Favourite German Chocolate Pound Cake

This is the pound cake’s chocolate-loving cousin. Old-fashioned, dense, fine-grained, and rich. The kind of cake you serve plain in slim slices with a cup of coffee, no frosting required.

German chocolate, despite the name, is American. It’s a sweet milk chocolate developed by Sam German for Baker’s Chocolate in the 1850s. Sweeter and milder than dark chocolate, which is exactly what this cake needs to balance the buttermilk tang.

The slow bake is non-negotiable. An hour and a half at 300°F (150°C) is what gives pound cake its signature dense crumb without browning the outside too hard. Higher heat would dome the top and rush the inside, leaving you with a dry crust and gummy middle.

Cake flour is the right call here. It has less protein than all-purpose, which means less gluten, which means a more tender slice. The buttermilk and baking soda team up to add structure and faint lift, keeping the heavy batter from collapsing.

The unusual finishing move: turn the hot cake out and cover it immediately. The trapped steam softens the crust and keeps the cake from drying out as it cools, leaving a moister crumb than air-cooling allows.

Chef Tips

• Melt the chocolate gently over hot, not boiling, water. Boiling water will seize the chocolate.
• Cream the sugar and shortening for a full 5 minutes. The volume you build here is the only lift this cake gets.
• Use room temperature eggs and buttermilk. Cold ingredients seize the creamed shortening into a curdled mess.
• The cake keeps beautifully for 4 to 5 days at room temperature, tightly covered. Slice as needed.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the melted chocolate for a mocha pound cake.
• Glaze with a coconut-pecan icing for a German chocolate cake-style finish.
• Brush slices with a Kahlua or rum syrup for a boozy adults-only twist.