This Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Cake is moist and delicious and has been my go-to chocolate cake for years. It's an easy, light, and a delicious homemade chocolate cake with a moist texture and rich chocolate flavor! It's perfect for any celebration, birthday, Black Forest Cake or cupcakes and pairs well with just about any frosting.
Or you can dress it up any way you want and use it as the base for a decorated or special cake, like Black Forest Cake. It's just an all 'round great chocolate cake!
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🥘 Ingredients
- cake and pastry flour (see Top Tips below)
- baking soda
- salt
- unsalted softened butter (substitute salted if needed, but skip the salt in the recipe)
- brown sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- unsweetened bakers chocolate squares (do NOT substitute chocolate chips)
- sour cream
- boiling water (make sure it's BOILED, not just hot water from the tap)
🎂Frostings for sour cream chocolate cake
I got the original recipe from a friend years ago and it is my favorite chocolate cake recipe and by far the best chocolate cake ever! I really can't believe it took me this long to share this recipe, given how much I love it and how often I use it.
This delicious chocolate cake recipe also goes with just about any frosting, but my 2 favorite frostings to serve it with are my Whipped Cream Buttercream Frosting and my Chocolate Frosting (without butter) [shown in the birthday cake photo below.]
It's also great with a Stabilized Whipped Cream Icing if you're making a Black Forest Cake. But if you want to really want to go all out chocolately, then try it with my 2 Ingredient White Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting!
💭Why put sour cream in a cake?
You may be wondering: why put sour cream in a cake? Well, the reason for the addition of sour cream is that sour cream's creamy texture produces moister results than if you simply use milk and it does not thin the batter. This makes sour cream an excellent choice for recipes that tend to have drier results. Sour cream also adds thickness and richness to a cake, while it's natural acidity cuts through some of the sweetness. You can read more about that the baking science behind putting sour cream in a cake HERE.
But it's not only the sour cream that makes this cake unique, the brown sugar lends a depth of flavor, unlike any other chocolate cake I have ever tried. And even though this cake is rich and creamy, it still has a light texture and isn't dense like many homemade chocolate cakes can be.
📖 Variations
This Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate cake is quick and easy to make and tastes like you spent hours on it! And it can easily be dressed up, filled, iced and paired with just about anything you want! You can make it a single layer or make it a layer cake (see servings, below)
I always use this easy cake for my Black Forest Cake.
💭 Top tip
Why use cake flour: Cake flour is made from soft wheat and has the lowest protein content of all flours (7-9% protein). Since its gluten proteins are very weak, cake flour is often used to make soft, tender baked goods like cakes, pastries, or biscuits. A chlorination process further breaks down cake flour’s gluten, creating a flour that’s even more delicate. Cake flour is recommended in recipes where you want an extra-light, extra-fluffy texture. And it pairs perfectly with the sour cream in this recipe. You can read more about cake flour HERE.
Cake flour substitution: Although I don't recommend it, in a pinch you can substitute all purpose flour for the cake flour and pastry flour, by using this ratio: For every 1 cup cake or pastry flour called for in a recipe, measure 1 cup of AP flour, then remove 2 tablespoons (this will leave you with ⅞ cup of AP flour, also known as a scant cup) then add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. *I have done this, but it makes a cake more dense/less light and fluffy than the cake and pastry flour.
👪 Serving size
This recipe makes 2 8-inch round layer cakes (you will likely have some leftovers for about 6 cupcakes) OR 1 deep 8-inch square (as seen in the photos), which is about 8 pieces
🌡️STORAGE
Store leftover cake in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature. You simply cover it in plastic wrap if you are only storing it overnight.
🍽EQUIPMENT
You will need a deep 8-inch square cake pan (or 2 8-inch round layer cake pans), an electric mixer, mixing bowls and spoons and a cake tester for this sour cream cake. *See recipe cake for recommended equipment photos and links
So if you're looking for an excellent versatile chocolate cake for anything from cupcakes to birthday cakes, then give this one a try. I'm sure this easy chocolate cake recipe will become your new go-to chocolate cake in no time!
🦺FOOD SAFETY
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw eggs
- Wash hands after touching raw eggs
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- See more guidelines at USDA.gov
And if you love easy old fashioned chocolate cakes, then check out my Old Fashioned Mayonnaise Chocolate Cake!
⭐ COMMENTS & REVIEWS
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📋 Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups cake and pastry flour * see NOTES for substitution
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 ¼ cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
- 3 ounces (3- 1 ounce squares) bakers unsweetened chocolate melted (melt in the microwave for about 1 - 2 minutes on 50% power or use a double boiler
- 1 cup sour cream cooled
- 1 cup boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C and grease cake pan(s) with non-stick spray. *I use Wilton Cake Release for best results
- In a large bowl, cream butter in mixer for 2 minutes, then gradually add brown sugar and continue beating for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients (cake and pastry flour, baking soda and salt); set aside.
- Add vanilla and chocolate. Alternately blend in flour mixture and sour cream, one third at a time, on low speed of electric mixer.
- Add boiling water; blend well. (***Batter will be thin.) Pour batter into prepared pan ( 8 or 9 inch round layer cake pan or deep square pans and/or cupcakes tins.)
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes if making layer cakes, but about 5- 10 minutes longer for a deeper 8 or inch square cake (as in photos), or until cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. * Cupcakes need to be baked for about half the time ( 15 - 20 minutes)
- Let the cake cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove and place on wire rack to continue cooling. Frost as desired.
Colleen
A perfect chocolate cake! I'll be making it again. Thanks for sharing, Terri!
Terri Gilson
I'm glad to hear that, Colleen!
Sabrina
Absolutely scrumptious! This cake is so rich and moist and fairly quick to make. An excellent crowd pleaser, thanks!
Terri Gilson
thanks, Sabrina! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Denise@urbnspice
Your Sour Cream Chocolate Cake looks so delicious, Terri. I love the way sour cream adds such depth of flavour to baked good and especially chocolate! And I love how brown sugar adds a butterscotch flavour to chocolate. I'm sure that comes through in the flavour of this tempting cake. It is a winner, I am sure. Thanks for sharing.
Terri Gilson
Thank you, Denise!