This sour cream chocolate cake recipe is moist and chocolatey. It’s easy and simple to make. And it’s the best recipe for chocolate cake beginners. Learn how to make this sour cream chocolate cake here.
Welcome to one of my all-time favorite chocolate cake recipes, ever! This cake is incredibly moist, has a super soft texture, and stays moist for days!
I am not one to shy away from baking with sour cream, you can't beat the intense moisture it adds to cake. My sister proclaimed this was the perfect cake to serve with ice cream.
Let's get to the recipe
Ingredients
For this simple cake you will need:
- Granulated Sugar. The sugar provides sweetness and moisture to the cake.
- Large Eggs. Eggs provide structure to the cake and richness in flavor. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. You can do this quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes before cracking them.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. Vanilla enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
- Vegetable Oil. While I love making cakes with butter, in chocolate cakes you can't really taste the butter and generally, the cocoa powder is so drying that using oil ensures a moister cake.
- Sour Cream. The star of the recipe, sour cream is an intense moisture bomb to the cake batter. It also provides a slight tang! Don't miss my sour cream pound cake recipe.
- All Purpose Flour. Make sure you measure your flour properly too much or too little can drastically alter the structure of the cake.
- Dutch Process Cocoa Powder. I much prefer the taste and flavor you get from using Dutch Process Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. The acidity has been stripped so you end up with a smoother, richer chocolate flavor. I use Rodelle Dutch Process Cocoa Powder or Bensdorp Dutch Cocoa Powder.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda. These chemical leavening agents are used to help the cake rise and bake up. While the baking powder is already activated the acidity in the sour cream helps activate the baking soda.
- Salt. Salt enhances the flavor profiles of all of the other ingredients.
- Hot Coffee. Don't lose me here! The coffee does not make this cake taste like coffee; in fact, you would never know there is coffee in it. Coffee is like a secret ingredient. The Coffee enhances the chocolate flavor. You can use decaf coffee if you prefer.
For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F/180C and grease a 9" X 13" pan. If you want you can line the pan with parchment paper to easily remove it from the pan after baking but I don't find that necessary. Set the cake pan aside while you prepare the cake batter.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on low speed or large bowl with a whisk combine the sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil, and sour cream and mix until fully combined.
Place a large fine mesh sieve over the bowl of the wet ingredients and sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
Gently stir in the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, and mix until fully incorporated. Add in the hot coffee and mix until evenly combined. The cake batter will be very thin. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 33-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean/ only moist crumbs, no wet batter. Set cakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling prepare chocolate frosting. I love to use my sour cream chocolate frosting recipe but you can use another frosting recipe.
When the cake is fully cooled begin frosting. Depending on what frosting you use store the cake at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to a couple of days. The cake is best enjoyed at room temperature.
I hope you love this sour cream chocolate cake as much as we do!
FAQ and Tips for Success
Yes I would use two 8 inch pans for slightly thicker cakes or two 9-inch pans for slightly thinner cake. The bake time will be around 25-35 minutes.
This cake stays very moist so you can easily make the cake the day before you want to serve it. Cover the cake with plastic wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator. Make sure to take the cake out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving, as the cake tastes best at room temperature, not chilled.
You can freeze this cake as soon as it has completely cooled once baked. I would freeze it without the frosting and frost when thawed. You can also freeze slices of cake once frosted. When ready to freeze wrap the cake in plastic wrap tightly, twice. This helps prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up to three months, thaw on the counter for a couple hours.
More Chocolate Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Layer Cake
- Better Than Sex Cake
- Chocolate Pound Cake
- Check out my friend Danielle's Chocolate Ganache Cannoli Cake Recipe
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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PrintRecipe Card
Sour Cream Chocolate Cake
This sour cream chocolate cake recipe is moist and chocolatey. It’s easy and simple to make. And it’s the best recipe for chocolate cake beginners. Learn how to make this sour cream chocolate cake here.
- Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Yield: 12 Slices 1x
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 400 grams (2 Cups) Granulated Sugar/ Caster Sugar
- 3 Large Eggs, at room temperature
- 2 ½ Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 6oz (¾ Cup) Vegetable Oil
- 8oz (1 Cup) Sour Cream
- 250 grams (2 Cups) All-Purpose/ Plain Flour
- 90 grams (¾ Cup) Dutch Process Cocoa Powder ( I use Rodelle Dutch Cocoa Powder or Bensdorp Dutch Cocoa Powder)
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 8oz (1 Cup) Hot Coffee*
Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C and grease a 9" X 13" pan. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer or large bowl with a whisk combine the sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil, and sour cream and mix until fully combined.
- Place a large fine mesh sieve over the bowl of wet ingredients and sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
- Gently stir in the dry ingredients, and mix until fully incorporated. Add in the hot coffee and mix until evenly combined. The cake batter will be very thin. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 33-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean/ only moist crumbs, no wet batter. Set cakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling prepare chocolate frosting. When the cake is fully cooled begin frosting. Depending on what frosting you use store the cake at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to a couple of days. The cake is best enjoyed at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 35 Minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Rosa A Catania says
Can I use natural sweetener, like erythritol or monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar to make this cake,?
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Rosa, I am so sorry I have never tried using a different sweetener like that. Let me know if you try it! XX Liz