Sour Cream Devil's Food Cake recipe from 1900

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This 126-year-old Devil’s Food Cake recipe is unique in that is does not use any butter, oil or milk. Instead it uses sour cream. The result is a rich, fudgy, and moist three-layer cake that is a huge winner! (And easy to make.)

The recipe appeared in ‘What’s Cookin’’ “A collection of favourite menus complete with recipes from hostesses of the Santa Ynez Valley, California” complied by Ruth Gordon and published in 1900*. The recipe was written by Mrs. Joe Giorgi.





INGREDIENTS


Cake:

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (300g)
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa (38g)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups sugar (400g)
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups sour cream (480g)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Buttercream:

  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (340g)
  • 3 ½ cups powdered sugar (435g), divided
  • 1 cup cocoa (100g)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons heavy cream, divided

Note: All ingredients should be at room temperature unless otherwise stated.


Method:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C
  • Grease three 8-inch layer pans

  1. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Mix well.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs light.
  3. Whisk sour cream and vanilla into the beaten eggs until well combined.
  4. Add egg/sour cream mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure there are no unincorporated bits of flour.
  5. Divide batter evenly between three 8-inch layer cake pans.
  6. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F/175°C for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes away clean.
  7. Allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes before fully cooling on cake racks.
  8. Once the cake layers have fully cooled, ice as you like with your preferred frosting.

I used the following chocolate buttercream recipe:


Chocolate Buttercream:

  1. Cream the butter.
  2. Add 2 cups (250g) of powdered sugar, the cocoa, vanilla, salt and 4 tablespoons of cream. Mix until a frosting forms.
  3. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl until well mixed.
  4. Add the remaining powdered sugar (1 ½ cups/185g) and 2 more tablespoons of cream (if needed).
  5. Mix until smooth and spreadable.
  6. Adjust to taste and texture with more icing sugar and cream if needed.

Frost your cake. Cut, serve, and enjoy! :)


Notes: 

- This recipe can also be made as a 16x9 rectangular cake. A ⅔ recipe of the chocolate buttercream should be enough for a sheet cake.


Final verdict: This turned out to be an amazing cake. One of my favourite old recipes so far. 9/10!


Original recipe clipping:



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