Sour Cream Chocolate Layer Cake
Incredibly soft and tender chocolate sour cream cake layers filled with whipped chocolate cream cheese frosting that tastes just like chocolate ice cream!
Ingredients
Cake batter:
- 3 oz (85g) semisweet dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup (118ml) boiling water
- ⅔ cup (160ml) full fat sour cream
- 1 ⅔ cups (235g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (21g) cocoa powder (I prefer this Dutch cocoa or this one)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz (227g) cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup (90g) powdered confectioner's sugar, sifted
- 3 oz (85g) semisweet dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups (315ml) 35% whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans, dust lightly with flour or cocoa powder. The cocoa powder helps the batter cling to the sides of the pan to help it climb up and rise higher. Line the base with rounds of parchment paper.
- Make the cake batter. Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and pour over boiling water. Let stand for a minute and then whisk until smooth. Whisk in sour cream and set aside.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to blend well.
- Combine softened butter with sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl and use a handheld mixer on medium-high speed to whip for 2-3 minutes until smooth, light and fluffy.. You can also use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined after each addition. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts alternating with chocolate/sour cream mixture. Once all ingredients are combined, mix on high speed for 5 seconds to help emulsify the batter.
- Divide mixture evenly between prepared pans and smooth it out. Bake for 25-28 minutes until the tops spring back when lightly touched and the cakes begin to come away from the sides of the pans. A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean and the cakes should rise quite evenly with a flat surface. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before inverting. The cakes are very soft and delicate so don’t turn them out too early.
- Make the frosting. First whip the cream. Pour the cold whipping cream into a large bowl and whip until it holds stiff peaks. Set aside ⅓ cup (80ml) of whipped cream in a medium bowl for the filling. Place soft cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and mix for about 1 minute using an electric handheld mixer on medium-high speed until very smooth. Add sifted powdered sugar and mix until very glossy, lump-free and a bit fluffy. Add melted, slightly cooled chocolate and vanilla and mix until blended. Add about ½ cup of whipped cream and fold it in quickly until evenly blended to lighten the mixture. Then continue to fold in the remaining whipped cream in two batches until combined. Work quickly because the cold cream can set the chocolate and make the frosting stiff.
- Make the filling. Take 1 cup of the prepared frosting from above and add it to the medium bowl with the reserved ⅓ cup of whipped cream. Fold it together very gently to make a lighter filling for between the cake layers.
- Assemble the cake. Once cakes are cooled, place one cake layer on a serving plate. Use a large offset spatula to spread the filling over the top, spreading it out gently to the edges. Place the other cake layer on top so it aligns with the sides of the bottom layer. Cover the entire cake with frosting and use the offset spatula to even out the sides and make swooshes and swirls on the top layer. Decorate however you'd like, sprinkles are welcome!
