After baking this pound cake, our taste-tester said, “This is such a tasty, deeply chocolaty cake.” That reaction was my exact goal when developing this recipe. There’s nothing I hate more than baking a chocolate cake, only to find the chocolate flavor is a little lackluster.

I’m a strong believer that a good chocolate sour cream pound cake should be tender and dense (but never heavy), with a super chocolaty, just-sweet-enough flavor. It also has to be finished with a thick layer of rich, glossy ganache. This is exactly what you can expect from this pound cake recipe. Tangy sour cream adds flavor and keeps the cake tender, while Dutch-process cocoa powder ensures a richly colored cake and big chocolate flavor. Best of all, this is an extremely easy cake to pull off — so even if you’re a beginner baker, you’ve got this.

Why you’ll love it

It has the best chocolaty flavor. I tested several iterations of this recipe to ensure there’s plenty of chocolate.

The ganache topping is unreal. This simple two-ingredient topping is what takes this pound cake from really good to totally unforgettable.

Key ingredients

Sugar: A mix of granulated and dark brown sugar sweetens the cake just enough.

Cocoa powder: You want to use unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, which gives the cake a darker color and more chocolaty flavor. I did also test the recipe with natural cocoa powder and don’t recommend it here — the result simply isn’t as flavorful.

Butter: You’ll use two sticks of unsalted butter. Be sure to allow ample time for the butter to soften to room temperature, as the batter will be smoother and easier to mix together.

Sour cream: Full-fat sour cream is the best choice for this cake. Plan to let it sit on the counter with the butter and eggs to come to room temperature before starting.