The ultimate chocolate lover's pound cake with real chocolate and special dark chocolate cocoa. It's moist, fudgy, decadent, tastes amazing, and looks unbelievably beautiful!
1cupbutterunsalted, room temperture. Not margarine
½cupsolid vegetable shortening
2cupssugar
1cupbrown sugarpacked
5largeeggsroom temp
3cupall-purpose floursifted then measure
1teaspoonbaking powder
⅓cupcocoa powdersifted
⅓cupHershey's special dark cocoa powdersifted
3ouncessemi-sweet baking chocolatemelted then cooled
1cupbuttermilk
¼cupamaretto liquor
1tablespoonpure almond extract
½tablespoonpure vanilla extract
Amaretto Butter Sauce (optional)
¼cupbutter
2tablespoonswater
½cupgranulated sugar
¼cupAmaretto liquor
Chocolate Glaze (optional)
1cupsemi-sweet chocolate chips
⅓cupheavy cream
2tablespoonscorn syruplight or clear, like Karo or Blackburn's
¼teaspoonpure almond extract
Candy decorations
1regularHealth bar
1bagchocolate truffles
1bagHershey treasures
⅓cupdark mini chocolate-chips
1packageKit Kat candy bars
Instructions
Chocolate Amaretto Pound Cake
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Coat a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan with solid vegetable shortening and sugar or cake release spray.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until fluffy about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides. Mix again to combine.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, dark cocoa powder, and baking powder. In a separate smaller bowl or measuring cup combine the buttermilk, vanilla, almond, and amaretto.
Add the eggs one at a time beating on level 2 or 3 (low) well after each addition. With the mixer on low now, add the melted and cooled chocolate. (You don't have to stir it in completely now. Just let it swirl and mix as you get ready to go to the next step.)
With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk mixture. Once they're mixed together, stop the mixer and scrape the sides, Mix again until the mixture is fully combined. (This batter is very thick.)
Evenly spread batter in a tube pan or bundt pan. Bake at 325°F for 75 to 85 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center shows no crumbs or dry crumbs.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack before turning the cake out.
I baked my cake for 80 minutes. My tube pan is dark. As well, I sit my tube pan on a cookie sheet to catch any drips. Every oven is different. As well, the type and color of the pan and if you sit it on another pan make a difference in baking time. I recommend you start checking your cake at around 70 minutes. Make notes of exactly the pan(s) you use and the exact time for future reference. When you start checking the cake, be very careful opening the oven door and/or moving the cake. Don't move it if you don't have to. Sometimes early on, you can tell it's not ready yet without having to poke it. I just don't want you to overbake it.
Amaretto Butter Sauce (optional)
For the butter sauce, heat the butter along with the water and sugar in a heavy-bottom pan on the stove. Bring the mixture to a low boil. Boil while whisk for 1 to 2 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and add the amaretto.
Using a thin skewer, poke holes in the cake and slowly pour the butter sauce over the cake while it's still in the pan. Allow it to sit for a total of 30 minutes to cool before you invert it onto a serving tray.
Chocolate Glaze (optional)
You'll want to wait to make the glaze until the cake has cooled and you've inverted it onto a serving platter.
In a small microwave-safe bowl (or measuring cup), microwave the heavy cream and chocolate at 30-second intervals. Stir well every 30 seconds. (It usually only takes 60 seconds for my microwave.) Stir until smooth. Stir in the corn syrup and almond extract. Drizzle over cake and allow it a few minutes to set before serving. This glaze doesn't get hard.
The cake is beautiful when decorated with just the glaze. If you want to add chocolate like I did wait until the cake and glaze is completely cool.
You can decorate it with any of your favorite chocolate candy bars and truffles.