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Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting & Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

Sky High Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ cups sugar
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder preferably Dutch process
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • Peanut Butter Frosting follows
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze follows
  • ½-1 cup chopped peanut brittle or nuts for decoration (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans or two nine inch pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
  2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.
  3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, wrap layers in plastic wrap and place in freezer until ready to frost, at least one hour.To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top or bottom of cake with chopped peanut brittle or nuts.

Recipe Notes

-I made this cake into a two layer cake. It baked up perfectly in two 9 inch layer pans. My pans are bakery standard, with 2 inch sides.
-Make sure to freeze the cake before frosting. It will make the cake easier to handle and frost.
-The original recipe called for 1 ½ cups water, I reduced it to 1 ¼ because of our altitude (4,500 ft) I did not make any other adjustments.
-See the coating of nuts at the bottom of the cake? I strategically placed the nuts there, to hide the fact that the cake was not entirely even on the bottom.