Dave’s Easiest Yummy Sour Cream Chocolate Cake and Cupcakes – So Easy and So Good!

Dave wanted to make something yummy for his pilates class to help the instructor celebrate her birthday.  Of course that meant he had to make something for us to eat (or watch me waste away for lack of chocolate).  This is his favorite, sure-fire hit chocolate cake that is incredibly easy.  This time he made two batches,  one baked in a large round pan and one turned into cupcakes.

Dave’s Chocolate Sour Cream Cake and Cupcakes

He had never made this into cupcakes before but they worked great. Those cupcake pans are old, either mine from when we got married 40 years ago, or my Mom’s from the late 1940s. They are metal and sized for regular cupcake papers.  I had to test them of course.

Yes, They Were Good! Dave’s Chocolate Cupcakes in Mom’s Vintage Cupcake Pan

I didn’t see anything quite like these on Amazon but I bet this set would be a very good substitute. They are heavy commercial grade with a silicone coating for easier clean up. According to the Amazon listing USA Pans 12 Cup Cupcake/Muffin Pan, Aluminized Steel with Americoat are made in the US, always a nice find.

Here is the recipe for the cupcakes.  You can use regular sour cream but the reduced fat gives the illusion this is low calorie.  Don’t use fat-free as it won’t bake or taste right.  Melt the chocolate before you start then let cool.  This recipe needs the dark, bitter baking chocolate, not the semi-sweet or German chocolate.  You can melt the chocolate in the microwave; just take the squares out of the wrapper, put in a cup and microwave for about 30 seconds.  Check it but you’ll probably have to run a little longer to get everything melted.  This gets HOT so be careful!

Sift together:

2 cups regular flour, sift before you measure.
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

After you sift the dry ingredients together, put in a bowl along with:

1 cup water, room temperature
3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces melted, unsweetened (bitter) baking chocolate.

Beat everything together on low speed in an electric mixer for 30 seconds.  Scrape the bowl constantly.  Then turn the speed up and beat on high for 3 minutes.  Dave has two mixers, a Kitchen-Aid type with a stationary bowl and a Sunbeam Mixmaster with a bowl that rotates.  He uses the Mixmaster for cakes as they turn out much more tender and better.  (We got ours at an estate sale and it’s avocado green!)

Pour into the pans.  Dave lined the cupcake tins with paper cupcake cups then he doesn’t have to grease them.

Bake the cupcakes at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.  He started checking these after 12 minutes but they were nowhere near done that soon.  This made 24 large cupcakes.  They were delicious!