The Cake Slice: Chocolate Cream Pound Cake

This cake confused me. I hope I'm not the only one. I followed the recipe almost exactly (I used natural versus Dutch) and for some reason my cake baked differently. I almost thought I was baking a souffle of some sort because the outside was crunchy and cooked through but the inside was all chocolate gooey-ness. I ended up having to bake a little longer but it finally baked all the way through. I was however, left with a cake that was crunchy on the outside and perfectly pound cake-like on the inside. Aside from that, the cake was wonderful. It wasn't as richly chocolaty as I expected but that was just fine by me.

Chocolate Cream Pound Cake
Makes one 9x5 inch loaf cake
Source: Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman

Ingredients
6 tbsp unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
¼ cup heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup (1stick) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
Heat the oven to 325F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and dust with flour.

Sift the cocoa powder into a heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a microwavable bowl and heat for 30-60 seconds until just boiling. Pour the hot cream over the cocoa and stir and mash with a spoon to make a thick paste. Set aside to cool.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bow once or twice as necessary. Beat in the cocoa powder paste until smooth.

With the mixer on medium-low speed add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, ½ cup at a time, scraping down the sides after each addition. Add the last addition, mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert it onto a wire rack and then turn it right side up on the rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.

Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.