This Brownie Swirl Pound Cake is the most delicious combination of brownie, baileys espresso, and chocolate glaze. A moist, espresso flavored, vanilla cake filled with swirls of fudgy brownie throughout. Top with a sweet chocolate glaze and serve with a hot cup of coffee.
Why you’ll love this Recipe
Around these parts (and by that I mean the internet), I’m known as the pound cake queen! Grandbaby Cakes started with just a few simple Bundt cake recipes that took off. Even today, those recipes have a special place in my heart and my belly.
Pound cakes and bundt cakes are the perfect cake for sharing. They’re so inviting and a perfect treat for you and your girlfriends to enjoy for a brunch dessert. Or any time of day for that matter! It’s cake o’clock somewhere, I’m sure of it!
Ingredients for the Brownie Swirl Pound Cake
For this truly delicious recipe, you’ll need a few key ingredients listed below:
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Cake flour
- Sour cream
- Baileys Espresso
- Vanilla extract
Don’t think you can’t make this cake if you don’t have cake flour. It’s not as common as all-purpose flour in most households. If all-purpose flour is all you have you can make your own version of cake flour. For each cup of all-purpose flour, replace two tablespoons with the same amount of cornstarch. Now you have cake flour!
Ingredients for the Brownie Swirl
This signature brownie swirl comes together with some baking basics you should have in your pantry.
- Butter
- Sugar
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Salt
How to make It
For the Brownie Swirl
In a medium-sized bowl, add melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar and mix with your hand mixer on medium speed.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition to incorporate. Mix well!
Mix in oil and vanilla extract.
Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda if using, and salt in a bowl. Reduce the speed of the mixer.
In intervals, add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until all ingredients are incorporated.
For the Cake Batter
Start by preheating your oven to 325 F then liberally spray a 12-cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray or grease with my cake release.
In your stand mixer bowl, add butter and sugar and mix for 3-4 minutes on high speed until very pale yellow and fluffy.
Next add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides of your bowl as needed.
Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into the batter in two increments then add salt and baking soda. Be careful not to overbeat.
Lastly, add in sour cream and vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off the mixer.
To Assemble and Bake
Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan then dollop half of the brownie batter over it and swirl it into the cake batter. Finally, repeat with the remaining cake batter and brownie batter swirling the last amount. Bake for 1 hour and 10-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool in a pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then invert the cake on a serving plate or platter for at least an hour or until the cake is cool to the touch.
For the Glaze
Add the butter and chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes in intervals of 30 seconds stirring after each heating.
Once completely melted and smooth, whisk in the confectioner’s sugar then add in hot water to thin.
Check consistency to make sure it is pourable then pour over the cooled cake and serve.
How to store Brownie Swirl Pound Cake
That is IF you have any leftovers!
To keep your cake from drying out store your freshly baked brownie pound cake covered and at room temperature for up to 2 days. This cake will also stay fresh covered, and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Can I make this cake ahead of time? Of course! Don’t prepare the glaze if you’re planning on freezing the cake. Bake your cake and allow it to cool completely before preparing it for the freezer. Once cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then again in foil for more protection.
Expert Tips for a Perfect Pound Cake
Tip 1: Preparing the Pan
Pound cakes and Bundt cakes are notorious for sticking to the pan and causing a disaster. By taking the time to properly prepare your pan you can avoid all of that mess. Grease the pan thoroughly with softened butter. Sprinkle some flour in the pan, hold it over a sink, and tilt the pan in a circular motion in order to distribute the flour evenly. Then flip the pan over and tap out excess flour to prevent a buildup of grease and flour on the finished cake.
Tip 2: Alternate Wet and Dry
To prevent the batter from curdling, always add the dry ingredients alternately with the liquid, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until blended after each addition; overmixing at this point can create a tough, rubbery cake.
Tip 3: Checking for Doneness
Don’t open the oven door until it’s time to check the cake for doneness. Heat escapes each time the door is open, which lengthens the baking time. Use a wooden pick to check for doneness. If your cake requires more time, close the oven door to prevent loss of heat which can cause the cake to fall if it’s not done.
Can I use All-purpose flour? If all-purpose flour is all you have you can make your own version of cake flour. For each cup of all-purpose flour, replace two tablespoons with the same amount of cornstarch. Now you have cake flour!
More Pound Cake Recipes
- Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
- Fresh Strawberry Pound Cake Recipe
- The Most Luscious Decadent Brown Sugar Pound Cake Recipe!
- Deep Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe
- Sweet Potato Chocolate Marble Cake
- Peach Pound Cake
- Baileys Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Filling
*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!* Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!
Brownie Swirl Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the Brownie Swirl
- ¼ cup Unsalted butter melted
- ⅓ cup Granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Brown sugar packed
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon Vegetable or Canola oil
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup All-purpose flour
- ¼ cu Cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
For the Cake
- 1 cup Unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- 4 large Eggs room temperature
- 2 cups Cake flour sifted
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- Dash Baking soda
- ½ cup Sour cream room temperature
- ¼ cup Baileys Espresso
- 1 tablespoon Pure vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted butter
- 2 ounces Unsweetened chocolate coarsely chopped
- 1 cup Condectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons Boiling water
Instructions
For the Brownie Swirl
- In a medium sized bowl, add melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix with your hand mixer on medium speed.
- Add the egg and mix well!
- Mix in oil and vanilla extract.
- Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl. Reduce speed of mixer.
- In intervals, add flour mixture to wet mixture until all ingredients are incorporated.
For the Cake Batter
- Start by preheating your oven to 325 F then liberally spray a 12 cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray or grease with my cake release.
- In your stand mixer bowl, add butter and sugar and mix for 3-4 minutes on high speed until very pale yellow and fluffy.
- Next add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides of your bowl as needed.
- Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add salt and baking soda. Be careful not to overbeat.
- Lastly add in sour cream, Baileys and vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off the mixer.
To Assemble and Bake
- Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan then dollop half of brownie batter over it and swirl it into cake batter. Finally repeat with remaining cake batter and brownie batter swirling the last amount. Bake for 1 hour and 10-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in a pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then invert the cake on a serving plate or platter for at least an hour or until the cake is cool to touch.
For the Glaze
- Add the butter and chocolate to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes in intervals of 30 seconds stirring after each heating.
- Once completely melted and smooth, whisk in the confectioners sugar then add in hot water to thin.
- Check consistency to make sure it is pourable then pour over cooled cake and serve.
Notes
- Preparing the Pan. Pound cakes and bundt cakes are notorious for sticking to the pan and causing a disaster. You can avoid all of that mess by properly preparing the pan. Grease the pan thoroughly with softened butter. Sprinkle some flour in the pan, hold it over a sink, and tilt the pan in a circular motion to distribute the flour evenly. Flip the pan over and tap out any excess flour to prevent a buildup of grease and flour on the finished cake.
- Avoid Over Mixing. Always add the dry ingredients TO the wet and use the lowest speed on your mixer to combine them. Adding the flour in several increments makes it easier to combine the ingredients without overmixing. Make sure as soon as all the ingredients are mixed you stop mixing.
- Keep the Oven Door Closed. Don’t open the oven door until it’s time to check the cake for doneness. Heat escapes each time the door is open which may lengthen the baking time or result in an unevenly baked cake.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients. Butter, sour cream, and eggs will all mix with the other ingredients more easily when they are at room temperature. I suggest pulling them all out of the fridge and letting them sit for about an hour before you start mixing your cake.
- Cool Your Cake Properly. It’s important to let the cake cool in the pan for a short time when you first remove it from the oven. This gives it a bit of time to set up so it’s less likely to break when you invert it. Then make sure you allow the cake fully before adding the glaze.
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The BEST pound cake EVER!
Thank you so much!
Just curious – your recipe for the brownie swirl batter calls for 1 large egg (singular) at room temperature however your mixing instructions say to add eggs (plural) one at a time. Is this a misprint? Thanks for clearing this up for me!
It is! Thank you for catching that I fixed it.
This recipe is missing mention of baking soda in the brownie swirl ingredients and it does not say when to add the Baileys in the batter.
There isn’t any baking soda. Refresh. The baileys is there.
What can I use instead of the Baileys Espresso that in non-alcoholic?
Absolutely you can use half and half instead.
Hi! Can you tell me what kind of Cocoa Powder you used for this recipe, please? Thank you!
Use natural cocoa powder.
It’s like a mocha cake! So decadent!
This cake is definitely worth making! The brownie swirls with the espresso was a sure delight! Perfect pairing to my morning coffee!
I made this pound cake last night and OMG is it decadent and delicious! It’s a new favorite for sure!
I Just tried this recipe and my family loved it. It was so easy and the flavors were fantastic.
Oh wow! This cake has everything! Chocolate, swirls, Baileys!