My Favorite Birthday Cake

I like birthday cake this should not be too much a surprise that I may like birthday cake. After my many posts on cookies. I like many cakes and eat cake as often as it comes my way. In the end my favorite is chocolate angle food with chocolate sour cream frosting.

This is a specialty of my mother and today because it is a day we will be celebrating my birthday (along with others) I am going to make it. I have mad the cake it’s self a few times the frosting is not something I make often. I don’t know if I ever have. I am glad that I have been collecting her recipes. (EDIT: 1/4/10 My Mother has reminded me that she was given the recipe by my grandmother as it is my father's favorite birthday cake as well. 1/4 is also his birthday)

Here is the recipe:

Cake:
Buy a box of angel food cake mix......yes a cheater recipe.......add 1/4 cup of sifted cocoa to the flour mixture make as directed on package.

Chocolate sour cream frosting:

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup soft butter or margarine
2 tsp Vanilla
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cocoa

Beat all ingredients together and spread on cake or cup cakes.

As I made this I remembered a few things about making it.
I don’t like using my stand mixer to make the cake as with a water only addition to the mix it just doesn’t grab the flour mixture on the sides well. I didn’t have much of a choice today as my metal bowl belong to the stand mixer and the glass bowl was in the bottom of the sink.

The cake should be dry looking on top to be done. The whole cracks on top is a good indicator  but I have found that my cakes crack long before they are done they should not jiggle like jello and you really know if it is not done and you drop it and the top slides off.
One should always use a wine bottle to help it cool. The usual instruction say upside down. My pan does not fit upside down so I always do it right side up.

The colder the cake the better it frosts a benefit of living in Wisconsin in the winter. Zero and sub-zero temperatures work wonders on chilling things down. It sat in the front porch like this with another laundry basket on top to protect from stray critters. While I made the frosting.


It frosted well and tastes great. It may not be the prettiest cake but it is my favorite.