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Sour Cream Butter Cake BoulderLocavore.com
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Sour Cream Butter Cake with Buttercream Frosting

"If you have been keeping chickens, use their eggs to make this rich, moist cake and the frosting that accompanies it" -The Modern-Day Pioneer: Simple Living in the 21st Century.
Calories
Author Toni Dash

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Cake:

  • 4 Egg Yolks
  • 2/3 cup Sour Cream , divided
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 2 cups Sifted Cake Flour (Note: to make the cake gluten-free I used King Arthur Gluten Free Flour Blend)
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature

Ingredients for the Frosting:

  • 1 ½ cups Sugar
  • ½ cup Water
  • 2 large Eggs plus 4 Egg Yolks
  • 1 pound unsalted Butter , softened to room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Instructions for the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch pan, dust it with flour, and line the bottom with waxed paper (note: I used parchment paper). In a bowl, whisk together the yolks, ¼ of the sour cream, and the vanilla. In a large, separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; which vigorously to combine.
  • Add the butter and remaining sour cream to the flour mixture, and mix well until the flour is completely moistened. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture in three separate additions, mixing between each addition. Pour into prepared cake pan.
  • Bake in the middle of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, usually about 35-40 minutes. Start checking at 25 minutes, since oven temperatures and ingredient characteristics vary, and it might be done quicker. Cool 10 minutes, then take out of the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
  • To frost, cut laterally in half and frost both sections, then stack, smooth the sides and refrigerate to set.

Instructions for the Frosting:

  • Boil the sugar and water together without stirring until slightly thick and between 234 degrees and 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer (this is called the ‘soft ball’ stage – a thin ribbon should fall with the last drops off a spoon).
  • Whisk together eggs and yolks in a double boiler or a stainless steel bowl atop a pot of simmering water. Gradually whisk in the hot sugar syrup; heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is hot to the touch, thick and ribbony.
  • Remove bowl from heat, and continue whisking until cool, about 5 minutes more.
  • In a mixer or bowl, beat the butter until it is fluffy and light.
  • Gradually beat the whipped butter into the egg mixture, adding it in tablespoonfuls. Add the vanilla, and whisk to incorporate.
  • If desired, flavor by adding melted chocolate, fruit liqueur, or espresso.
  • Cool over an ice-water bath until it reaches a comfortable consistency for spreading. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to one week.