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Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Recipe

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Recipe photo by Taste of Home

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Impressive to look at but easy to make, this cake is a good old-fashioned "Sunday supper" dessert that melts in your mouth. —Marsha Lawson, Pflugerville, Texas

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Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Recipe

Prep: 35 min. Bake: 30 min. + cooling

Yield: 16 Servings

35 30 65

Ingredients

1 cup baking cocoa
1 cup boiling water
1 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
FROSTING:
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-1/2 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Dissolve cocoa in boiling water; cool. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Add cocoa mixture and mix well.
Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Add confectioners' sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 16 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: 1 slice equals 692 calories, 30 g fat (18 g saturated fat), 119 mg cholesterol, 451 mg sodium, 102 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Originally published as Sour Cream Chocolate Cake in Taste of Home August/September 1998, p67

Sweet White Wine

Enjoy this recipe with a sweet white wine such as Moscato or a sweet Riesling.

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Reviews for Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

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Reviewed on Sep. 05, 2012 by BusyBusyBaker

Where can I find directions for making the garnish on top of the cake? It is beautiful!

Reviewed on Sep. 05, 2012 by yellowbrickroad

OOPS! I was on the wrong recipe page! That review was for the 'Come Home to Mama Chocolate Cake!"

yellowbrickroad

Reviewed on Sep. 05, 2012 by yellowbrickroad

I followed the recipe to a 'T'. One exception, no Dutch process cocoa here, so I used my Hershey's Special Dark. I absolutely LOVED the frosting!!!! I considered just eating it out of the bowl!

When I took the cake out of the oven it was tall and looked delightfully light and fluffy. I turned and continued chopping the Bakers chocolate squares for the frosting. When I turned back around... 'What the?!'... I was looking at two sunken cake 'bowls' :

Glad you sent pictures of how your cake looked when cooling. Mine looked the same.

High when taken out of oven then it fell to pan level!

The recipe calls for 3.9 oz pkg of pudding - the large pkg = 2.0 oz - that's what I used.

I also added some extra sour cream and water as the batter was very stiff - too stiff for my little hand mixture to finish the mixing. I used large bar of Ghiradelli chocolate - it probably wasn't enough - it looks milk chocolate, but tastes good. I added extra powdered sugar, so I guess I messed with success in more than one way on this cake - oh well, it will all be gone by nightfall with 8 adults and five children! I'll send pix and comments later. "

True, she messed with the recipe, but she got the same sunken cake results that I had. I shared 1/4 of the cake... and totally enjoyed the rest all by myself!

OK everyone listen up! Make the recipe with the 1/2 C powdered sugar! It is ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THIS WORLD DELICIOUS! It stays on the cake and does not slide down/off, and the flavor was magnificient!

I'd like to hear from someone whose cake did not fall. The AC is the only thing I can relate it to. I need a little pop-up tent to cover cakes/cookies/pies etc. when cooling. The way the AC is set up in this apt. is not good for cooling baked goods.

Thank you for such great recipes!!!!!

yellowbrickroad

Reviewed on Sep. 05, 2012 by Brill Girl

Lush! To add colour i put fresh strawberries on top. i think this is the best cake in the whole of England! (Or should i say the United Kingdom!

Reviewed on Sep. 05, 2012 by licatinodm

Haven't made this yet but I want to know how to make the things on the top of it.

Reviewed on Aug. 19, 2012 by lbvf

This cake is amazing! I didn't have semisweet chocolate, so I substituted unsweetened chocolate and 1 tbs sugar for each ounce. The frosting almost tastes like a fudge, though not overly sweet and is absolutely delicious. Will definitely make this cake again.

Reviewed on Apr. 27, 2012 by robbinthornton

Great taste, fabulous texture and the frosting was to die for!

Reviewed on Apr. 17, 2012 by silly girl

This was really good..i tried it in a cupcake too because I have been looking for a moist recipe but that doesn't stick to the paper..this works! I like how the tops are a little crunchy..I was about 1/4 cup short of cocoa so I used espresso powder to make up the difference. Still debating on the frosting here or my coffee frosting..

Reviewed on Mar. 03, 2012 by Holmescsh

Awesome flavor, but stuck to everything it touched, pan, cooling rack, cutting knife, very crumbly - still got rave reviews.

Reviewed on Feb. 20, 2012 by berthaj

This is the best chocolate cake recipe ever. The cake is deliciously moist and the icing is to die for. I will definitely keep making it over and over for my family and friends.

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