One Bowl Chocolate Cake III with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting



Well Julia's book is on sale so I have decided to buy it. It has so many good recipes in it. I have to say that in the past year since I started this food blog I've gotten way more confident in my cooking and baking and more knowledgeable. There are still tons of things I have never cooked before but I am not nearly as intimidated by certain recipes as I would have been before this blog. A year ago I would have opened Julia's book and immediately shut it and thought "No way can I make that." Now I'll at least try. Hopefully, if I'm having a hard time with a recipe or get frustrated that something is not going right, I don't just slam the food in the trash like I would have in the past.....we'll see. But I will try.

The following recipe is a perfect example of a recipe gone wrong - the cake was wonderful and the frosting was great UNTIL I added the salt. I don't ever remember adding salt to a frosting recipe but this one called for it and sure enough, ruined it. I would definitely recommend both the cake and frosting because they are tasty and quite simple to make, but don't use salt in the frosting. I won't even include it in the recipe below. These were found at Allrecipes. The cake is very similar to the original Hershey's Chocolate Cake. It's great since it's an easy clean up too!

Anyhow, the frosting on the cake in the picture is "stand by" canned frosting since the chocolate one was horrible with the salt!!! It never, ever hurts to have a "stand by" of any product already made for emergencies!!!

Chocolate Cake

2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat over to 350F. Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
In a large bowl, stir together eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Melt chocolate and the butter together. Let cool and blend in the sour cream and vanilla. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar until the frosting is of spreading consistency, beat well.

Comments

Lara said…
Canned frosting and all, it looks amazing!
Dewi said…
Oh wow, your chocolate cake look so tempting and delicious. I love the frosting too. Yum!
Monica H said…
I never would have guessed that was canned frosting but I kept looking at it and thinking that doesn't look like chocolate..LOL.

I've added salt to frosting recipes before but not usuallly the amount they recommend. If it's really sweet, I add a tiny bit to tone it down. SOrry this ruined the cake for you. It looks scrumptious regardless.
Joyce said…
Salt in frosting sounds strange to me too. I wonder if it was a misprint? I find some of the recipes online at some of those sites are not always tested before they are put onto the site and also people change the original recipe so much. I always laugh when they say just dump it all in and not cream the butter and the sugar and then I don't even bother reading the recipe.
Joyce
Coleens Recipes said…
The cake looks SO moist. Regarding the frosting...my guess is that the original frosting recipe called for UNsalted butter. When you use regular butter (which is salted) AND add salt to the frosting, it makes it VERY salty indeed. The cake looks delicious.
Cassie said…
Yum, it looks so delicious -- even with "stand-by" frosting! :) If it's anything like Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate chocolate cake, I KNOW I would love this!
Debbie, your cake looks wonderful. I love using sour cream in the frosting. I think I would like to give this atry.
Pam said…
The cake looks tasty and the frosting sounds delicious. Nicely done.
The Blonde Duck said…
But it looks so cute with the little cherry on top...
teresa said…
it's so pretty! i've had recipes ruined by one ingredient before and it totally bums me out, but you saved it well!
Palidor said…
Canned frosting or not, the cake looks sinful! That's too bad the original frosting didn't turn out. I sometimes add a very little bit of salt to frosting if I'm not using salted butter because I find salt rounds out the flavor. But the key is a little bit (like 1/2 teaspoon or less). How much did the original recipe call for?
Sophia said…
Salt in frosting? That's weird! I suppose they were trying to go with a sweet/savory note? It might have worked in a caramel/butterscotch frosting though!
Mary Bergfeld said…
What a glorious cake. It really looks tempting and delicious. The frosting pushes it over the edge. Yum!
Katy ~ said…
I have to agree with everyone ~ this cake looks super moist! I don't use salt in my frosting as a rule; have made a recipe that called for it, but then I only added a pinch and tasted for flavor. It was enough. Some folks just have salty taste buds I think.
Emily said…
This looks so rich a chocolatey! It's a beautiful cake. I'm sorry about that little salt incident though. :(
Judy said…
Your cake looks wonderful. I also don't have a developed palate for salt in frostings and sweets, but the top chefs use it and love it.
Reeni said…
The cake sounds delicious! A chocoholic dream , rich and moist. That is so weird about the salt. Sorry your frosting was ruined.
That looks like a great cake to have in your recipe file. Something simple enough to put together quickly and beautiful enough to wow anyone.
Jennifer said…
That is a gorgeous cake! I cheat and use mixes :(
NKP said…
Such a pretty cake! Congrats on your new book.
Ingrid_3Bs said…
Well, that stinks that the frosting bombed! I personally have added salt (generally a pinch)to frosting and they have all turned out fine. If you are using salted butter than you would leave out the salt. As someone else mentioned salt, a very small amount enhances the other ingredients and tones down the sweetness.

I'm with you, blogging has improved my self confidence, too. I am much more likely to give a recipe a try now though I still shy away from yeast.
~ingrid
Nutmeg Nanny said…
Delicious! Even with the canned frosting it looks great:) Truth be told I actually don't mind canned frosting.