Sour Cream Chocolate Cake....

....which also has sour cream chocolate icing. This is a cake from Nigella's Domestic Goddess, and I've made it a couple of times before with great success. It's actually two 8" rounds with the frosting in between as well as on the top and sides. I serve it with raspberries, which are quite magnificent at the moment.

Butter two 8-inch cake pans, and line with parchment or wax paper.

CAKE:

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
3 tablespoons best cocoa
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

ICING:

3oz milk chocolate
3oz bittersweet chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 cups confections’ sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon hot water

Pre heat the oven to 350F.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Then using and electric mixer, add the butter. In a wide-mouthed measuring cup, whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, eggs and vanilla, then slowly add this cocoa mixture to the ingredients in the bowl, beating until thoroughly mixed.

Pour the batter in the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes; when they’re ready the cakes should be starting to shrink back form the edges of the tins. Leave for 10 minutes n their pans on racks, then turn out to cool.

To make the icing, melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave, or in a bowl over hot water. Let cool a little, then stir in the sour cream, vanilla, and syrup. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and a little hot water, blending until smooth. When you’ve got the texture right – thick enough to cover but supple enough to spread, adding more sugar or water as required – you can ice the cakes.

Cut four strips of baking parchment and make and outline of a square with them on a flat plate. Sit one layer on top of the paper pieces, spread with icing, sit the second layer on top and used the rest of the icing to cover the top and sides.