This pound cake is unbelievably fluffy, tender, and light. It has a toasty brown crust, tight crumb that slices cleanly, and eats a lot like that pound cake nobody doesn’t like.

There are three things to keep in mind to achieve pound cake glory: First, a metal loaf pan conducts heat faster than a glass one, resulting in a higher rise and golden crust—avoid glass loaf pans, which conduct heat slowly and lead to a dense, greasy cake.

Second, make sure the eggs, butter, and sour cream are at room temperature, to ensure they whip up light and emulsify properly into a creamy, homogenous batter.

And finally, stop and scrape down the paddle and the bowl several times during mixing for an even crumb. Tightly wrapped, this moist cake keeps at room temperature for a week and frozen for up to three months.

The black swirl in this cake is ultra-dark and intense thanks to black cocoa, an extra-Dutched cocoa powder that makes everything taste like Oreos. If all you have is Dutched or natural cocoa powder, that’ll work too, but the batter will be less dark in color and flavor.

read more about this technique here