In need of a little rich and decadent chocolate? But kind of want to make something that would appropriate for breakfast or a snack (as in loaf form)? This chocolate loaf cake looks like a sweet bread (making it ok for breakfast or a snack) but tastes like the most decadent and dense chocolate cake. A thick layer of a fudgy sour cream chocolate frosting puts this loaf cake recipe totally over the top.
Sometimes you need a thick, rich full blown chocolate cake or sometimes you need a little chocolate goodness...like a snack cake you can have any time of the day.
This super simple chocolate loaf cake gives you both of the rich decadence of a big ole chocolate cake with a rich creamy frosting in a loaf form, almost like a breakfast bread.
The cake itself is dense, made like a pound cake and not too sweet so you really get that deep cocoa flavor. Topped off with a thick super chocolatey slightly tangy sour cream fudge frosting makes you feel like you're eating a restaurant-style chocolate cake. The best of both worlds for sure.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It is super easy for how decadent it is. This loaf cake has just a few ingredients and yields a super rich cake.
- This is an unbelievably moist cake. As much as I hate this word, I have to use it. This cake is incredibly moist using sour cream.
- It is versatile. This cake can be served plain, dusted with powdered sugar, covered with a thin glaze or frosted with a rich chocolate sour cream frosting.
Ingredients for the cake
- Butter. Now I am a oil in cakes baker for sure. But this recipe is most similar to a chocolate pound cake, so let's use butter
- Cocoa powder. I use black dutch processed cocoa powder, but you can definitely used regular dutch process cocoa powder
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
Ingredients for the sour fudge cream frosting
- Heavy cream
- Light corn syrup (or golden syrup)
- Chopped chocolate. A bittersweet or semisweet is best.
- Sour cream
- Butter
- Salt
Instructions for the loaf cake
Making this chocolate loaf cake couldn't be easier. A few simple steps and you'll be ready to bake!
- Mix all your dry ingredients in a small bowl
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, this will take about 3-4 minutes with a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer. Once light and fluffy, incorporate your eggs one at a time and the vanilla.
- Turning the mixer to low, alternating between the dry in gredients and the sour cream, add half the dry ingredients, followed by all of the sour cream and then the last half of the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
Grease your loaf pan and line it with parchment (see pics for what I mean) to ensure you can easily lift in from the pan to cool.
Ingredient swaps and variations
Chocolate cakes are super adaptable and this loaf cake is no exception. Here are some great ideas:
- Add nuts to the batter of the cake for texture.
- Add some orange zest to give a hint of citrus
- Sprinkle the sour cream fudge frosting with toasted coconut
- Add chocolate chips to the cake for extra chocolatey goodness.
Tips for success
- Make sure to use dutch processed cocoa powder. This is a great guide to understanding cocoa powders and how to choose the best one for your recipes. Chocolate loaf cake is leavened with baking powder, which is why the recipe calls for dutch process. And this is the dutch processed cocoa I use (in addition to the black cocoa powder.
- For the best results make sure all your wet ingredients - sour cream, butter, eggs - our at room temperature. It makes a difference in combining them all.
- Use full fat sour cream. You want a moist and rich chocolate loaf cake, and you're not going to get it with low fat or fat free anything.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Equipment
- 1 Loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup black cocoa powder
- ¼ cup dutch process cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoon butter room temp
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
For the frosting
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- ¾ cup sour cream at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, both cocoa powders, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes until light in color and fluffy.
- Add your eggs (make sure they are room temperature) one at a time, fully combining after adding each egg. Then add the vanilla extract.
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Beginning with the dry ingredients, add half of the dry ingredients on low speed, then all the sour cream until mostly incorporated. Mix in the sour cream until mostly combined. Then, add the remainder of the dry ingredients until everything is fully combined, being careful to not overmix.
- Pour the cake batter into the greased pan and gently tap to bring any air bubbles to the top. Bake on the middle rack for about 1 hour and 25 minutes. The cake is finished when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely.
- To make the sour cream fudge.
For the frosting
- Bring cream, syrup, and salt to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate, sour cream, and butter. Let sit, stirring occasionally, until chocolate and butter are melted and mixture is smooth and no streaks of white remain. Transfer to a medium bowl. Let frosting sit at room temperature, stirring every once in a while.
- The frosting will look gross at first, but don't freak out - it will thicken and become shiny and spreadable in like an hour or so. Keep stirring until smooth. It should be the consistency of sour cream; if not, chill another 5 minutes and stir.
Winnie says
Second thing i have tried here and it was really good! Very dense and chocolate flavor. perfect for a quick slice snack
Anonymous says
Can I use buttermilk in place of sour cream?
Jenny says
Can I use regular plain yogurt instead of sour cream?
Katie Beck says
Hi Jenny! For sure!
Max says
Your blog post was like a warm hug on a cold day. Thank you for spreading positivity and kindness through your words.
Jeff says
This was really easy and really good. Not too sweet and perfect for a sweet snack.