Bake

Black & White Pound Cake

by:
January  4, 2021
17 Ratings
Black & White Pound Cake
Photo by JAMES RANSOM. PROP STYLIST: MEGAN HEDGPETH. FOOD STYLIST: SAM SENEVIRATNE.
Author Notes

This pound cake is unbelievably fluffy, tender, and light. It has a toasty brown crust, tight crumb that slices cleanly, and eats a lot like that pound cake nobody doesn’t like. There are three things to keep in mind to achieve pound cake glory: First, a metal loaf pan conducts heat faster than a glass one, resulting in a higher rise and golden crust—avoid glass loaf pans, which conduct heat slowly and lead to a dense, greasy cake. Second, make sure the eggs, butter, and sour cream are at room temperature, to ensure they whip up light and emulsify properly into a creamy, homogenous batter. And finally, stop and scrape down the paddle and the bowl several times during mixing for an even crumb. Tightly wrapped, this moist cake keeps at room temperature for a week and frozen for up to three months.

The black swirl in this cake is ultra-dark and intense thanks to black cocoa, an extra-Dutched cocoa powder that makes everything taste like Oreos. If all you have is Dutched or natural cocoa powder, that’ll work too, but the batter will be less dark in color and flavor.

Want to keep it classic? Try this Go-To Vanilla Pound Cake recipe and read more about this pound cake technique here, so you have the confidence to take it off-script. —Sohla El-Waylly

Watch This Recipe
Black & White Pound Cake
  • Prep time 35 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Serves one 9x5-inch loaf
Ingredients
  • Streusel
  • 1 1/4 cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (20 grams) black cocoa powder (or Dutched or natural cocoa powder)
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons (82 grams) cold butter, cut into cubes
  • Pound Cake
  • 14 tablespoons (196 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
  • 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (120 grams) sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups (187 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons (15 grams) black cocoa powder (or Dutched or natural cocoa powder)
  • 1 tablespoon milk or water
In This Recipe
Tools
Set a Timer
Directions
  1. Set a rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch metal loaf pan with butter.
  2. For the streusel: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa, and salt. Add the cubed butter and rub the mixture together with your fingers until it comes together into clumps; set aside.
  3. For the pound cake: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt on medium-high speed until pale and very fluffy, stopping once during mixing to scrape down the paddle and bowl, 6 to 8 minutes total. (You might think it’s done before that time, but keep going all the way.)
  4. Scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl. On medium-high speed, beat in the eggs and yolk one at a time, scraping down the paddle and the bowl after each addition. The batter should look very fluffy, creamy, and emulsified (if not, your eggs or butter may have been not at room temperature—let the mixture come to room temperature then try mixing it again).
  5. Scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and vanilla until lump-free and totally smooth.
  6. Add half of the sour cream and mix on low until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Add half of the flour and mix until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat with the remaining sour cream and flour. Using a flexible rubber spatula, scrape down the paddle and the bowl and mix the batter a few times to make sure everything is evenly combined.
  7. Transfer about half the batter to a medium bowl. Sift over the cocoa powder and stir into the batter along with the milk or water.
  8. Add half the cocoa batter and half the vanilla batter to the pan in alternating dollops (watch the video for a visual!). Top with half the streusel and repeat dolloping the remaining batter.
  9. With a butter knife or offset spatula, swirl the knife through the batter to make sure it is evenly distributed into the pan with no big air pockets and give the pan a few swift taps against the counter. Wet a butter knife and use it to slice down the center of the loaf cake (this ensures an even crack right down the middle of the cake). Top with remaining streusel, lightly pressing it into the batter.
  10. Bake until the crust is deeply browned, the loaf rises and splits, and the cake feels firm and set when you gently press the top, 65 to 75 minutes. (This is a very moist cake and it is better to overbake rather than underbake. If the crust is looking very dark partway through, set a wire rack just above the loaf pan and place a rimmed baking sheet on it to provide a shield.)
  11. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula or butter knife around the sides to loosen. Tip the cake into your hand, then place on a wire rack to fully cool before slicing.
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Sohla El-Waylly

Recipe by: Sohla El-Waylly

Sohla El-Waylly is a Food52 Resident, sharing new riffable recipes every month that'll help you get creative in the kitchen. Watch her cook on YouTube in her new series, Off-Script With Sohla. Before she started developing fun recipes for home cooks, she worked as a chef in N.Y.C. and L.A., briefly owning a restaurant in Brooklyn with her husband and fellow chef, Ham El-Waylly. She lives in the East Village with Ham, their two dogs, and cat. Find out what else she's up to on Instagram @sohlae.

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