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Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

This Chocolate Sour Cream Cake is rich, decadent, and has amazing texture and flavor. Topped with silky chocolate frosting, this bake is sure to satisfy your chocolate cravings! It's perfect for your any day treat or makes a beautiful celebration cake that's sure to impress.The sour cream is the ingredient deserving of all the glory in this cake. Its high-fat content contributes to the moistness and richness of the cake preventing it from drying out.When mixed into the frosting, the sour cream creates a subtle tang whipping up to a lusciously silky texture.
Course cake / dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 8 slices

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

For the cake

    In a pot

    • ¾ cup butter see note 1
    • 1 cup chocolate, chopped into small chunks and divided , see note 2
    • ½ cup sugar see note 3
    • ⅓ cup brown sugar

    In a measuring jug

    • 3 eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 5 Tablespoons sour cream
    • 2 Tablespoons milk

    In a bowl

    • 1 ¼ cup cake or all purpose flour see note 4
    • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    Topping/Frosting

    • ⅔ cup chopped chocolate
    • 6 Tablespoons sour cream

    Instructions

    For the cake

      In a medium-sized pot:

      • Place a medium-sized pot onto the stove and turn the heat on to a low medium.
      • Add the butter, half of the chopped chocolate (½ cup/90g), the white and brown sugar.
      • Stir continuously until the butter and chocolate are melted. Set aside and allow to cool.

      In a measuring jug:

      • Whisk the eggs vanilla extract, sour cream, and milk.
      • Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl
      • Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

      Combine all the ingredients:

      • Whisk the ingredients from the measuring jug into the cooled mixture from the medium-sized pot.
      • Then add the whisked ingredients into the sifted dry ingredients and mix gently until combined, forming a smooth batter.
      • Stir the remaining half of the chopped chocolate (½ cup/90g),into the batter.

      Bake:

      • Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C (160°C fan).
      • Transfer the batter into the lined 8 x 5-inch (21 x 13 cm) loaf pan and bake for between 35-40 minutes and until a skewer comes out clean.

      For the topping:

      • The chocolate for the topping can either be melted in the microwave or on the stovetop:
      • If you are melting the chocolate in the microwave: Melt the chocolate pieces in a dry bowl in the microwave. Check on it every minute, stirring with a dry spoon. Depending on the wattage of your microwave, it may take between 2 to 4 minutes for the chocolate to melt completely.
      • Add the sour cream and whisk until combined, smooth and glossy.
      • If you are melting the chocolate on the stovetop: Heat the chocolate and sour cream, in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted. Whisk until combined, smooth and glossy.
      • Use a spatula or knife to spread the frosting over the cooled cake.

      Video

      Notes

      1. I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter, use that and you can omit the salt. Don't worry about getting the butter to room temperature before baking this cake. Why? Because it's going to be used in a warm melted state for this recipe.
      2. Half of the measured chocolate will be melted in the pot with the butter and sugar. The other half of the chopped chocolate will be stirred through the batter before baking.
      3. For this recipe, I used both white and brown sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar adds to the flavor and contributes to the moist texture of the cake.
      4. I always use cake flour for chocolate or vanilla cakes. It creates a softer, more tender texture. If you do not have any cake flour, go ahead and use all-purpose or plain flour. Make sure that it is measured out properly. Too much flour will result in a dry, crumbly textured bake.

      Nutrition

      Serving: 1slice | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 456mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 1mg
      Tried this recipe?Mention @thegardeningfoodie or tag #thegardeningfoodie!