do not substitute granulated (aka white) sugar for the dark brown sugar.
Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake
This cake can be made and eaten the same day, but because this cake can take a while to cool I like to prepare it a day head so I'm not rushing. For the best results I recommend measuring out all the ingredients first to ensure nothing is missed.
Step 1: Stir together the cocoa powder and melted butter and brush the inside of the bundt pan until it's completely coated.
Step 2: Combine the natural cocoa, bittersweet chocolate, instant espresso, and hot water and stir together until the chocolate is melted.
Step 3: Add sour cream to the chocolate and cocoa mixture and stir together.
Step 4: Cream together the brown sugar and the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Step 5: Add the eggs one at a time, and beat in until fully incorporated.
Step 6: Add 1/3 of dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until the flour is incorporated.
Step 7: Add half the chocolate mixture and mix until just incorporated. Repeat these steps, alternating the addition of the flour and sour cream.
Step 8: Spoon the batter into the bundt pan. Once all the batter has been added use an offset spatula to spoon and even out the batter.
Step 9: Bake the cake until it has risen, is golden brown, and the temperature in the center registers about 201°F.
The center of the cake is the space halfway between the center and outer edge of the pan. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature.
Step 10: Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.
Step 11: Invert the cake onto a parchment lined wire rack. Let the cake completely cool before adding the glaze.
How to Make the Chocolate Ganache Glaze (Thick and Creamy)
This chocolate ganache is easy to make and delicious. It has just 2 ingredients:
- Bittersweet Chocolate: The taste of the bittersweet chocolate has the perfect level of sweetness that complements the cake.
- Heavy Cream: The heavy cream is needed to create a smooth creamy ganache. You can replace the heavy cream with an equal amount of sour cream which gives a tangy flavor to the glaze.
Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Heat the cream in a microwave on high until it just begins to bubble up. Don't let it boil over the top of the container.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Gently stir the cream and chocolate together until the mixture is creamy.
Helpful Tips for Making This Cake
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour, butter, and eggs. Weighing the eggs is especially important if you’re using organic cage-free eggs. I typically use conventional large-grade AA eggs, which have a consistent weight of 50 grams.
- Room-temperature everything. Sour cream, butter, and eggs should all sit out first. Cold ingredients don't emulsify cleanly and you'll end up with a stodgy batter.
- Add the eggs one at time to ensure they emulsify with the butter and sugar. A large portion of the egg is water and since the sugar and butter mixture you’re trying to emulsify fat and water. Add too many eggs at one time will make it harder for this emulsification to take place.
- Follow the cooling time for the pound cake. Once the cake comes out of the oven it needs time to finish setting and to start to release from the pan. If you invert it too soon the cake will stick. If you wait too long, the cake will start to restick to the pan.
If you make this amazing chocolate sour cream pound cake please leave a rating and a comment below.
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Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake (in a Bundt Pan)
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake Release
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon natural cocoa
Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake
- 2 cups (250 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda
- 6 ounces (169 grams) 60% bittersweet chocolate chopped into small pieces
- 3/4 cup (64 grams) natural cocoa
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) boiling water
- 1 cup (242 grams) sour cream room temperature
- 12 tablespoons (169 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups (400 grams) packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 large (250 grams) eggs room temperature
Chocolate Ganache
- 4 ounces (113 grams) 60% bittersweet chocolate chopped fine
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the oven rack to the lower middle position. To keep the Bundt pan level on the oven rack place a wire cooling rack on the oven rack.
Prepare the Bundt Pan
- Stir together the melted butter and cocoa in small bowl until paste forms; using a pastry brush, coat all interior surfaces of standard 12-cup Bundt pan, (If mixture becomes too thick to brush on, microwave it for 5-10 seconds, or until warm and softened.)
Make the Cake Batter
- Place the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl and whisk the ingredients together to combine.
- Place the chopped bittersweet chocolate and instant espresso into a medium-sized heatproof bowl. Sift the cocoa powder on top of these ingredients to remove any lumps.
- Pour boiling water over the ingredients, let it sit for 1 minute then whisk until smooth. Cool this mixture to room temperature (about 80°F) and then whisk in the sour cream. Set it aside until ready to add to the cake batter.
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl or a measuring cup.
- Cut the butter into 12 pieces and place it in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar 1/2 cups at a time, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition. If at any time the butter or the sugar-butter mixture is sticking to the paddle attachment or the side of the bowl scrape it off.
- After all the sugar is added cream the sugar and butter on medium speed for another 4-5 minutes until it is fluffy and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until it is incorporated.
- Stop the mixer and add the eggs one at a time. Mix on medium speed for about 20 seconds or until each egg is thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula after adding the first 3 eggs. Mix in the remaining eggs one at a time.
- Add about one-third of flour mixture and mix on low speed until it's just incorporated. There may be flour on the side of the bowl which is okay. Add half of the chocolate/sour cream mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and repeat, using half of the remaining flour mixture and all of the remaining chocolate mixture; add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the bowl again and mix on medium until the batter is thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Use an offset spatula to smooth and level the top of the batter. Place a kitchen towel folded in half on the kitchen counter. Tap pan against the towel 3 times to settle the batter into the crevices of the pan.
Bake the Cake
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached or an instant-read thermometer registers 201°F. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting it. Don’t let the cake cool longer than that. If the cake is left in the pan too long it will stick and break apart when you invert it from the pan.
- To invert the cake, place a piece of parchment paper over the top of the pan so it covers the cake. Place a large wire rack over the parchment paper and flip the cake over.
- Cool to room temperature, about 3 hours. When the cake is completely cool carefully peel off the parchment paper, lift the cake and move it to a cake plate or cake stand.
Serving the Cake
- This cake is so good, that no other toppings are needed, but if you want a little something extra you can add a chocolate glaze (see recipe below) or sift powdered sugar over the top.
Storing the Cake
- Room Temperature: With the chocolate glaze the cake can be stored at room temperature in a covered container for up to 2 days. Without the glaze the cake can be stored for up to 4 days.
- Refrigerator: The best way to store it in the refrigerator is to cut the cake into pieces (about 2-3 servings each piece) and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Wrapping the cake pieces will help it stay moist. When ready to serve let it come to room temperature.
- Freezer: To freeze the cake without the glaze wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer storage bag. To freeze a whole cake, wrap it in two layers of plastic and then one layer of aluminum foil. Freeze the cake for up to 1 month. When ready to serve, thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours before serving.
Chocolate Ganache Glaze (Optional)
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place them in a small heatproof bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream to the boiling point either in a small saucepan on the stove top or in a microwave safe measuring cup. In the microwave heat it on high for 60-90 seconds.
- Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 1 minute without stirring. Gently whisk it starting from the center and working your way out until it is smooth and cream. If any lumps of chocolate remain microwave the ganache on high for 15-20 seconds.
- Let the ganache cool until it is 80-85°F. Slowly spoon it over the top of the cake. The cake can be served right away after adding the ganache glaze or you can let the glaze set until it is solid.
Shawn says
Great recipe! Everyone raved about how rich and moist the cake was!
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Shawn
Thank you for trying this recipe. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Sharon says
I am excited to make this cake but have a question. I am looking at the picture of ingredients and it looks like two full sticks of butter, but your recipe states 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tablespoons). Would you let me know which it is.
Thank you
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Sharon
I'm glad you're planning to make this cake. For the ingredients definitely follow the recipe card. The ingredient picture is to let people know the ingredients needed but not the exact amount. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Sharon says
Took cake to a picnic, Once the first cut was make the cake vanished! Thank you for a fantastic cake! I will be making this again. 🙂
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Sharon
Thank you for trying this chocolate cake recipe. When I discovered it a few years ago, I knew I wanted to share it. I'm so glad you and everyone else enjoyed it.
L'Tanya Mari' says
Great recipe!
Can you substitute sour cream for buttermilk for this recipe?
Thank you!
Cheryl Norris says
Hi L'Tanya
I wouldn't recommend that substitution for this recipe and here's why. Sour cream has more fat than buttermilk, and with that substitution you're removing almost 50 grams of fat from the recipe, resulting in a drier texture. Also the buttermilk will create a more open crumb, more like a regular cake instead of a dense, moist, chocolate cake. I hope this information helps. Let me know if you have more questions.
JoBob says
I used the Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake batter in a Wilton 3D Sports Ball Cake Pan and tinted your Vanilla Buttercream Frosting orange to make a basketball cake for a 9-year old's birthday. It was a hit with the kids because it was a basketball but the adults loved it for its extraordinary moistness and rich flavor. I made cupcakes with the leftover batter for my husband and they were gone in a couple days and he is asking for more. This is a recipe that I will use over and over again. Thank you, Cheryl!