Try this Chocolate Craving Cake recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup boiling water (i used coffee)
- Carbohydrate 214.393975131229 g
- Cholesterol 653.790000023465 mg
- Fat 249.313760065037 g
- Fiber 16.2250003972495 g
- Protein 42.227360019152 g
- Saturated Fat 132.100831261057 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (898g)
- Sodium 59856.5441604806 mg
- Sugar 198.168974733979 g
- Trans Fat 16.5033322517081 g
- Calories 3230 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with parchment paper and spray sides and bottom. If using a metal baking pan, heat oven to 325.
- Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl of stand mixer.
- Add in egg, milk, oil, and vanilla and mix on low until incorporated. When mixed in increase speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.
- Add in boiling water and gently stir- batter will be very thin.
- Pour batter into prepared dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick is removed clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then continue cooling on a rack until room temperature.
- While cake is cooling, make the frosting.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips in the microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each heating, until they are fully melted.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla and stir by hand until frosting is well combined and fluffier.
- Spread over cooled cake.
Bakers frequently add cold dairy directly to room temperature batter, which seizes fats and creates a dense crumb. Incorporating sour cream and whole milk requires tempering them slightly on the counter to ensure proper emulsion with the vegetable oil and egg. When substituting regular milk with a plant-based alternative, higher fat content milks like full-fat oat work better than almond milk because they maintain the structural integrity provided by dairy proteins. Cocoa powder absorbs significant liquid, which explains why the recipe relies on boiling water or hot coffee at the final mixing stage. Pouring boiling liquid over the dry ingredients blooms the cocoa solids and dissolves the sugar granules instantly. The resulting batter will appear exceptionally fluid, yet this high moisture level prevents the flour proteins from developing too much gluten, yielding a tender texture. Glass and ceramic baking dishes retain heat differently than metal pans, necessitating a temperature reduction to 325 degrees Fahrenheit if abandoning glass to prevent the edges from burning before the center sets. Overbeating the batter after adding the flour activates excess gluten formation, resulting in a rubbery chew rather than a light crumb. Cool the baked layers completely before applying the melted chocolate chip and sour cream frosting, or residual heat will melt the dairy emulsion and cause the topping to slide off the surface.
