Julie Clark
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Mocha Pound Cake
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Sour cream mocha pound cake recipe made in a loaf pan. This moist from scratch cake is flavored with chocolate and coffee and topped with a rich chocolate glaze. It’s like your favorite coffee shop drink in a cake.
Did you know they originally got the pound cake name from the weight of the ingredients? One pound each of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. Before the age of the internet, that certainly was an easy recipe to memorize!
Today pound cakes come in all shapes and flavors, and this Mocha Pound Cake is no exception. The mocha flavor comes from a bit of cocoa powder and some instant coffee, which enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
About this Mocha Pound Cake recipe:
- Traditional pound cakes rise because of the air bubbles created when creaming together the butter and sugar, and from the eggs being beaten into the batter. Recipes today include a bit a leavener, which we added to ensure it rises when it bakes.
- Sour cream makes the mocha pound cake extra moist. As a substitute, sometimes I’ll use greek yogurt if that’s all I have on hand.
- The recipe makes enough for an 8 ½ x 4 ½ -inch loaf pan. It’s essentially about half the size of a pound cake baked in a circular bundt pan.
- The chocolate glaze could not be easier. Just melt together chocolate chips and butter. That’s it!
How to Make Mocha Pound Cake
- Prepare. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare an 8×4-inch loaf pan by lining with parchment, or grease and lightly flour.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, coffee, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients. Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on low speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, to the creamed mixture, beating for 15 seconds after each one. Add in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for several seconds.
- Combine the two with sour cream. With the mixer on low, add in ½ the flour mixture, then the sour cream, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. As soon as the flour is absorbed stop the mixer. It is important not to over mix at this point. Sometimes I mix in the last addition of flour by hand.
- Bake. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, or with just one or two moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool 15 minutes in the pan, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Make the chocolate ganache. Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring between each interval. Melt it slowly so the chocolate doesn’t scorch. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
Recipe Variations
- Add a teaspoon of cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper for a spicy mocha pound cake.
- Add 1 cup peppermint baking chips for a peppermint mocha pound cake.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
The mocha pound cake also freezes well. Double wrap and store in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Thaw the chocolate cake loaf completely before unwrapping.
Mocha Pound Cake
Sour cream mocha pound cake recipe made in a loaf pan. This moist, from-scratch cake is flavored with chocolate and coffee and topped with a rich chocolate glaze. It’s like your favorite coffee shop drink in a cake.
Servings 10 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 1/3 cups cake flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee or instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
For the glaze
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare an 8×4-inch loaf pan by lining with parchment, or grease and lightly flour.
- In a small bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, coffee, salt and baking powder. Set aside. 1 ⅓ cups cake flour, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon instant coffee, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer for several minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, beating for 15 seconds after each one. Add in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for several seconds. ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 large egg yolk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- With the mixer on low, add in ½ the flour mixture, then the sour cream, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. As soon as the flour is absorbed stop the mixer. It is important not to over mix at this point. Sometimes I mix in the last addition of flour by hand. ½ cup sour cream
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, or with just one or two moist crumbs attached.
- Allow to cool 15 minutes in the pan, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
For the Glaze:
- Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring between each interval. Melt it slowly so the chocolate doesn't scorch. Pour over the top of the cooled cake. ½ cup chocolate chips, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have cake flour, it can be made by replacing 1 tablespoon flour with cornstarch per cup of all purpose flour.
- If you only have a 9×5 inch loaf pan, the cake will not be as high so it will bake quicker.
- Double the recipe and bake in a 12-cup bundt pan for a mocha bundt cake!
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks. The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 10 slices, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Serving: 90g | Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 144mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 559IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
Is it possible to substitute espresso powder for the instant coffee 1:1 ?
I’d also like to sub semisweet/dark chocolate chips.
Your recipe says to combine all the dry ingredients including the sugar. That’s a typo since you follow it up by saying to cream together the sugar and butter which is how you’d normally bake a cake.