Happy Birthday to me: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake and Coke

[sireesanwar]

Also posted at Food For Thought
So I just had a birthday and while I love dessert; a birthday is just more special. I have never liked the idea of just doing some generic dessert whether it is for my own birthday or someone else in my life. I always want to make something I, either, know they will love or something completely new; and hopefully fantastic.

Typically, I do not bake my own birthday cake but in my immediate family (mom, siblings and nieces) we get to choose what dessert we want and the others figure it out. I really wanted something different and it got down to the wire so my sister and I did the baking.

The things is, I’ve always wanted to try a Coca Cola cake but never put any effort into it. And since we were down to the wire with this, I didn’t want to experiment too much. So I took a recipe I know I love and made a substitution. So here we go:

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 c. flour
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. water - substituted for 1 cup of Coca Cola
• 3/4 c. sour cream
• 1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 4 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate (cooled to room temp)

Frosting

• 1/3 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 3 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate, cooled
• 3 c. confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Mixing It Up

Cake Instructions

1. Grease and flour 13×9 pan or two 9″ round pans. Measure all ingredients into large mixing bowl. Mix 1/2 minutes on low speed, scraping bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pans.
2. Bake at 350 deg: 40-45 minutes for 13×9; 30-35 for 9″ rounds (in my less than reliable gas oven I cook the 9″ rounds on 325)
3. Cool before removing from the pans.
4. For cupcakes, fill paper-lined muffin cups 1/2 full. Bake 20-25 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

Frosting Instructions

1. Mix butter, sugar, sour cream and vanilla well.
2. Blend in the melted chocolate.
3. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency.

Further Notes
The recipe calls for 1 cup of water for the cake batter. I took the liberty of substituting this water for the same amount of Coca Cola just to see what would happen. At first, I feared the cake batter would be too loose but once cooked the cake proved to be moist and delicious. Could I taste the actual change in the cake? I’d say no but I do think it brought an enhanced taste to the cake (as I’ve eaten the unaltered version before).

I will tell you the slice in the picture would be one I’d give to my brother, the bottomless pit as it were. No one else I know can eat such a slice, as the cake is rich and chocolatey and has overwhelmed someone with it’s deliciousness with such a slice. This is a cake I fully share as it goes rather far and would take me far too long to consume. But you can always half the recipe.

Usually, I make it for the extended family gatherings, large parties and such.

But boy oh boy is it delicious!