Chocolate Pound Cake (Sour Cream)

This chocolate sour cream pound cake is moist, chocolatey and easy to make. It's topped with a silky smooth chocolate ganache that makes this cake irresistible.

2 sticks butter, softened
8 oz sour cream
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2¼ cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Chocolate Ganache:
dark or semi-sweet chocolate (130 g)
heavy cream (130 g)

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3). Grease and flour a 10" bundt pan.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sour cream and sugar. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Add ½ the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beat well, add the remaining ½ flour mixture, and continue to beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary, but do not open the oven to check the cake for at least 1 hour.

Make the Chocolate Ganache:
Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for about 50 seconds. Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.

Top the cake with the warm chocolate ganache and using a spatula, spread an even layer of the ganache on top. Serve and enjoy.

Cook's Notes:

• It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don't want to place cold batter into the oven.
• When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
• Don't overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
• Line your baking pan with parchment paper. This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
• Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making this cake, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
• I know it's extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be more firm and won't crumble up, and prevent the ganache from melting.