This chocolate ombre pound cake lets you enjoy a buttery, chocolatey cake that is all pretty and delicious without the frosting.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk at room temperature
For the chocolate paste
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan. Tap the pan to remove excess flour if needed.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
- Combine flour, salt aNd baking powder in a medium bowl. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Beat just until incorporated. Add 1/2 of the milk. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add the remaining milk. Beat and add the remaining flour mixture. Beat just until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
- To make the chocolate paste, stir together the cocoa powder, sugar, boiling water, vanilla and baking soda in a mixing bowl until smooth and combined.
- Scoop out approximately 1/3 of the vanilla batter and stir it to the bowl with the chocolate paste until the color is uniform. Now scoop out about 70% of this chocolate mixture and pour it into the loaf pan. Spread it out with an angled spatula to smooth it out. To the remaining 30% of the chocolate batter, add another 1/3 of the vanilla batter. Stir until incorporated. Scoop this batter on top of the chocolate batter on the pan. Again, spread it out using an angled spatula. Finally, scoop out the remaining 1/3 of the vanilla batter into the pan. Smooth it out once more.
- Bake the ombre cake at 350 F for 60-70 minutes, or until the cake has slightly cracked in the middle and a toothpick inserted at the center of the cake comes out clean. If the cake is browning too quickly before it is set, tent the top of the cake with foil. Allow the cake to cool before slicing.
