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5 from 1 vote

Dark Chocolate Cake With Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Irresistibly moist chocolate cake that wins hearts at the first bite.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: dark chocolate, dark chocolate cake, dark chocolate cake recipe, dark cocoa powder cake
Author: The Ovenist

Ingredients

FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

  • 242 grams All-purpose Flour
  • 37 grams Hershey's Cocoa Powder
  • 37 grams Dark Cocoa Powder
  • 425 grams Sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Instant coffee ( used Nescafe)
  • 1 teaspoon Fine Salt
  • 1½ teaspoon Baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons Baking powder
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder

FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM FROSTING

  • 363 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 396 grams sour cream
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla essence
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of baking soda
  • ⅓ cup icing sugar
  • ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3½ tablespoons dark cocoa powder

Instructions

FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

  • Preheat oven to 180°c. Butter and flour four 8-inch pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. (See notes)
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients except boiling water.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Add 1 cup of boiling water to it and whisk again. Adding water will thin out your batter. That is alright.
  • Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clear. It might take more or less time depending on your oven.
  • Remove cakes from the oven, let cook for 2 minutes, run a butter knife along the sides to loosen the cake and invert carefully onto a wire rack. Let cool before frosting the cakes.

FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

  • In a double-boiler, add the chocolate and cream and stir till all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
  • Remove the bowl from the stove, and whisk in sour cream and vanilla.
  • Next, sift icing sugar and cocoa powder into the bowl. Lastly mix in salt and baking soda. Cover with cling wrap and keep it the fridge just until the consistency becomes spreadable. This took me only around 10 minutes.
  • Spread the frosting between the layers and around the sides and top of cake.
  • Serve at room-temperature or cold.

Notes

  1. I baked four 8-inch layers, and only used 3 layers for the frosted cake. If you wan't thicker layers, you can divide the batter between two or three 8-inch layers. 
  2. My family does not like too much frosting, so I used minimal frosting (little more than 1/2 cup) between the layers and used the rest to frost the sides and top of the cake. If you would like to use more, just double the frosting ingredients
  3. Be careful while inverting the cakes and layering to prevent breaking, as this is a pretty moist and soft cake.
  4. You can use sugar syrup between the layers to further increase the moistness. This helps especially if you are making the cake a day or two in advance, as it prevents the cake from drying out in the fridge. I did not use a sugar syrup as I prepared the cake at night and served it the next afternoon.
  5. I prefer to serve this dark chocolate cake at room temperature.