Pound cake is one of those enduring desserts that has been popping up in cookbooks since the late 1700s. Traditionally an English dish, tweaked versions of the classic pound cake recipe have since become a staple in French, American, and Mexican cooking. Today, we’re leaning on the expert advice of Duff Goldman, celebrity chef and founder of Charm City Cakes (which makes cakes available to order on Goldbelly), to figure out what’s needed to make the most decadent (and delicious) chocolate pound cake ever.
According to Goldman, the secret to success lies in the combined use of cocoa powder and melted chocolate. “For most of my recipes that involve something chocolate, generally it’s a mix of the two,” the chef explains, “and it really kind of depends on what your desired pound cake should be.” The best pound cakes are as moist as they are dense, and while chocolate might help with denseness, you still want the cocoa powder to balance out the flavor.
“If you only use chocolate and you don’t use any cocoa powder, [your dessert] really does taste off balance,” Goldman notes. “When you use chocolate by itself as an ingredient to give something a chocolate flavor, it sounds a little weird, but it actually doesn’t work as well.” Goldman points out that too much dark chocolate will overpower an already indulgent cake. By cutting the chocolate with cocoa powder, along with other sweeteners like sugar and dairy, you get a more balanced dessert.
Make sure to strike the perfect chocolate-cocoa ratio
Although experimenting with baked goods is a gamble not everyone is willing to take, this is one recipe that requires a bit of trial and error. The crux of the problem is that measuring out chocolate chips or melted chocolate to an equal amount of cocoa powder is difficult because the two are clearly very different substances. This is where experimentation comes in handy, especially since some gravitate toward sweeter desserts, while others prefer a more bittersweet kick to their cake. Even Duff Goldman admits that it’s impossible to nail down an exact ratio. “You can’t really do it by weight. You can’t really do it by volume. So it’s really just sort of like you mess around with something and see how it works,” the celebrity chef reveals.
However, Goldman notes that a great place to start is by aiming for a 50/50 balance between the chocolate and the cocoa. The best way to do this? Goldman suggests starting with “half a cup of chocolate chips and then [adding] a quarter cup of cocoa powder.” Again, while playing around with ratios when baking is highly unusual, this is one exception to the rule. If you have the patience and time to try out a few different chocolate-to-cocoa ratios, you’ll discover what works best with your palate. Our only advice is to keep track of your measurements for ease of tweaking later on — and to remember that your pound cake deserves the highest quality ingredients.
