Love and Olive Oil
Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Glossy Chocolate Frosting

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Glossy Chocolate Frosting

This ultra dark chocolate cake is made with sour cream for extra moisture, plus a combination of Dutch process and black cocoa powder for a deep chocolate color and hauntingly rich flavor.

The glossy chocolate frosting is a revelation: deep and rich without being overly sweet. It’s the perfect finish for this stunningly simple, single layer chocolate cake that’s as impressive as it is easy (no mixer required!)

One triangular slice cut from a Sour Cream Chocolate Cake, with swirls of glossy chocolate frosting

Around here, it’s a standing rule that your birthday lasts as long as the cake does.

This year Taylor had a longer birthday than most, thrice as long in fact, since that’s how many tries it took me to get this cake right.

Let’s just say he’s been enjoying every single bite of it.

Lifting a cut slice out of a Sour Cream Chocolate Cake on a white cake stand

There’s no shortage of chocolate cake recipes on this site, but this one just might be the darkest and the moistest one yet, thanks to the addition of sour cream and a portion of black cocoa powder for an extra-dark color and flavor.

Not to mention it’s ridiculously simple: a single layer sensation that requires only one bowl (and a glass measuring cup) for the cake, and one small saucepan for the frosting. Seriously, no electric mixer necessary!

I really didn’t think I could ever top the ultimate chocolate cake… but here we are.

Spreading glossy chocolate frosting onto an extra dark chocolate sour cream cake, on a white cake stand.

Why mess with a good thing, you ask?

Well, I received a comment on my ultimate chocolate cake looking for a claggy chocolate cake (I had mentioned that one of my early tests had included sour cream and came out “so moist it could barely support itself let alone layers of dense fudge frosting”… this person was looking for just such a cake.)

And I’ll be darned if that word—claggy—didn’t stick in my head (apt considering the word literally means “stickily clinging, as mud”). The idea of a cake that’s so moist it’s practically pudding… well, I simply couldn’t get it out of my head.

The first version of this new, claggier chocolate cake was undoubtedly delicious and oh-so-moist, but it sunk a bit in the middle and the frosting ended up more like a glaze, oozing over the sides and pooling on the plate (which thank god had a raised edge). It was truly a hot mess, albeit a tasty one.

It took me two more tries to get a cake with a gently domed top—every baker’s dream. I had to dial back the clagginess just a tad, by reducing the liquid and adding a bit more structure so the cake wouldn’t come out concave. But despite those changes it still retained its utterly decadent taste and texture. I dare say this is the moistest chocolate cake I’ve ever had.

While there is no denying this cake is Intense (with a capital I), it’s not overly sweet, and the sour cream cuts the richness of the chocolate beautifully and keeps the cake moist for days (not that it’ll last that long, but still).

One triangular slice cut from a Sour Cream Chocolate Cake, with swirls of glossy chocolate frosting

I also used a few tablespoons of black cocoa powder in addition to the already dark Dutch process cocoa, in both the cake and frosting, to make the cake even darker and more dramatic. If you want to replicate exactly what I did, use 15g black and 30g Dutch in the cake, and a similar ratio in the frosting.

You can certainly use all Dutch process cocoa, or a blended cocoa like Hershey’s Special Dark or King Arthur’s triple cocoa blend, just don’t use all black cocoa as it is lacking in fat and thus won’t be as moist in the end, even if the color is straight out of Dracula’s bake shop.

My favorite black cocoa is Guittard Cocoa Noir (I find it has a better flavor than King Arthur’s). For Dutch-processed cocoas I like Cacao Barry Extra Brute or, when I want to splurge, Valhrona pure.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with glossy chocolate frosting, on a white background

As for the frosting? Well, you could certainly whip up a batch of my chocolate cloud frosting (a half batch should be plenty), which is lighter and fluffier, but just as rich and satisfying. But, for the sake of variety, I wanted something a bit different here, if only to avoid printing nearly the same recipe three times.

There’s an entire class of glazer recipes out there masquerading as frostings, for it’s a real stretch to call it such. A combination of melted butter, cream, sugar and cocoa, plus a bit of sour cream… and somehow it’s supposed to firm up enough to be spreadable? I call B.S. Mine never set up into anything even remotely spreadable, even after a few hours in the icebox and the addition of a cup or two of powdered sugar. Plus, I found the cocoa-based flavor a bit too hot cocoa-y for me.

So I thought I’d try combining some of the elements of this glaze with a classic chocolate ganache, so there is both chocolate and cocoa powder in there for a beautifully well rounded chocolate flavor. The chocolate also helps the frosting (yes, this one is most definitely a frosting!) set up into a beautifully glossy, spreadable wonder.

The result is… well it’s not really what I expected, that’s for sure. I hesitate to call it a mistake, more like a happy accident—what I thought was going to be a complete failure of a frosting somehow, magically, came together in the end. I’m not joking about the magic part. What I had in my pot was a gritty, grainy, greasy mess of seemingly separated chocolate and undissolved sugar. It was not pretty, nor was it tasty. Assuming I’d be throwing it out anyway, I put it back on the stove and added a generous splash of cold cream just for kicks. Pretty much the opposite of everything you ever learn to do when it comes to chocolate.

But somehow, the frosting transformed into something gloriously glossy.

I had to make it again just to be sure it wasn’t a complete fluke.

I reworked the process a tiny bit (turns out it works the same way if you warm the cream first with the butter, which is a much more logical sequence), but the result is just as delicious, deeply chocolate and gloriously glossy.

Cross section of a Sour Cream Chocolate Cake showing the ultra moist texture and extra dark chocolate color.

I wanted a very simple, single layer cake, unfussy enough to enjoy on a weekday, but impressive enough to be served on a special occasion too.

Could you turn this into a layer cake? I think so, though it’s not quite as sturdy as the sourcream-less version, and the shiny frosting may cause the layers slip and slide a bit.

In terms of scaling, the recipe as written makes one 8-inch layer or two 6-inch layers. If you only have 8-inch square or 9-inch round pans, the recipe as written will probably be a bit too thin, and the math to scale it up would be a bit tricky since it’d involve partial eggs, so I don’t recommend this substitution.

Plate with a cut slice of Sour Cream Chocolate Cake and a forkful taken out of it, full cake on a cake stand in the background

Make Ahead Tips

The cake can be made ahead of time and frozen for up to 1 month. Just wrap it tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap, and place that inside a zip top bag to prevent freezer burn. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours before frosting and serving.

The frosting should be used immediately, as it’s hard to spread if fully cooled and doesn’t reheat particularly well. Once you make the frosting, it’ll need about 15 to 30 minutes to cool (depending on the temperature of your kitchen)—it should be thick and spreadable but still shiny. Something like a peanut butter consistency is a good place to shoot for.

The frosted cake keeps beautifully moist for days (refrigerated in an airtight container), but the frosting will take on more of an eggshell-like sheen when refrigerated. It still stays much softer than an actual ganache or even a buttercream, which I consider a definite check in the win column (that’s often my biggest gripes with most frostings, is how firm they get when chilled).

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

This drool-worthy sour cream chocolate cake is extra dark and ultra moist, with a gorgeous glossy frosting. No mixer required! Use 2-3 tablespoons black cocoa in both the cake and frosting for the deepest color and flavor.
5 stars (10 reviews)

Ingredients

For Cake:

  • cup / 110 g all-purpose flour
  • cups / 175 g granulated sugar
  • ½ cup / 45 g Dutch-process cocoa powder , sifted*
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • cup / 80 g full fat sour cream
  • ¼ cup / 56 g vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • scant ½ cup / 100 g hot brewed coffee or hot water

For Frosting:

  • cup / 80 g heavy cream
  • ¼ cup / 56 g unsalted butter, cut into chunks
  • 2 oz / 56 g good quality dark chocolate (60-70%), finely chopped
  • cup / 67 g granulated sugar
  • cup / 30 g Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted*
  • cup / 80 g full fat sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch fine sea salt

Instructions

For Chocolate Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter or grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round baking pan; line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
  • In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  • In another bowl or 2-cup glass measuring cup, whisk together sour cream, oil, egg, and vanilla until evenly incorporated. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in sour cream mixture. Stir until nearly combined and just a few streaks of dry ingredients remain.
  • Pour in hot coffee or water and stir until smooth (it will start off very sloppy, but will incorporate eventually. Use a whisk if you're having trouble.)
  • Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading the batter into an even layer.
  • Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is springy and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached (no gooey batter). Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack until pan is cool enough to touch, then invert on a wire rack to cool completely.

For Frosting & Assembly:

  • Combine cream and butter in a small saucepan. Stir gently over medium heat until butter is melted.
  • Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate. Gently stir until completely melted (if the residual heat isn't quite enough to melt the chocolate, return to a low burner for 30 seconds, then remove from heat and continue stirring).
  • Add sugar, cocoa powder, and salt and whisk until incorporated; it will look like a slightly grainy brownie batter at this point.
  • Add sour cream and vanilla and whisk until smooth and shiny. Set aside and let cool until slightly thickened and spreadable, about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooling.
  • Generously spread frosting onto cooled cake, swirling with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula.
  • Slice, serve, and enjoy! Cake will hold at cool room temperature for a few hours, otherwise refrigerate until ready to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • *For an ultra dark chocolate cake, substitute 2 to 3 tablespoons (about 15 grams) of black cocoa powder. Don't use all black cocoa, however, as it is significantly lower in fat and will result in a drier cake.
All images and text © for Love & Olive Oil.

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52 Comments

  1. 14.4 Tablespoons on the sugar.
    1 cup minus 2 tablespoons on the flour.
    This cake is divine! I made 24 bundlettes.
    Just follow the recipe. I love no mixer! Room temp egg & sour creme.
    Used pure vanilla paste.(Amazon)
    Took out cakes 10 minutes earlier, as toothpick clean and minis.
    Delicious!

  2. WOW WOW Chocolate Cake! Yes! YUM-O This is a HUGE WINNER!

  3. I am a huge fan of dark chocolate that is not overly sweet and my daughters as well! I made this cake on a random day and we all ft that it was the best chocolate cake we ever had! Even my husband who is not a huge fan of sweets raved about it!

    Now: my daughter has requested a chocolate raspberry cake for her bday and I am trying to see if there is anyway to adapt this recipe to make it work! I’m worried about layering….. This recipe and amazing frosting has spoiled all other chocolate cakes for me!

    In any case I never comment  on recipes but thought I would here :)

    • I loved this, used it to create a Black Forest inspired layer cake. 

      I doubled the recipe and it made a half sheet pan. Because it was thin enough by using the sheet pan, I was able to cut out disks to make three layers with stabilized whipped cream and cherry pie filling in the layers. 

      The frosting was perfect and glossy dripping down the sides 😊. I think that any similar filling would work when the layers are thin enough. 

  4. This is the best chocolate cake ever! Is it possible to .make cupcakes from this?

  5. This is my first attempt to bake a chocolate cake trying to use up some leftover
    sour cream in the fridge, did not expect it to turn super delicious!
    Thank you Lindsay for such a wonderful receipe, it’s a keeper.

  6. This was a absolutely delicious! I made a double batch and used a large rectangle cake pan and then froze sections of to enjoy later.

  7. Made as written. Came out moist and very chocolatey. I used high quality chocolate and coco. Very nice cake. Thank you.

  8. Very good!

  9. How many eggs? 

  10. Rating: 5

    Ok, I just made this and I have to say, this is just THE most amazing chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted. So rich, moist and chocolatey, and perfectly balanced between the bitterness from the cocoa and sweetness from the sugar. I made both this and your “ultimate chocolate cake” so I could try them side by side to decide which one I preferred, and I just can’t quite decide because they’re both amazing and hands down the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made. Also, the process of making it is really simple as it’s a very uncomplicated recipe. And the frosting, I mean it is just soo rich, dark, velvety and chocolatey without being overly sweet, a match made in heaven for both this cake and the ultimate chocolate one (I skipped the fudge frosting because I generally prefer darker and less sweet ones like the one provided here). I didn’t have black cocoa but just used regular Dutch processed, and both the frosting and the cake still came out like in the pictures. After scouring the web and trying so many different recipes, I have now found my new go-to chocolate cake and frosting recipes – thank you! I have a few family members with coeliac disease, so the next thing for me will be to see how this recipe works with a gluten free flour blend as a substitute for the all purpose flour. Hopefully it will work fine.

  11. This looks delicious! I love to do intricate piping on cakes. Does this ganache frosting pipe well and would it hold up to intricate piping?

  12. The taste is ok but it makes a very small cake nothing like the cake in the picture.
    Disappointing. I wouldn’t try it again.

    • By small, do you mean short? Like it didn’t rise properly? If this is the case I might look at your leavening, it could be expired which is why the cake didn’t rise properly. Also, if you used a different size cake pan (I used an 8-inch, a 9-inch pan would make for a much thinner cake).

  13. Rating: 5

    Yum. Yum and yum! Very easy…no mixers involved…love that! Came out fantastic!!! Very cocoa tasting …not too sweet. Loved.

  14. Where is your cake stand from? It’s so nice

  15. Can I use butter instead of oil?

  16. Hello! Is the frosting recipe listed here enough for a 2 layer 6inch cake or would you recommend doubling it? Thanks!

  17. This looks AMAZING, and I can’t wait to try it! Thanks!

  18. Can I use hot milk instead of coffee in this recipe?

  19. I actually used this amazing cake recipe and switched it into cupcakes form! Came out great, only thing to change from the original recipe is 325 degrees for only 20 minutes instead of 30. Thank you for such a great recipe it has been a HIT!

  20. Rating: 5

    This cake is absolutely wonderful. best cake ever. thanks for sharing

  21. HI 
    I dont have  Dutch-process cocoa powder can i use normal chocolate powder? 
    Thanks 
    Have a nice day 

    • I talk a bit about this in the post. Natural cocoa will result in a lighter color and more acidic, harsh flavor. It will technically work (it’s not going to cause the cake to fail or anything) but I personally like the Dutch cocoa much more.

  22. Looks great! The frosting recipe calls for 1/3 cup sugar or 100 gm. I measured 100 gm of sugar and it is 100 gm. 1/3 cup sugar is about 68 gm. Which is correct?

  23. I looks amazing. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

  24. This looks amazing! Would it work in a loaf pan? If so, how long would you bake it so that it cooks through?

    • I have not tried this particular recipe in a loaf pan. Because it is so moist, it doesn’t have as much structure as some cakes, so I’d worry it wouldn’t rise properly. I actually just posted a chocolate loaf cake recipe, I’d suggest trying that instead! https://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2022/05/chocolate-olive-oil-loaf-cake.html

    • I baked it in a loaf tin and it seems fine, it definitely has a nice little loaf-dome. It was the same cooking time but I am using an oven without fan-force turned on. I think with a fan it might cook quicker so would recommend keeping an eye on it. 

  25. Wondering if I can make this into a cupcake and frost it with your georgeous looking frosting. If yes how many cupcake would this recipe yield and also baking time? Thanks a lot. By the way I made your cheese crackle and turned out very well. Thanks

  26. This looks amazing. Can I sub almond flour to make this gluten free and maybe appropriate for a Passover dessert? 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

  27. Quick question: recipe lists one egg but instructions says, “add eggs”.  Could you please clarify. Thank you so much!

    • 1 egg is correct. The original recipe this was adapted from used 2 eggs since it was a 2-layer cake.

    • Thank you for getting back to me so quickly about the egg question!  I just came back to say this was by far hands down the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made AND eaten.  No exaggeration.  The best!  And, it couldn’t be easier.  Amazing 👏🏻 

  28. I am a chocolate lover and can’t wait to get to the grocery store and get all the ingredients for this amazing cake, thanks for sharing, yummy.

  29. Rating: 5

    WOW! I made this cake for my birthday this week, and it was phenomenal! The addition of the black cocoa  (and coffee) is perfect. The cake is not overly sweet and the frosting is so much better than any buttercream version. This will be my new go-to chocolate cake moving forward.

  30. How many eggs are in the cake? I don’t see them listed in the ingredients.

  31. I only made the frosting, but my oh my this frosting is just amazing. My new all time favorite hands down and I’m a shameless particular foodie, chocoholic, frosting freak. Gonna go in my family heirloom recipe book today. 

  32. Delicious and super easy! I didn’t have any black cocoa and used all Hershey special dark, still turned out nearly as black as the pictures. Now I’m wanting another slice…

  33. I going to try this for church on Sunday but I only the light cocoa and hope it turns out. Looks so good and moist and I will use water not coffee since I drink it. Don’t like the taste of the with coffee in it cuz someone brought it into work and I could tell the there was a taste I didn’t like

  34. this is really striking, and I’m not even a chocolate-chocolate person but with the addition of sour cream to cut the potential chocolate overload in this cake, I’m in!

  35. I am going against the grain right now, as rarely do I post anything before having made the recipe. I loved reading all of the moistness descriptives! I would like to ask however, if you do recommend the 1/3 by weight of the Black Cocoa for a better result. I have some, but have yet to try it. I’ve heard that it can make for a dryer cake, so this is why I am asking, and why I’ve never taken the plunge.

    • That’s exactly why I don’t recommend using ALL black cocoa. But a few tablespoons (I think I used 15g out of 45g total cocoa) will give you a gorgeous dark color and won’t conversely affect the moisture level. :)

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