Bake
Black & White Pound Cake
Popular on Food52
24 Reviews
Chrisanna D.
January 21, 2021
This was amazing The aroma is exquisite and the texture firm yet springy. i had to make mine gluten-free, and it turned out great! The struesel did seem dry when mixing it, but it worked surprisingly well! - it turns into cookie crumb boulders on top - it's really good - caught my Dad sneaking pieces off the top. I might skimp on the flour in the struesel next time, but not by muthc. We have plowed through this cake in about 24 hours... it's a keeper.
izzie29
January 20, 2021
Great recipe Sohla! It came out really nice!! I also made the streusel with leftover butter, just about 50g and eyed the rest, and it was enough for me. Also, great tips that I can use in any other baking project. I made it in a longer tin pan and I baked it 50 minutes. I have to note that I live in Europe and that the butter and sour cream quality is definitely not the same as in the US, and the eggs might be smaller, and that one needs to adjust the recipe accordingly. In my experience, if your batter if off somehow, it might be because of this.
Mary E.
January 17, 2021
The struesel amounts didn't make sense. I think it was way too much flour for the 6 TBS of butter and other ingredients. It was very dry and I didn't use it all.
la L.
January 16, 2021
I am generally a big fan of black cocoa but this recipe was a disappointment. The streusel should be reserved for the top only. It was absorbed into the cake interior and distorted the balance of flavors. The overall cake was dry and unappealing.
KWells
January 13, 2021
I had a few oven issues, but the recipe itself is fantastic.
If you used black cocoa and expected anything other than a subtle bittersweet dark chocolate flavour, it's probably the first time you've used black cocoa. Personally, I put it in EVERYTHING!
If the flavour wasn't your thing but you still want that beautiful black look, you can halve the black cocoa and replace with the same amount of Hershey's or my favourite - superior red high fat.
I made an error splitting my batter so I had too much black and not enough white, and I agree the streusel could be halved and still sufficient. I'm making it again today, this time I'll split the streusel in half before adding cocoa and use the plain half to top a vanilla loaf (which is also delicious!).
Looking forward to more Sohla!!
If you used black cocoa and expected anything other than a subtle bittersweet dark chocolate flavour, it's probably the first time you've used black cocoa. Personally, I put it in EVERYTHING!
If the flavour wasn't your thing but you still want that beautiful black look, you can halve the black cocoa and replace with the same amount of Hershey's or my favourite - superior red high fat.
I made an error splitting my batter so I had too much black and not enough white, and I agree the streusel could be halved and still sufficient. I'm making it again today, this time I'll split the streusel in half before adding cocoa and use the plain half to top a vanilla loaf (which is also delicious!).
Looking forward to more Sohla!!
TessM567
January 13, 2021
Turned out delicious! I couldn't find black cocoa so I just used regular and it worked perfectly. The recipe called for a lot of streusel--next time I might halve it.
Daisy1530
January 11, 2021
Was excited to try this recipe. The streusel ruined it. It was dry and not sweet enough. It was dry and bitter.
Nikki E.
January 10, 2021
Was excited to see Sohla found a new home after BA and eager to try this, but ended up really disappointed with this recipe. I'm an experienced baker, and despite following the instructions closely my batter never emulsified. I repurposed the streusel only to find it had no flavor or body. Pound cake should be simple and straightforward; this recipe is needlessly complicated and ended up in the garbage. Don't waste your precious time like I did.
Nikki E.
January 10, 2021
Was excited to see Sohla found a new home after BA and eager to try this, but ended up really disappointed with this recipe. I'm an experienced baker, and despite following the instructions closely my batter never emulsified. Pound cake should be simple and straightforward; this recipe is needlessly complicated and ended up in the garbage. Don't waste your precious time like I did.
MarciT
January 10, 2021
Just made this today and it’s great. Not sure why but my baking time required an additional 25 minutes before the tester came out dry but I just kept a close eye on it at the end. Swirls were beautiful. We could take or leave the topping. If you use it, I suggest putting more than half IN the batter and less than half on top. I had a similar experience as others with lots of the topping falling off. The cake itself was moist and not too sweet, with crisp edges as hoped for. Will be adding this to my regular rotation.
Desi M.
January 9, 2021
This recipe is great and easy to follow. I made this pound cake twice already, and it came out perfect both times! I didn't use the streusel, and it was still very delicious. The inside was also moist. I used Dutched cocoa powder and the chocolate flavor came through. I did add a little bit of food coloring cause i wanted the chocolate part of the cake to be darker.
Flora
January 9, 2021
hi lovely community, I want to try a variation using matcha or hojicha powder. How many tablespoons do you recommend? Since the flavor is intense and bitter, I want to make sure I don't mess it up. Thank you in advance!!
Eri
January 9, 2021
I tried it with three tablespoons of ground up earl grey and the zest of one lemon and it was just the right amount. I would think houjicha would work the same way, and probably the same for matcha. I think she says that if you use more than a 1/4 cup of dry add-on ingredients, to counter it w a tablespoon of water or milk. I didn’t have to add liquids to mine and it was still v moist and the flavor really came through.
Flora
January 10, 2021
Thank you so much! Planning on trying this today. Thinking of either a chocolate/vanilla with houjicha streusel or houjicha cake with choc streusel
Alani A.
January 9, 2021
This was a lovely recipe! Really easy to make and it uses ingredients most of us would already have at home. The end product was a super moist marble cake.
The only thing I would change about it though is I will line the baking tin with parchment paper next time, instead of just greasing it. I had so much trouble getting the cake out of the tin, especially with all the streusel spilling out everywhere! My cake ended up splitting in half as I was trying to get it out, sigh. But other than that, I really enjoyed this!
The only thing I would change about it though is I will line the baking tin with parchment paper next time, instead of just greasing it. I had so much trouble getting the cake out of the tin, especially with all the streusel spilling out everywhere! My cake ended up splitting in half as I was trying to get it out, sigh. But other than that, I really enjoyed this!
JLH
January 9, 2021
Take a plate and put it on top of the cake, flip the tin over, cake comes out, take another plate and gently position it where the cake tin was, and flip it back.
Mine popped out easily. I ran an offset spatula around the edges first. Some of the streusal fell off but very little. If you pat it down before baking and do the flip thing quickly you won't lose much of it. Lots of butter on the pan and if you wanted, a sprinkling of coarse sugar or flour will help it come out easily.
That said, I'll reiterate that this wasn't a pound cake. It was a nice coffee cake but it wasn't nearly as moist and delicious as I hoped it would be.
Mine popped out easily. I ran an offset spatula around the edges first. Some of the streusal fell off but very little. If you pat it down before baking and do the flip thing quickly you won't lose much of it. Lots of butter on the pan and if you wanted, a sprinkling of coarse sugar or flour will help it come out easily.
That said, I'll reiterate that this wasn't a pound cake. It was a nice coffee cake but it wasn't nearly as moist and delicious as I hoped it would be.
Palina K.
January 8, 2021
I dont have a stand mixer, so I used electric whisk instead. I think the butter mixture was super fluffy and never broke. Still not sure if you can do it this way.
The cake was amazing! Not too sweet, not too hard to make!
The cake was amazing! Not too sweet, not too hard to make!
Palina K.
January 8, 2021
I laso didnt do streusel, because I didnt have enough butter at home. Still a great pound cake!
Ellie-Mae
January 7, 2021
It's delicious! The streusel tasted like chocolate shortbread, which isn't surprising as it has the same ingredients, and when you get a bite with everything in it's so good.
JLH
January 5, 2021
Well, I made this. Exactly as shown. I followed the directions to the letter something I don't usually do because I'm a fairly experienced baker. I wanted to have Sohla's exact results. I didn't use a glass pan, I made sure the butter, sour cream and eggs were room temperature. I didn't have the special dark cocoa but I used what I had. What I ended up with was a nice coffee cake but it wasn't pound cake.
I'd avoid putting cocoa powder into the streusal next time. The part that is on top doesn't end up tasting as wonderful as you'd want it to. If you want the black and white appearance, go for it in the dough (it's more color than flavor) and even in the streusal that goes into the cake but don't put it in the part that is on it.
I'm underwhelmed. Not with Sohla's approach which is lovely but with the recipe. I wanted to end up with something wonderful and I didn't.
I'd avoid putting cocoa powder into the streusal next time. The part that is on top doesn't end up tasting as wonderful as you'd want it to. If you want the black and white appearance, go for it in the dough (it's more color than flavor) and even in the streusal that goes into the cake but don't put it in the part that is on it.
I'm underwhelmed. Not with Sohla's approach which is lovely but with the recipe. I wanted to end up with something wonderful and I didn't.
Loughmiller J.
January 8, 2021
I had the same experience with the streusel as well. Cake was very tasty, next time it will be sans streusel for me.
JLH
January 9, 2021
It was okay, it wasn't a poundcake though. The people I served it so thought it was tasty but they viewed it more as a coffee cake. I really did follow the directions to the letter other than the type of cocoa and that shouldn't have affected the flavor of the lighter parts of the cake.
I weight ingredients with a kitchen scale, there wasn't too much flour. I probably wouldn't make this again but if I did I'd try the plain version for a better comparison.
I weight ingredients with a kitchen scale, there wasn't too much flour. I probably wouldn't make this again but if I did I'd try the plain version for a better comparison.
Franca
January 5, 2021
Black cocao powder looks spectacular, unfortunately it does not carry over flavour wise. It barely has any chocolate taste at all.
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