I made this cake for Jim and his twin brother for what we have now officially dubbed Cake Break: an afternoon snack time for cake. It’s my go-to chocolate cake recipe because it’s fast—just one bowl, and requires zero putzing with folding in whipped egg whites and similar nonsense. (Who has time for that?? Can you imagine the number of dishes afterwards…?) This cake can be frosted with chocolate frosting or dusted with powdered sugar. It’s honestly good enough to eat without any flourishing. Definitely grab some ice-cold milk, though!
It is very fudgy and moist. In the picture above, I used a chocolate whipped cream filling that tasted a bit like chocolate mousse!
Ingredients
1 ¾ cup self-rising flour*
2 cups sugar
¾ cup Dutch process cocoa
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup hot water or coffee
*If you only have all-purpose flour, just add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp baking soda to 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour.
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients with a whisk, getting rid of any lumps.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Continue mixing with whisk until just combined.
4. Slowly pour in hot water or coffee and finish mixing. Batter will be thin.
5. Distribute batter evenly between two 9” round baking pans lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before decorating.