I've never made a cake from scratch before; partly because I might eat the whole thing and partly because the ease of cake mixes convinced me that making a scratch cake might be more difficult than it was worth. I made my first scratch cake tonight and not only was it easy but it was worth it. I did learn some things along the way.
First, the recipe:
Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
2 eggs
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c shortening
1 1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 8-oz carton dairy sour cream
1 c milk
1 recipe Fudgy Frosting
Fudgy Frosting: In large pan over low heat melt and stir one 12-oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate pieces and 1/2 cup butter. Cool 10 minutes. Stir in 8-oz. carton sour cream. Stir in 4-1/2 cups (1 lb.) sifted powdered sugar; stir until smooth. Makes 4 cups.
**I used about 1 cup LESS sugar than called for in the recipe and didn't miss it.
Let eggs stand at room temp 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
In small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl, beat shortening and sugar on medium speed until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in melted chocolate and sour cream. Alternately add flour mixture and milk; beat on low after each addition until just combined. Spread batter into prepared pans.
Bake 25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool.
Prepare Fudgy Frosting. Place one layer flat side down on plate. Spread with 1 cup frosting. Stack second layer flat side down. Spread with remaining frosting.
From Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, Feb 2008
******
A bit of
research told me NOT to substitute dark chocolate for the bittersweet in the recipe, due to the makeup but some
websites say that you CAN use semi- or sweet chocolate interchangeably with bittersweet. Since this was my first scratch cake and therefore my first time making this recipe, I used bittersweet where called for but now that I've tasted the cake, I think it would be all right to use either in this particular recipe.
A quick alternative to melting the chocolate over the stovetop is to use the microwave. Simply put the chocolate into a microwave-save container (Pyrex is great for this -- you want a container that will not get hot). Heat in microwave in 30-second increments at 50% power, stirring between each increment.
Take care not to overcook the cake. Scratch cakes frequently create smaller layers than boxed and many contain less oil, therefore can dry out more easily.
I made the frosting while the cake was in the oven. A productive use of time, it created another problem I hadn't considered. I refrigerated the frosting while waiting for the cakes to cool and it hardened to a pretty solid state. I had to stir the frosting pretty vigorously to get it to a spreadable but, still stiff, state. In the future, if I make this recipe, I'll make the frosting right before I plan to frost the cake so that it's easier to frost the cake.
Taste test: The cake turned out well. I used about half of the frosting to frost the cake because I don't care for a lot of frosting and still, the frosting was a bit overwhelming, IMO, not because it was too heavy but the sweetness of the frosting overwhelmed the more bittersweet, cocoa flavor of the cake. I think the cake would have been better complimented by a richer, more bittersweet, chocolate flavor. That said, the frosting was excellent and received a number of compliments from the tasters. The sour cream in the frosting created a divine texture.
Final verdict: I'd like to try additional recipes to see how they compare but I'll keep this one in my database for the future and perhaps, try different frosting recipes with the cake; the frosting would be great for cupcakes.
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