I found myself with a whole carton of sour milk in my refrigerator the other day. I have been using it up as much as possible. I made biscuits with it and a few other bits and bobs, and then today I decided to make this chocolate cake.
It is snowing like the blazes out there today. I think this is the most I have seen it snow since I moved back here, but I may deluding myself. It is the first major storm of the year.
What better to do on a day like today than to stay home, warm inside, and bake. I have noticed a few hardy souls out and about driving, but not me.
I am sticking to my four walls and doing what I love best. Warm and content with the smell of chocolate cake wafting through the air. What more could you ask for!
It doesn't get much better than this. This is a cake I adapted from a recipe I found in a baking book by Yossi Arefi entitled Snacking Cakes.
The original recipe used buttermilk and had a fudgy chocolate frosting. I decided there was not much difference between sour milk and buttermilk and so took the chance of having it work out. Happily it worked beautifully!
I also decided to make a French Vanilla Buttercream Frosting to top it off with rather than the chocolate frosting. I felt the chocolate might be a too rich for my taste. I know. Me <= crazy.
White frosting also sets off chocolate things much better in photographs as well, so there is a method to my madness. I also happen to really like vanilla frosting. My cake. My rules, although I will certainly share the chocolate frosting with anyone who asks.
As you can see the cake rose beautifully. It is dense and fudgy, incredibly moist and boasts a rich chocolate flavor.
Feel free to use buttermilk instead of the sour milk in this recipe. Both will work wonderfully, or you can sour your own milk by adding 1 TBS of lemon juice or white vinegar to a cup measure and adding the milk to fill it. Set aside for five minutes in order for the milk to clabber.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE FUDGY SOUR MILK CHOCOLATE CAKE
Simple household ingredients. Nothing special here.
For the cake:
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) sour milk (or buttermilk)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) canola oil
- 1/4 cup (55g) butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (I only use pure)
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (70g) sifted unsweetened cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate)
- 1 cup (140g) all purpose plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup (60ml) hot coffee or water
Yossi specified Dutch cocoa powder. I only have regular cocoa powder.
For the frosting:
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
- 1/4 cup (55g) butter, at room temperature
- 1 TBS milk, or more as needed
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (you can use vanilla extract)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- pinch salt
I also chose to decorate my cake with some sweet cake sprinkles. I chose a wintery looking mix of white stars and silver balls, white chocolate balls, and white shot.
I get my sprinkles from Sweetpolita. They have the nicest cake and cupcake decorations! They haven't asked me to tell you, I just like to share the things I use and like with my readers because I think you would like them too! They are just really nice.
HOW TO MAKE FUDGY SOUR MILK CHOCOLATE CAKE
I love making these snack cakes. They beat up all together in one bowl easily and then bake in one square pan. They are the perfect sized cake for a small family.
You begin by preheating the oven to 350*F/ 180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking tin. Line with baking paper leaving an overhang on two sides. (I just use one long strip. It doesn't matter if two sides are not covered.) Set aside. 
Beat the sugar and eggs together in a bowl until very light and foamy. (It will look like it is thickening) Beat in the sour milk, oil, melted butter, vanilla and salt until thoroughly emulsified. Whisk in the cocoa powder. Sift the flour, soda, and baking powder together. Whisk into the batter until well combined and smooth. Stir in the hot coffee/water.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and tap the bottom on the counter a few times to level it off and release any large air bubbles.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes. It is done when well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top should also spring back when lightly touched.
Set on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before lifting out of the pan and onto the rack to cool completely. Leaving it to cool in the pan for those fifteen minutes helps to increase the density and fudginess of this lush cake. Trust me on this!
To make the frosting, measure all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat together with an electric hand mixer until you have a smooth, light and fluffy icing. It should be fluffy and not runny in the least. If you think yours is not fluffy enough, beat in additional icing sugar one heaped dessertspoonful at a time until you get the proper consistency.
Spoon onto the top of the cake and spread over in swoops and swirls. I sprinkled the cake sprinkles on top as soon as I finished frosting it so that they would stick nicely.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container. I have an old cookie tin that works beautifully.
I wish my camera would take photographs that did this cake complete justice so that you could see how really dense and fudgy this cake is. You will simply have to take my word for it.
I wish I had someone here to share this with, but alas I do not. I guess I will just have to take some over to my next door neighbor Sheila after bit when the snow slows down, if it slows down. It wouldn't hurt to check on her and see how she is doing in this stormy weather or see if she needs anything anyways!
That's what being a good neighbor is all about!
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