Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

The trick to a fudgy cake is to bake it just until the top is firm to the touch, but not hard. It will still be moist inside if tested with a cake tester. As the cake cools, the chocolate hardens again. This batter is enriched with sour cream and flavored with light brown sugar.

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1-1/4 cups water
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Set the oven at 350 degrees, with a rack in the center. Butter a 10-inch Bundt pan thoroughly. Dust it with flour. Turn the pan upside down on the counter and rap it hard once to remove the excess flour.

In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate in the water until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let sit until cool but still liquid.

Cream the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it is soft and light. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, then the chocolate.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, baking soda, and salt. The mixture will begin to froth and bubble; work quickly.

With the mixer set on its lowest speed, add the flour to the batter alternately with the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter into the pan.

Bake for 55 minutes in the center of the oven, or until the cake springs back when pressed gently with a fingertip and pulls away from the sides. The cake will still be moist inside.

Remove from the oven and set the cake on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Turn it out of the pan onto the rack, set it right side up, and cool completely before serving.

Buy the Book!

from:
The Way We Cook
Recipes from the New American Kitchen
by Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven
Houghton Mifflin
Hardcover; 400 pages
Price: $27.00
ISBN: 0618171495
Recipe reprinted by permission.