Good Bite says: We may be all for convenience and simplicity at Good Bite, but we have a special place in our stomachs for food made with love. We feel wrong opening a package of prefab baked goods and welcoming them into our homes. We like to add a personalized touch to this part of the meal by constructing cookies, cakes and muffins with flour, sugar, butter and eggs from our own pantries. That's why we love this easy, from-scratch recipe for Vanilla Cake with Sour Cream-Chocolate Frosting brought to us by Deb. The uniquely delicious frosting trumps its store bought counterparts, and we're almost certain your partner, brother, mom or son might feel a little more loved when they cut into this fluffy yellow birthday cake.

Ingredients

• Deb’s Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting, Adapted from The Dessert Bible Cookbook
• 15 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/4 tsp. instant espresso (optional, but can be used to pick up the flavor of average chocolate)
• 2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• Confetti Sprinkles, for garnish (optional)
• 
  
• Cake
• 4 cups plus 2 Tbs. cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Directions

Step 1
Combine chocolate and espresso powder (if using), in top of double-boiler, or in heatproof bowl, over simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted. (Alternately, you can melt chocolate in microwave for 30 seconds, stirring well, then heating in 15 second increments, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted.) Remove from heat, and let chocolate cool until tepid.

Whisk together sour cream, corn syrup and vanilla extract, until combined. Add tepid chocolate slowly, and stir quickly, until mixture is uniform. If needed (for sweetness), add additional corn syrup in one Tbs. increments, until desired sweetness is achieved.

Let cool in refrigerator, until frosting is spreadable consistency, no more than 30 minutes. Should frosting become too thick or stiff, leave until softened again.

Step 2
In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer, at medium speed, until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden, and wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack, 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely, about 1 hour.

Step 3
Frost cake and garnish with sprinkles.

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