Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze
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This easy chocolate pound cake recipe is an old-fashioned Southern favorite that’s always moist and perfect for any occasion. Pair your chocolate pound cake with glaze for the ultimate chocolate dessert.
I have received a lot of requests for recipes in the past, but Grandmama’s chocolate pound cake with glaze is the one cake that I am asked to make most often. It’s just a good old-fashioned chocolate pound cake recipe from my Grandmama that is sublimely soft and moist on its own. But when you add Grandmama’s rich and decadent fudge glaze (what the old folks called boiled icing), it becomes a favorite to all, especially chocolate lovers.
So, what is boiled icing? Traditionally, this means you make it in a pot on top of the oven and it is brought to a boil to thicken it. Truly it is very much like making fudge, but we use a timer instead of a thermometer to trust it gets to the right temperature.
Have you ever had your granny make one of those cakes that when she cut into it, the icing cracked and broke off in huge fudge chunks? THIS is THAT icing! I make a peanut butter version of it, too.
It’s just a good old timeless homemade chocolate cake recipe that’s made using simple ingredients you probably already have sitting in your kitchen. I hope you get to try this cake’s melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness soon.
Recipe Ingredients
Chocolate Pound Cake
- Milk
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract
- Cocoa
- 3 sticks of unsalted butter
- 5 eggs
Chocolate Fudge Icing
- Milk
- Sugar
- Cocoa
- Unsalted butter
- Shortening
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
Now let’s get to baking…
First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Then grease and flour your pan.
How to Grease a Cake Pan To Keep Batter From Sticking
What I do is fold a paper towel, put it over my hand and dip it into the shortening, then smear it all around. Take a bit of flour and pour it into the pan and move your pan around, patting it a bit, to get the flour to coat the sides. Then I turn it upside down and shake out the excess flour into the trash can.
Cream butter (which should be at room temperature) and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy. Above is what “light and fluffy” looks like.
In a separate bowl, stir together the baking powder, flour, and cocoa powder.
Add vanilla to milk.
Alternately add milk and dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar mixture, mixing after each addition.
Add eggs, one at a time, to the while still running the mixer.
Spoon chocolate pound cake batter into the pan and spread it out a bit.
Place this in the center of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Turn out onto cooling rack. Let cool completely while mixing up the icing.
How To Make Fudge Glaze
Place milk, sugar, butter, shortening, and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.
Stir continuously while bringing to a boil.
Once it reaches a rolling boil, stop stirring and allow it to boil on its own for 2 minutes.
Remove the chocolate fudge icing from heat.
Add cocoa powder and vanilla.
Stir until well blended.
Keep stirring icing a minute or two until it cools just a bit. I sometimes stick the bottom of my saucepan in a bowl of cool water to speed the process.
Now act quickly!
Use a large spoon to spoon the icing over the chocolate cake or just pour directly from your saucepan. It will begin to set up rather quickly.
Allow the cake to sit until the icing hardens a bit.
Dig in and enjoy this chocolate bundt cake recipe from the old days!
Storage
- I recommend storing leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can then transfer any remaining slices to the fridge, where they will last another 3 days.
- You can also store cooled slices of cake in an airtight container (or double wrapped) in the freezer for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure all ingredients for this are at room temperature before you begin.
- If you want to skip the chocolate glaze, I’ll forgive you! Here are some other serving suggestions:
- Serve the chocolate pound cake with a dusting of powdered sugar.
- Opt for a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of syrup.
- Serve with some fresh berries.
- If this isn’t enough chocolate flavor for you, add a cup of semisweet chocolate chips to your chocolate pound cake batter!
- I recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa powder, regular cocoa, or Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- To know if your chocolate bundt cake is cooked, insert a toothpick in the center, between the inner and outer edges. if it comes out clean, you’re good to go!
Recipe FAQs
What do I do if I don’t have a bundt pan?
Fear not! This chocolate pound cake with glaze tastes delicious no matter the pan you choose. You can instead use 2 8-inch cake pans or 3 6-inch cake pans. Just keep an eye on your cakes, as they might cook faster in separate pans. You can also use a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
You might also enjoy these other delicious cake recipes:
Easy Birthday Cake Recipe From Scratch
Fresh Strawberry Cake With Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
Chocolate Pound Cake
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
Fudge Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 7 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour bundt pan and set aside.
- Cream butter in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.1 1/2 cups butter, 3 cups sugar, 5 eggs
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Measure milk and stir vanilla into it. Add milk and flour mixture alternately to the cake batter in the mixing bowl, mixing after each addition.1/2 cup cocoa, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup milk, 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pour cake mix into the prepared pan and bake for one hour and 20 minutes. Let the chocolate cake cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and allowing it to cool completely before adding glaze.
Fudge Glaze
- For the glaze, combine the sugar, cocoa, milk, shortening, margarine, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it reaches a rolling boil, allow it to boil without stirring for two minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir until cooled just slightly.1 1/2 cups sugar, 7 tablespoons whole milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons shortening, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spoon over the cooled cake.
Nutrition
Absolutely! I’ll move to Cali and have all of you speaking with a southern accent by the time I’m done!
I love feeding people!!!
I too speak with a southern accent, I will go with you and help because there is nothing better then cooking for people that love good food!
Oh my Lord, you want to move to California and cook for my family? Keep em coming, we appreciate it!
Oh and the Queen of Cuisine will be having recipes on here as well ~wink wink~ ~grin grin~
~looks innocent~
I substitute margarine. I have actually never used real butter but the butter crisco thing was *supposed* to work (in theory at least).
Why do I feel like I think I owe you a chocolate cake…….
Would you like to know what NOT to do to this recipe?? When I tried this one a few years ago, I was assured that it was an easy recipe and “you can’t screw it up”. Well, guess what? I screwed it up big time!!! Now let me make something clear, I am known as The Queen of Cuisine. I love cooking and eating as much Christy does, I just don’t have the time to do it as much as I would like.
Anyway, I realized I didn’t have any butter, so I looked in the pantry and saw I had butter flavored Crisco. I read in the directions that it can be substituted for butter but you have to add water. Well I did that. I followed the directions to the letter. I mixed it up, poured it into my pan and stuck it into the over. In the mean time, I am on the phone with Christy and I smell something burning. The cake has only been in the over now for about 20 minutes. I walk in the kitchen and I see flames and smoke coming out of the oven! After I got the fire put out with the fire extinguisher (have you ever had to clean up after you use one of those?? It’s not easy!) I call Christy back to see if we could figure out what went wrong. The only thing we came up with was the baking powder did NOT mix well with the extra water. So take my advice, use real butter ONLY and the cake will be fabulous!!!
I think it is a lot of work, too. I don’t normally go to *that* much trouble for a cake but this one is kinda special. The kind of special that you may actually die of heart disease as a result of eating too much of it, but you go ahead and take that risk anyway on accounta its s’dern good!
If I ever actually see you again, I’ll DEFINITELY make this cake for you! Its amazing how far off Nashville is when we both have kids.
If I were to use self rising flour how much
would I use? Your response will be greatly
appreciated 😉
EEep! Don’t use self rising in this. I tried that once. This is the only recipe in which that substitution was a completely disaster. Trust me 🙂
Can I use something in place of the shortening? Or would it be better to use a different frosting recipe? Thanks
I think more butter would work in its place. It may not get to the same hardness but then again it might. If it doesn’t, it is still going to be delicious.
Yep this looks like a winner
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Can I substitute buttermilk for regular milk?
Ugh, your blog reminds me why I DESPISE cooking. That sure looks like a lot of work for one cake. I’m lazy and would rather just buy one from Kroger 🙂 Of course, if you made one and invited me over to eat it I would surely oblige.
Have you ever heard the story of the Little Red Hen? lol….I have made this cake several times and everyone loves it!
Oh Cindy, you must sit on a pillow! And, to think, you are missing out on all the raves you would get from family and friends. Really, it’s not that hard.
Just wanted to say thank you, for sharing your thoughts and all that you are doing you have been and continue to be a great example for us all
Kroger cakes can’t compare to homemade.