Necessity is often the greatest spur to invention.
Some of the best ideas come when you don’t have all the facts.
When you’re forced to adapt, you learn quickly. That’s how many of my meals are born. My avocados have gone nearly black and the cilantro stems in the crisper are limp. I need to use avocado and cilantro—this obviously points to something Mexican. But I don’t have tortillas. Are homemade tortillas hard to make? I tried, and it turned out to be surprisingly simple. I learned to make them because I had to. Now taco night is a weekly ritual—serious and delicious. My milk was nearly gone and expiring tomorrow, so I made ricotta from 126 ml of the 2 L bottle. Two ingredients, ten minutes—I’ll show you how another time.
Sour cream is always in my fridge, and I can never seem to finish a tub. Maybe I need to make more nachos. Fortunately, sour cream is a wonderful baking ingredient: it works beautifully in cakes, brownies, muffins, and scones. It keeps baked goods tender and adds a subtle tang.
I’m a particular fan of sour cream in chocolate desserts. I use it in almost every chocolate cake recipe. That slight tang balances cocoa’s bitterness and gives the final dessert a rounded flavor I love.
This recipe sits somewhere between a brownie and a cake. Sour cream does several things: it keeps the cake exceptionally moist, produces a silky, light texture rather than a dense chew, and softens the chocolate’s bitterness for a classic, well-balanced chocolate taste. Use the best dark chocolate you can find—aim for at least 64% cocoa solids.
Don’t overbake this truffle-like chocolate cake, but don’t underbake it either. Raw, gooey centers belong to brownies, and a fully dry, crumbly result belongs to cakier desserts. The ideal texture is in between: the edges should puff slightly while the center remains a touch soft. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out mostly clean with a few sticky crumbs attached.
Serve this with a raspberry coulis, fresh berries, or a spoonful of custard for a memorable dessert.
The cake benefits from a short chill—refrigerating for a couple of hours makes the texture even silkier. It also holds up well if you want to make it ahead of time.
Sour Cream Truffle Cake
Makes one 8×8-inch cake
Ingredients:
150 g (5 1/4 oz) dark chocolate (about 64% cocoa)
¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Heaped ¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (118 ml) full-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
⅔ cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
Cocoa powder for dusting
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Melt the chocolate and butter together—either briefly in the microwave in short bursts, or in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water—stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and salt vigorously until the mixture is pale and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla, then fold in the chocolate-butter mixture until combined. Sprinkle the flour over the batter and whisk or fold it in just until blended; avoid overmixing.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for up to 25 minutes. The edges should puff and set while the center remains a little soft; a skewer inserted into the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs attached.
Remove the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. For an extra silky texture, refrigerate the cake for 2 hours before serving. Sift cocoa powder over the top and serve.