Chocolate sour cream cake

You need liquid sour cream (15% fat) to achieve the desired consistency of the dough. Mix and sift the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the sugar, and beat until smooth and light. I used a whisk, but you can also use a mixer.

Add sour cream to the egg mixture and beat again until smooth.

Next, add the sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder). Mix everything until you have a smooth, lump-free dough. The consistency of the dough is that of a regular sponge cake.

Pour the batter into a parchment-lined baking pan. You can bake two sponge cakes in springform pans and then cut them horizontally into four layers. Or you can do it like I do: pour the batter into a large baking sheet, bake a thin sponge cake (like a Swiss roll), and then cut out four layers of equal thickness. This way, there will inevitably be some scraps, so the choice is yours!

Bake the sponge cake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until it's fully cooked (a skewer inserted into the pan comes out clean). Remove the sponge cake from the baking sheet and let it cool until warm.

While the sponge cake is baking and cooling, prepare the sour cream. Mix the sour cream and sugar together and refrigerate the bowl while the sponge cake bakes and cools. During this time, remove the cream from the refrigerator several times and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Cut the slightly cooled sponge cake into layers.

Immediately spread them with sour cream (about 1 tablespoon of cream per layer). Leave the layers on the board until completely cooled. This will allow the layers to soak in, reducing the soaking time of the assembled cake. The layers are porous and absorb cream well. I repeated this process twice while the layers were cooling.

Once the layers have cooled completely, assemble the cake. To do this, spread a final, generous layer of cream on each layer, stacking them on top of each other without pressing down. It's important to remember that the assembled sour cream cake will be covered with chocolate icing, so don't generously coat the layer that will eventually become the top layer with sour cream, otherwise the icing will slide off!

Brush a small amount of frosting over the sides to smooth out the surface for the icing. You can hold the cake in place while it sets by piercing it vertically with a few skewers. This will keep the cake level and prevent the layers from sliding down the frosting. Refrigerate the cake while you prepare the chocolate icing.

For the glaze, combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then let the glaze cool at room temperature. Keep in mind that the longer the glaze cools, the thicker it becomes. Therefore, let the glaze cool to a consistency that's comfortable to spread on the cake. Spread the glaze over the cake and return the pan to the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to allow the glaze to set completely.

The delicate chocolate sour cream cake is ready. Enjoy your tea!