Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Full of chocolate flavour
Texture: Soft and fluffy cake with a creamy and thick frosting.
Ease: Pretty easy and totally worth it!
Pros: Tastes amazing and perfect for sharing.
Cons: Too tempting
Would I make this again? Yes, yes and yes.
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Please welcome back my girl Jess from Sweetest Menu as she shares another deligthful recipe, Mini Sour Cream Chocolate Cakes! Be sure to visit her today. -Tessa
Hi there dessert-loving friends, it’s Jess from Sweetest Menu. Today we are going knee-deep into the wonderful world of chocolate cake. Growing up chocolate cake was our go-to for birthdays so seeing a big piece of chocolate cake still sparks sweet memories. Plus I am yet to meet somebody who doesn’t like chocolate cake, am I right?
So let’s take a look at these Mini Sour Cream Chocolate Cakes. I cannot tell you how soft and moist these cakes are. They have a truly tender crumb and that’s where the sour cream comes in. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to taste it, but it will aid in producing a ridiculously soft chocolate cake that just about melts-in-your-mouth. Perfection in my chocolate cake books.
Then we add a smothering of creamy chocolate frosting. This frosting is my favourite because it is super smooth but still light and fluffy with a lovely depth of chocolate flavour. Instead of opting for cocoa powder in the buttercream, this recipe calls for melted semi-sweet or dark chocolate. The rich frosting makes for the perfect accompaniment to this cake. Sprinkle a few flakes of chocolate on top and you have one mouth-watering dessert.
So if you are a chocoholic like me or know someone who is, you should give these cakes a whirl. They are perfect for a party (or a party of one, no judgement here). I shared some of these cakes with my family, who gave them the thumbs up, and also froze some. Did you know you can freeze cake? Just pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so and it will become soft and warm as if it just emerged from the oven. Gosh I think I might go have one now!
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Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup and 1 tablespoon (250 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) caster sugar
- 3/4 cup (135 grams) brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) hot water
- 1 and 3/4 cup (245 grams) plain flour
- 3/4 cup (60 grams) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (240 ml) sour cream, room temperature
Chocolate frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick or 115 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (375 grams) powdered or icing sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 2/3 cup (100 grams) semi-sweet or dark chocolate, pieces
- Extra chocolate shavings, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360 F (180 C). Prepare a 12-cup mini loose bottom dessert tin with butter (My dessert tin features 2 x 3 inch cups). In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla extract. Then add one egg at a time and continue to beat until mixture is combined and creamy. Boil the kettle and pour out 1/2 cup water and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, sift the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda and lightly whisk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, along with the hot water and gently fold with a spatula. Add the sour cream and fold until the mixture is combined.
- Carefully spoon the cake mixture into your prepared cake tin – it makes 10 mini cakes. Pop into the oven for 20 minutes or until the cake springs back lightly to the touch. Leave the cakes to cool for about 5 minutes before carefully transferring the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the chocolate frosting, place your softened butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Sift in your powdered or icing sugar, add your milk and beat until combined. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a microwave, stirring in between 20 second bursts, until just melted.
- Next you will want to add in your melted chocolate to the buttercream mixture, ensuring the chocolate is smooth and melted but is not warm at all. Beat until the chocolate is completely mixed through. Use a small spatula to spread the frosting onto the cakes, then sprinkle over a few chocolate shavings.
Hello! these look great but I suck at frosting cupcakes:( will you by any chance upload a video on this recipe ?
Hi there. if i want to make this into a round or rectangular big cake instead of cupcakes, it is okay right ? what size would you recommend ? and for the milk, what kind of milk should i search for in the bakery shop ? Thanks in advance. I’m an absolute beginner in this baking thingy.
Hi Jess really love the look of this recipe just wondering how could I make it in to one large cake using the measurements given … is it possible? If so what size pan should I use and how many pans?
Thanks xoxo
These look lovely! I’m hoping to make these for an outdoor party…do you have any tips for frosting them? Frost still in pan after cooled or out of pan? How do you get the perfect rise of frosting and shape? Thanks for sharing!!!
Hi Alyssa! I’m so glad you are going to try these. To frost, take the cakes out of the pan and leave them to cool completely. I frosted the cake using a small offset spatula but if you don’t have one, you could just use a butter knife. To help get the straight edges, pour a mug of boiling water from the kettle and dip your knife or spatula in to help smooth the icing. I hope you enjoy them!
Oh Jess, you solve my problem, i was looking for the chocolate cake recipe as i love chocolate. Will bake this awesome cake tomorrow for sure.
Oh wonderful! Thank you so much, I hope you enjoy it!
Finally another way to use my mini cheesecake pan! These look absolutely delightful! You can’t go wrong with a decadent chocolate cake slathered in even more chocolate! Can’t wait to make these for a special occasion soon!
Thanks Amy! These really do bake up beautifully in the mini cheesecake pan! 🙂
Thanks, Amy!
Hi there. Will this recipe work using cupcake tins?
Hi Lisette, absolutely! You could use this recipe to make cupcakes instead, it would just make more than 10. Just fill the each tin no more than 3/4 full. Enjoy!
Oh my, I have to make this soon! Looks so scrumpdillicious!! 😉
Thanks so much Peggy!
Hi, what can I use to substitute sour cream?
thanks =)
Hi Susan, sour cream makes the cake beautiful and soft but if you can’t get your hands on it, I would suggest using a thick greek yogurt. Thanks!
The hot water dosen’t it kill the action of the baking powder and soda?
Hi Mamie, no I have never had that problem. These cakes rise perfectly with the hot water. Hope you enjoy them!
Can you tell me what size your mini muffin cups are? Amazon has a variety; some are one inch deep and some are two inch deep. Can you please give me a link or tell me which muffin pan you are using? Thank you.
Hi Donna, thanks for reaching out. My dessert tins are 2 x 3 inches. I’m from Australia so I bought mine in store but I’ve checked on Amazon and here’s one that looks exactly the same – http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Nonstick-Small-Cheesecake-Pan/dp/B002NV3V6O/ref=pd_sim_79_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=41l75HakjyL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=15H4AFP2MTQHGA4900M6. Hope that helps!
I like that the frosting goes all the way to the edge of the cake because cupcakes that are frosted only in the center get dry very quickly. Of course the sides are completely open here and that would create the same drying out problem, but if you are serving them immediately it would be fine. Have you used a simple syrup glaze to seal your cupcakes/cakes that are only partially frosted? Does that keep them from drying out? I should add that I live in Colorado, where it is quite dry. It might not be a problem in California or Florida!
Hi Nancy! I haven’t actually had that problem with my cakes and cupcakes before as long as I store them in an airtight container. These cakes are very very soft and moist inside (thanks to the sour cream) so I wouldn’t have thought you’d have a problem with them drying out. Of course, you could always double the frosting and frost them all over if you were concerned. I also try to avoid storing my cakes in the fridge as that can dry them out. We will eat what we can within a day or two and then wrap them up and freeze the rest. Hope that helps!