Celebrate your loved one’s birthday with this classic sour cream chocolate cake slathered in homemade buttercream frosting and garnished with chocolate chips! Made with sour cream for added moisture and cocoa powder for a rich chocolaty flavor, this simple and elegant cake is suitable for both kids’ and adult birthday parties.
It’s the kind of chocolate layer cake that can be devoured all on its own but could do just as well with a cold glass of milk or a scoop of ice cream on the side.
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This chocolate and sour cream cake is packed with chocolaty goodness, not only in the cake but in the luscious chocolate buttercream frosting too!
So if you’re a true chocolate lover, or if you’re looking for the best chocolate cake recipe to serve your chocolate connoisseurs, this, my friends, is the only recipe you’ll need.
It’s moist, fudgy, rich, and simply put, a classic. It’s where chocolate lovers and cake lovers unite for a little slice of heaven. And because it’s made from scratch, it comes with an extra dose of love.
This decadent chocolate cake also makes a great base for other chocolate cake recipes like this Snickers poke cake, these Butterfinger cupcakes, and even in this chocolate cake shake!
Why you’ll love this Sour Cream Chocolate Cake
- Moist chocolate cake – this chocolate cake recipe yields a moist cake, but the extra moisture from the sour cream and brown sugar ensures soft and super moist crumbs in each bite.
- Baked from scratch – learning to bake a chocolate cake from scratch is something everyone can do! The oohs and ahhs are worth it, but what’s better is how proud of yourself you’ll be!
- Easy to make – there are a few moving parts to baking a layered cake from scratch but none of it is hard. I’m going to walk you through it step by step.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Butter – use unsalted butter if possible, due to the added salt we’re using in this recipe.
- Water – make sure that you’re using hot water rather than just room temp or cold water.
- Sour cream – this source of fat is what helps make this cake ultra moist so make sure to use full fat and not low fat! It’s really the secret ingredient in this cake full of simple ingredients, so don’t skip it!
- Vanilla – a warm fragrant flavor enhancer that pairs well with chocolate. If you can, use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Brown sugar – sweetens the cake with the added benefit of moisture and a slightly caramelized flavor. You can use either light or dark brown sugar.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – use unsweetened natural cocoa powder, not Dutch process cocoa since we’re using both baking soda and baking powder. This will give it the rich chocolate flavor without having too many leavening agents.
- All-purpose flour – you’ll want to use all purpose flour in this cake rather than something like cake flour or self-rising flour.
- Baking soda & baking powder – you will want to use both of these leavening agents. Baking soda helps trap air making the cake nice and fluffy, while the baking powder helps it to rise.
- Unsweetened chocolate – this will go into the frosting along with powdered sugar, so you definitely want to make sure and use unsweetened rather than sweetened.
How to make Chocolate Cake Using Sour Cream
Making this sour cream chocolate cake is no different than making any other cake, except you add chocolate cake. If you’ve ever made a layer cake, this is going to be very similar!
1 – Make the Chocolate cake Batter
Before you get to baking and making, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9-inch round pans really well, on the bottom and up the sides! Once each round cake pan is prepped, it’s time to make your batter!
- Melt 3/4 cup of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add in the cup of water and stir until well mixed. Then set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together all of the other wet ingredients (the eggs, the vanilla, and the sour cream) on high speed until they’re creamy. The addition of the sour cream here is what really makes this moist!
- Put all of the dry ingredients (granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) together in a large bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together until they are equally combined.
- Add the melted butter and water mixture to your dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined, do not over mix or the moist chocolate cake you’re looking for will end up dry instead!
- Add in the remaining wet ingredients and mix again on low speed until just combined.
2 – bake the chocolate sour cream cake
- Split the batter evenly between the two prepared 9-inch cake pans. I like to use a measuring cup so I can make sure the batter is evenly distributed between the two.
- Put the two cake pans with the chocolate cake batter into the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool for a few minutes in the pans before trying to remove. Once they’ve cooled, run a knife along the edge of each cake and then flip them over onto a cooling rack. I have this wire rack and love it!
- Let them cool completely on the cooling racks before frosting them or you will have melted frosting!
3 – make the chocolate buttercream frosting
- Place the butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high in the microwave for increments of 20-30 seconds. Stir between intervals and then repeat until the chocolate and butter are melted and creamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and the melted chocolate and butter mixture until they are all just combined.
- Add in about half of the milk and keep whisking the frosting together until smooth. If the frosting is still pretty dense, add a little more milk at a time making sure to keep whisking the frosting until it is a texture you like!
4 – Frost the chocolate sour cream cake
- Place one of your cakes top side down on a cake stand or a cardboard cake round. Top with a layer of the chocolate frosting. I like to do something a little thicker since this is just a two-layer cake.
- Place the other round cake on top of the frosting layer (top side down) carefully then frost all the way around the cake sides and the top. Here’s a great post on frosting a layer cake to help! It doesn’t matter if you have the best chocolate frosting if you don’t know how to use it!
- Garnish around the bottom with chocolate chips if desired or just leave the cake frosted!
Enjoy your chocolate cake immediately or serve it later when you’re ready to eat! It’s delicious by itself, served with a glass of milk, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or even with this raspberry sauce on top!
How to Store Leftover Chocolate Cake
Keep any leftover chocolate sour cream cake covered in an airtight container. You can either store it out at room temperature or you can store in the fridge. If you do store it in the fridge, I recommend allowing the cake to come to room temperature before serving.
how to freeze chocolate sour cream cake
This chocolate cake with sour cream freezes beautifully if you do it before you frost and then frost once you’re ready to eat the cake.
Bake the cakes as directed then wrap each one tightly in saran wrap. Place in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. When you’re ready to actually make and serve the cake, remove from the freezer and allow the cakes to thaw to room temperature before frosting and serving.
How to make chocolate cake ahead of time
If you want to make this chocolate sour cream cake ahead of time, I recommend baking the two nine-inch cakes ahead of time and making the chocolate frosting fresh.
Bake the cakes just as written then once completely cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until you’re ready to make the cakes. Or if you only need to make this a day or two ahead of time, wrap in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container until you’re ready to layer and frost.
Expert Tips & Tricks
Allow the cakes to cool before frosting. Otherwise, the warmth of the cake will cause the buttercream to melt and become runny. Not nice.
Use the spoon and level method for measuring flour. If not measuring on a kitchen scale, using the spoon and level method to measure out your flour is the next best thing. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it’s more than full. Do not pack it down. Use the straight edge of a knife to scrape off the excess. Then, add the flour to the mix. This will keep you from getting too much flour.
Swap the butter for oil. If you’d prefer to use vegetable oil or canola oil in your chocolate cake instead of melted butter, you certainly can. I personally like butter better than oil-based cakes but you can choose.
Start with room temperature ingredients. This helps with even baking. This means bringing the sour cream and eggs out about half an hour before beginning the recipe.
Recipe FAQs
Why is my cake so dry?
Your cake is probably dry because you over mixed, over baked, or didn’t measure your ingredients (especially the flour) properly.
Can you make cupcakes from this recipe?
You can definitely make cupcakes from this recipe! This chocolate sour cream cake makes 24 cupcakes if you fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake them at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly!
Can I leave out sour cream in a cake?
If a cake recipe calls for sour cream, you really shouldn’t leave out the sour cream as that is what keeps the cake moist. If you don’t have sour cream and it’s an ingredient in a cake, I recommend trying a different cake instead.
More Delicious cake recipes
If you like this chocolate cake, you have to try one of these next!
- Chocolate chip bundt cake – tastes like a combination of vanilla cake and a chocolate chip cookie!
- Dr Pepper cake – a fun chocolate cake made with boxed mix, chocolate pudding, and Dr. Pepper!
- Oreo dirt cake – layers of crushed Oreo, and creamy whipped pudding come together in a trifle-like dessert!
- Jello poke cake – moist cake infused with raspberry Jello and topped with whipped topping. A refreshing, simple cake made with just 3 ingredients.
- Chocolate lava cake – dig into this molten lava cake and watch the rich chocolaty filling ooze out!
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Sour Cream Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup hot water
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 2 lbs powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9-inch round pans really well, on the bottom and up the sides!
- Melt 3/4 cup of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add in the cup of water and stir until well mixed. Then set aside.3/4 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup hot water
- In a small bowl, mix together all of the other wet ingredients on high speed until they’re creamy.3 large eggs, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tsp vanilla
- Put all of the dry ingredients (granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) together in a large bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together until they are equally combined.2 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt
- Add the melted butter and water mixture to your dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined, do not over mix or the moist chocolate cake you’re looking for will end up dry instead!
- Add in the remaining wet ingredients and mix again on low speed until just combined.
- Split the batter evenly between the two prepared 9-inch cake pans. I like to use a measuring cup so I can make sure the batter is evenly distributed between the two.
- Put the two cake pans with the chocolate cake batter into the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pans for 15-20 minutes. Once they’ve cooled, run a knife along the edge of each cake and then flip them over onto a cooling rack.
Chocolate frosting
- Place the butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high in the microwave for increments of 20-30 seconds. Stir between intervals and then repeat until the chocolate and butter are melted and creamy.1 cup unsalted butter, 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and the melted chocolate and butter mixture until they are all just combined.2 lbs powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Add in about half of the milk and keep whisking the frosting together until smooth. If the frosting is still pretty dense, add a little more milk at a time making sure to keep whisking the frosting until it is a texture you like!3/4 cup milk
- Place one of your cakes top side down on a cake stand or a cardboard cake round. Top with a layer of the chocolate frosting.
- Place the other round cake on top of the frosting layer (top side down) carefully then frost all the way around the cake sides and the top.
- Garnish around the bottom with chocolate chips if desired or just leave the cake frosted!
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