Hi
For those of you who use the Hersheys Chocolate Cake recipe, have you ever substituted sour cream for the milk? If so, how was the taste and texture. Did you need to adjust the water amount as well? I love the way this cake bakes and tastes but am wondering if the sour cream will make it just a bit more dense and easier to work with. When I torte it, I some times find it hard to get the layers to hold together without breaking up.
thanks

I do that all the time. I found it was just too moist and sunk in the middle with all of the moisture from a cup of water and a cup of milk. I prefer the texture when I use sour cream.

so do you sub the sour cream for the milk or water or both?

I substitute sour cream for the milk - 1 cup of sour cream

I also sub 1 cup of sour cream for the milk. I love the taste and texture.

thanks for the input. i shall try it this weekend.

hhhhmmm can anyone post the hersheys chocolate cake recipe here for me? i'd love to try it!

S.

It is on the back of the cocoa can and on their site as Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake or the alternative, Black Magic Cake.

hi bonniebakes and dah,
i love this recipe but i feel the same way as jade regarding the manageability of this cake. does the substitution (sour cream) alter the taste much or is is still similar to the original recipe.
i was also wondering if anyone tried this recipe using any other cocoa other than Hershey's.
we relocated recently and i no longer have access to Hersheys cocoa
well, i will be trying it out soon with another brand and the sour cream too!

thanks again
sulia

We don't have Hershey in the UK, at least not readily available... I use regular store coco powder and havent had a bad recipe yet. Although i do agree that it is very difficult to torte... for the next attempt i will try sour cream... hadn't even considered that as an option!

sam
xxx

hi jackie and sam
thanks so much for the response - i feel more confident now.
when i make this cake in a sheet pan, i cut it in half first and then torte each
half separately - this makes a huge difference as the smaller cakes are less likely
to collapse. after you've filled them, joined them together and iced it, you would never know
that the cake was actually in 2 pieces.

good luck
sulia

we dont have the hersheys cocoa here either. i just use what i can find in the store.

I use other cocoa, too. I actually use a mixture of cocoas.

Bonniecakes -- what mixture of cocoas do you use? I have a few varieties available to me where I live, but usually use Hershey's as it's the most readily available. I've also ordered some from King Arthur Flours. Was just curious as to what cocoas you mix together. It'd be interesting to try your mixture.

I use the Hershey's recipe all the time...just as it's written except for adding a pinch of cinnamon and teaspoon of instant coffee and it is great. I use it for tiered cakes and have had no problems with it crumbling. It's very dense. To stop it from sinking in the middle, immediately after you take it out of the oven, run a knife around the edge of your cake pan to make sure it's not sticking. Doing this while it's warm will assure you the cooling process won't cause the sinking issue. Cakes contract when they cool and if the sides are stuck to the pan only the center will fall. After they're cooled and out of the pan I wrap them in Saran Wrap and freeze them. It seems to help the density issue as well.
I love this cake! (I've also added Kahlua to it, too).

The chocolate cake recipe handed down to me is very similar to the Hershey's cake, except 1) it calls for a cup of buttermilk or sour cream instead of milk; 2) it calls for a cup of boiling water with a heaping teaspoon of instant espresso powder mixed in. (Actually, it calls for instant coffee, but I use espresso for a stronger flavor.) Come to think of it, my recipe might be an altered Hershey's recipe!

To spice things up, I've added Kahlua, Amaretto, Liquid CoffeeMate creamers (hazelnut or raspberry are amazing!), Orange Liquor (Grand Marnier, Triple Sec), Chambord, and on and on. I add these to the buttermilk/sour cream or boiling coffee, making sure the combination measures 1 cup total. Also, keep in mind that buttermilk has a stronger flavor than sour cream, so some "add ins" don't go as well with it. To be safe, just use sour cream.

Edited to add: If I'm adding a clear liquor, I usually add that to the boiling coffee; if adding CoffeeMate, Kahlua, Bailey's, etc, I usually add that to the dairy.

Thnks for the info Bonniecakes. I'll have to try that some time.

Just substituted the sour cream for milk in my Hershey's cake to make a horse cake. Made it so much easier to carve! Thanks for the suggestion!