Chocolate Pound Cake With Strawberry Whipped Cream

By Yossy Arefi

Updated Feb. 6, 2025

Chocolate Pound Cake With Strawberry Whipped Cream
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.
Total Time
3 hours
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 40 minutes, plus 1 hour cooling
Rating
4(95)
Comments
Read comments

This deeply chocolaty pound cake is simple to make but so much more than the sum of its very straightforward parts. Dutch cocoa lends its rich color and flavor to a cream cheese–infused pound cake batter. The cream cheese adds a tangy depth of flavor and gives the cake a soft, velvety texture. Make sure your butter, cream cheese, eggs and sour cream are at room temperature to ensure the cake batter emulsifies properly and bakes up tall and even. The cake is delicious on its own, dusted with a bit of powdered sugar and sliced into tidy slices, or with a dollop of perfectly pink strawberry whipped cream, which makes use of freeze-dried strawberries that are perfect year round. 

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Ingredients

Yield:12 to 16 servings 

    For the Chocolate Pound Cake

    • 1cup/226 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
    • 2cups/256 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
    • 2¾cups/550 grams granulated sugar 
    • 8ounces/226 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
    • 5large eggs, at room temperature
    • 1cup/240 grams sour cream, at room temperature 
    • 1tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 2½teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
    • 2teaspoons instant espresso powder (optional)
    • 1½cups/142 grams Dutch-process cocoa powder 
    • 1½teaspoons baking powder
    • 2tablespoons powdered sugar, to dust the cake

    For the Strawberry Whipped Cream (optional)

    • 2cups/480 milliliters heavy cream, cold
    • 1(23- to 30-gram) package freeze-dried strawberries, crushed by hand in the package (a few small pieces are OK)
    • 1tablespoon granulated sugar
    • 2cups/10 ounces sliced fresh strawberries (optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)

609 calories; 38 grams fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 66 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 45 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 456 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the cake: Heat oven to 325 degrees and generously butter a 16-cup Bundt or tube pan. Dust the pan with flour and tap out the excess.

  2. Step 2

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and mix on medium-high until smooth and fluffy, 7 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next and scraping the bowl as needed. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla, salt and espresso powder (if using) until well combined.

  3. Step 3

    Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together and add to the wet ingredients in the bowl. Fold the mixture a few times with a flexible spatula to incorporate most of the dry ingredients, then mix with the mixer on low until well combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the cake is evenly mixed. Gently fold with a flexible spatula until the batter is smooth and homogenous.

  4. Step 4

    Spoon the batter into the pan, smooth the top and tap gently on the counter to release any large air bubbles.

  5. Step 5

    Bake the cake until puffed and fragrant, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. (Meanwhile, clean the bowl of the stand mixer and attach the whisk.)

  6. Step 6

    Let the cake cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely. When cool, invert again so the cake is top side up and dust the cake with the powdered sugar.

  7. Step 7

    Once the cake has cooled, make the strawberry whipped cream: In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk, combine the cream, freeze-dried strawberries and sugar. Whip on medium-high until light and fluffy. Serve slices of cake topped with strawberry whipped cream and fresh strawberries, if desired.

Ratings

4 out of 5
95 user ratings
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Comments

MSB

This is a delicious pound cake, very dense and chocolatey with the instant espresso. For the best flavor and texture, make it a day ahead and cover in plastic wrap overnight. We tried it a few hours after baking and the next afternoon there was a noticeable improvement. Whipped cream in any form is perfect for it.

Alice

When making chocolate cakes, Maida Heatter suggested combining cocoa powder and flour to use when coating the buttered pan(s). No "ghost" will haunt your efforts.

Kathy

@Sharon Bakes I have just put it in the oven and a 16 cup Bundt pan is required, it’s a large amount of batter

Diane M.

This cake is phenomenal. I did take the advice of one of the other readers and substituted 1/2 tsp of baking powder for baking soda and the cake texture was sublime. The instructions were easy enough to follow and having all the wet ingredients at room temp really helped ensure everything was uniformly incorporated. Definitely keeping this recipe for future use.

Tawny

Learned from America's Test Kitchen: melt 1 tbsp. butter, stir in 1 tbsp. cocoa and "paint" the pan. It worked like a charm!

Shane Tanner

You can purée 1/8 cup of fresh strawberries (I'm in California, your mileage will vary) into the heavy whipping cream. The result is a wonderful whipped delight.

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