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Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Categories Dessert, Easy Recipes

This chocolate sour cream cake makes for the perfect birthday, celebration or any time cake. It’s fairly easy to make and tastes delicious. I like it with vanilla or chocolate buttercream but a fruit buttercream or chocolate ganache would also taste amazing!

The cake pictured was made for my son’s birthday, he requested it be 2 layers though this recipes will make a 3 tier 9 inch cake. I let my 3 year old decorate the extra cake and she loved that! My son decorated his own with Oreos, Reese’s peanut butter cups and lots of sprinkles.

Here’s a little buttermilk recipe hack I’ve been using for years.

This recipe calls for buttermilk but if you don’t have any on hand you can make you own using milk and white vinegar, it will curdle the milk and give it the same consistency as buttermilk.

What you need to make chocolate sour cream cake:

Makes 1- 3 layer- 9 inch round cake

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk – (to make your own buttermilk add 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1/2 cup milk)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Grease and dust in flour 3 – 9 inch round cake pans.
  3. Add butter and sugar to a bowl and blend together until smooth.
  4. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla and blend again.
  5. In another bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
  6. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture, add the buttermilk and blend until smooth.
  7. Divide among pans and bake for ~20-22 minutes or until the cakes are cooked through and toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Cool cakes, level cakes and frost with your favorite frostings.

Here are a few of my favorite butter cream recipes:

Print Recipe
5 from 8 votes

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Delicious chocolate cake great for any occasion.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time22 minutes
Course: cake, Dessert
Cuisine: cake, Chocolate, Dessert
Keyword: Cake, Chocolate, Dessert
Servings: 1 9 inch 3 tier cake

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk – to make your own buttermilk add 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1/2 cup milk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • Grease and dust in flour 3 – 9 inch round cake pans.
  • Add butter and sugar to a bowl and blend together until smooth.
  • Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla and blend again.
  • In another bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
  • Add dry mixture to the wet mixture, add the buttermilk and blend until smooth.
  • Divide among pans and bake for ~20-22 minutes or until the cakes are cooked through and toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool cakes, level cakes and frost with your favorite frostings.