Cakes are the best mood lifter. We really can’t help but feel happy every time we see, smell, or eat them. And that is why many people spend hours in the kitchen baking cake for their loved ones, to see bright smiles on their faces.
Now, developing the perfect cake recipe can be hard. There are many components that go into the cake and create perfection. There is a whole science that goes behind baking the cake. Sour creams are often used while making different types of desserts, and something we are going to be trying out here is sour cream in the cake mix.
Trust me, the idea is not absurd in anyways. Many bakers add it to their cakes to make it better.
What Is Sour Cream and What Is It Usually Used for?
Before we get into the reasons why we might want to use sour creams in our cake mix. I want to talk a little bit about what it is and what we tend to use it for on a more regular basis. There are some of us who might be unfamiliar with the terminology and have never used or had it before.
I’m guessing the name may have let you in on what this might be; it is sour cream, meaning a kind of cream which is sour to taste. This type of cream is made from milk, of course, but a bacteria that produces lactic acid is added to create the unique flavor of the cream.
As the bacteria cultures in the milk for some time, the milk forms the thick and creamy consistency. And this is also when the sour taste of the cream is developed.
If you have the right ingredients and the right temperature for culturing, then you too will be able to make sour cream at home. You can do a number of things with the cream, and it goes well with many different dishes, along with your cake mix.
Even though you will mostly see that it is used for savory dishes and is commonly used as topping for soups, chilis, and stews. Sour cream is also very common in Mexican cuisine, where this is used to make dips for nachos and tacos. Its addition to the cake is a bit of a twist.
Sour Cream in Cake Mix | Why You Must Try This
There are a number of reasons why some people like using sour cream in their cake mix rather than using regular milk. And there are many people who substitute milk for buttermilk as well. People see some differences in the final result when they add the sour cream to the mix, that is why many swear by it and forgo milk from their recipe.
Adds Richness to the Cake
The cake itself is very hearty. But many of us tend to like it when our cake is rich in flavors, and the best way to enhance flavors in our cake is by adding in sour cream. Regular milk lacks the amount of acidity that is present in sour cream. Therefore, it is unable to develop the flavors in the cake, as well as more acidic substitutes are able to.
And the acid makes all the ingredients combine well together. That is why you are able to get a rich cake when you use sour cream or buttermilk. Both have more acid content than milk. Also, the fat in the sour cream adds a lot of richness that the other ingredients do not bring.
Makes Chocolate Cake More Moist and Fudgy
When we think of chocolate cakes, we think of moist and fudgy slices of goodness. The image can be brought to reality by using a very simple ingredient—sour cream. Most people might not be able to associate the relation between the two. But I have seen that my cakes are usually moister whenever I bake using sour cream.
There are many people who like their cakes, light and airy, but I am not one of those people. Especially when it comes to chocolate cakes, the moister it is, the better the whole taste is going to be. Trust me.
The Baking Soda Is Activated
It’s not like the baking soda in the cake will not be activated if you don’t add sour cream or if you just use regular milk. However, with the inclusion of sour cream, you will most defiantly see a difference in the volume of the cake. You can even skip out of using baking powder if you use sour cream.
I would say that the acid in the sour cream does most of the work here. The acid reacts with the baking soda, which helps it to get activated. You will see that your cake will rise significantly if you do decide to use the ingredient in question in your cake recipe.
Makes the Cake Thick
The consistency of the ingredients you add to the cake will have an effect on the end products. If you have a runny batter, then your cake will not be as moist. The thicker your batter is, the thicker and heavier your cake is going to end up being. Milk is one of the ingredients which makes the batter runny.
So if you want a moist, thick, and heavy cake, then you need to substitute the milk out for something which is less liquid. In other words, you should change it out for sour milk. It is going to act in the same way as the milk, enhance the flavors, and on top of that, it will also make the batter thicker.
If that isn’t some sort of making in the world of cake baking, then I don’t know what is.
Slows down Browning of the Outside
Many times we pull out cakes that look overdone on the outside while they are still not properly cooked on the inside. This happens because the outside cooks faster than the inside. Now that is a bit of a problem if you plan to present it to someone or are planning to start selling cakes.
The ingredients you add to the cake will have an impact on how brown your cake is going to be and how it is going to cook while it is the oven. Adding sour cream to your cake mix will help you reduce the amount of browning on the cake significantly and make sure your cake cooks all the way properly.
These are the five reasons why you would want to replace milk in your cake recipe out for sour cream. However, there are times you might not have it in hand or in your pantry, don’t worry about it. As you know, milk works great with cakes as well, so you won’t be messing things up with the milk instead of sour cream.
How to Bake a Cake with Sour Cream
I am going to help you out a little bit and give you a few pointers on how you can use the sour cream in your cake mix to bake perfect cakes.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar (white or brown)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 3 eggs
- 2 sticks of butter (around 250g)
- 1 tbs baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250g sour cream
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
Follow the instructions below to bake the perfect cake:
Step 1: Activate Rising Agent
The first thing you want to do is help the baking powder activate. To do that, you are going to mix the sour cream with the baking powder with a whisk or mixer. Let it rest got 10-15 minutes. That should be enough time for the soda to activate with the help of the acid.
Step 2: Mix Batter
While that rests, take a separate bowl and cream the softened butter with the sugar. Once they have creamed well together, you can now add the three eggs one after the other. After adding each egg, give it a good mix before cracking another one in.
Add the vanilla and the sour cream mixture in with the egg mixture. Make sure you have the lowest setting on as you want to avoid too much mess in your workspace.
Now, you can sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into the wet mixture. When you go to mix the flour in, try avoiding the mixer as over mixing the flour usually leads to the development of gluten in the cake, that is what makes the cake vert tough.
Step 3: Bake the Cake
Pour the batter into a greased pan and pop it in a preheated oven for 45 minutes at 360 degrees. To check whether the cake is done or not, poke a toothpick in. If it seems clean, then you are ready to take it out.
Before you start decorating, let the cake cool down on the cooling rack first.
Final Words
As you can see, adding sour cream to your cake is not hard at all. You just need the right amount and the right timing. If you have any more questions about sour cream in the cake mix, then feel free to ask me!