How did Award-Winning Chocolate Cake earn the blue ribbon, the trophy, and the title of champion? Simple… by being the most intensely chocolate, perfectly sweet confection to come out of any oven! The cake itself is tender and rich, with a little added tang thanks to the addition of sour cream. Sour cream also adds a lovely contrast to the heavenly frosting spread all over the cake, bringing out the chocolate flavor and balancing out the luscious sweetness. Honestly, the question isn’t how Award-Winning Chocolate Cake won the award but rather what other awards we can give it!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups brown sugar, packed
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup baking cocoa
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups sour cream
- 1 1/3 cups boiling water
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, cubed
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Grease and flour three 9-inch round baking pans.
Step 3 –In a large bowl, cream 1 cup of the butter and the brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 4 –Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
Step 5 –Beat 2 teaspoons of the vanilla into the butter mixture.
Step 6 –In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, the cocoa, the baking soda, and the salt together.
Step 7 –Alternate adding the flour mixture and 1 1/3 cups of the sour cream to the butter mixture and beat well after each addition.
Step 8 –Stir the boiling water into the butter/flour mixture until blended.
Step 9 –Transfer the batter into the prepared pans and bake the batter until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.
Step 10 –Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer the cakes to wire racks to cool completely.
Step 11 –Add the remaining butter, the unsweetened chocolate, and the semisweet chocolate to the bowl of a double boiler and melt, stirring constantly, until smooth.
Step 12 –Allow the butter/chocolate mixture to cool slightly.
Step 13 –In a large bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, the remaining sour cream, and the remaining vanilla.
Step 14 –Add the butter/chocolate mixture to the sour cream mixture and beat until smooth.
Step 15 –Place one of the cakes on a cake stand and cover the top and sides with the frosting.
Step 16 –Repeat with the remaining cakes and stack them on top of each other.
Step 17 –Slice and serve.
