Chocolate Coffee Cake with Sour Cream Topping

This moist chocolate cake of Czech origin, marbled with pudding cream and topped with sour cream, is sure to delight anyone who tries it. It is perfect for parties, birthdays, or any time you want an easy homemade treat.

Course Sweet Pastry

Cuisine Czech

Keyword Coffee cakes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings slices

Calories 357kcal

Author Petra Kupská

Equipment

Baking pan 9x13 inches

Ingredients

Sponge cake-like base:

3 eggs at room temperature
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder unsweetened
½ cup milk at room temperature or lukewarm
½ cup vegetable oil (canola or sunflower oil)

Cooked chocolate pudding:

2 packages Dr. Oetker chocolate pudding powder
3 cups milk
4 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Sour cream topping:

1 ⅔ cups sour cream 15-20 % fat
3 Teaspoons powdered sugar

Misc:

1 Tablespoon solid fat butter, shortening: for greasing a pan
2 Tablespoons fine breadcrumbs or all-purpose flour to dust a pan

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Grease a baking pan with 1 Tablespoon solid fat, then dust it with 2 Tablespoons fine breadcrumbs or all-purpose flour. Turn the pan onto a work surface and gently tap to remove any excess flour.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder, and 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder.
In a mixing bowl, use an electric handheld mixer to whisk 3 eggs on medium speed, gradually adding 1 ½ cups powdered sugar until a foamy mixture forms. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed and continue whisking. Be patient—after about 5 minutes, you will achieve a light and fluffy foam.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the prepared flour mixture, ½ cup milk, and ½ cup vegetable oil to the beaten eggs. Mix until everything is combined into a semi-liquid, light brown sponge cake batter.
Pour the batter onto the prepared baking pan and smooth the surface.
Cook chocolate pudding according to the manufacturer's instructions. I prepare pudding by gently heating 3 cups milk, whisking in 2 packages Dr. Oetker chocolate pudding powder and 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar, and bringing it to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.
Pour the hot pudding in a zigzag pattern over the batter, leaving some gaps so the underlying batter is visible. Avoid covering the surface uniformly.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F (lower and upper heating). Put the cake in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The cake will puff up as it bakes.
While the cake is baking, prepare the final layer by whisking 1 ⅔ cups sour cream with 3 Teaspoons powdered sugar. Once the cake is out of the oven, immediately pour the sour cream mixture on top and smooth the surface with a spoon or an offset spatula. The heat will thin the sour cream, allowing it to spread evenly over the entire surface.
Let the cake cool at room temperature. Then, place it in the fridge, best overnight. This will allow the sour cream to firm up, ensuring it won't run when slicing the cake.

Notes

The basic recipe makes 12 slices.
Size of the baking pan I used: 9x13 inches
SERVING: Cut the chilled cake into 4x4 inch (10x10 cm) slices and serve on a dessert plate with a cup of coffee for breakfast or at family gatherings. This cake is also perfect for parties or birthdays.
For an excellent presentation and to enhance the flavor, lightly dust the cake with ground cinnamon or cocoa powder when serving.
STORAGE: Because the cake contains a layer of fresh sour cream, store leftovers in the refrigerator, where they will keep for up to five days.
Experiment with the contrast of the layers: omit the cocoa powder from the batter for a blond-style cake, or use vanilla pudding and pour it over cocoa-infused batter.

Nutrition