Week 3: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Layers with Silky Chocolate Buttercream

"Let's face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me."

-Audrey Hepburn

So many people I talk cake with say that chocolate cake is their favorite. I love chocolate. I love cake. But I've never had a chocolate cake that I love. So, when I chose chocolate cake for this week's selection, I wasn't super excited about it. But two things influenced this week's selection. Number one, I had sour cream in the fridge.  And,  number two, as Monica sang it, it was  "Just one of  them days" 

(you feel me?) 



gathering and prepping...

The ingredients for the Sour Cream Chocolate Cake  and Silky Buttercream Frosting were very easy to find.  Affordable and simple. The cake was also very easy to make. As long as you're measuring carefully and not rushing through the incorporating of the ingredients, I don't think anyone could mess it up.

frosting and finishing...

The frosting was slightly complicated. Each recipe in The Cake Book has a difficulty rating that ranges from one to four cake slices. The cake was a "one slice" difficulty level and the frosting was "two slices". The ingredients were simple -chocolate, butter, sugar, water. The chocolate had to be melted in a bowl over a steaming pot of boiling water. Not the hardest process in the world, but it was the first time I've tried out the double boiler method. After the chocolate melted, I made a simple syrup with the sugar and water. The tricky part was getting the simple syrup to a certain temperature and then adding it little by little to the egg yolks and mixing quickly so that the egg yolks did not become scrambled eggs. I think now that I've made this buttercream frosting and understand the recipe and method, it won't be hard to make in the future.

Right before frosting the cake I decided to make it four layers. I cut the two 9 inch cakes in half. I have to say that four layers makes a cake so much more elegant and decadent. Giada always says that before you eat, you eat with your eyes. I think this theory applies to cakes. Part of the fun of cake is the beauty of it. The fluffiness with the thick creamy layers - belissimo!

This cake took me by surprise. When I finished the final coat of frosting I had to stand back and admire it.

Every time I finish one of these amazing cakes I feel a sense of pride. I know this isn't brain science and these aren't my recipes, but there's something about making something from scratch with your own two hands.

And after a bite of this cake I think I finally understand what chocolate cake is all about. The cake is moist,  not too sweet and combined with the dark chocolate flavor of the frosting. It is Delicious! It's the kind of cake I want to have in my fridge just in case company arrives. A slice of cake with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea for my guests. Or even an after dinner dessert with a glass of red wine. Or a tasty little treat for the neighborhood kids with a glass of cold milk. This cake is a classic and everyone should try it once!

Sour Cream Chocolate Layers with Silky Chocolate Buttercream