Brining 101

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

Ingredients

2 cup all-purpose flour
1 [3.4] oz chocolate fudge instant pudding mix
¾ cup dutch process cocoa [i.e. Hershey's Special Dark]
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp pure almond extract
4 large eggs
8 oz sour cream
Glaze:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
⅓ cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp dark corn syrup
¼ tsp pure almond extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spritz a 9 x 5 x 4 inch loaf pan with baking spray or butter and flour. Sift together the flour, pudding mix, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with the vanilla and almond extracts.
3. Beat for 3 minutes until creamy and light beige in color. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
4. Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream. Beat on medium speed until combined.
5. After all of the ingredients are added, increase the mixer speed and beat just until fully combined. The batter will be stiff.
6. Spread evenly into the loaf pan. Bounce on the counter a couple of times to settle the batter in the pan.
7. Move the oven rack to the bottom ⅓ of the oven. Bake for 1 hour 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes back with moist crumbs.
8. Cool completely. Wrap tightly and store overnight. [The flavor of the cake intensifies after resting]
9. To make the glaze, melt the milk chocolate chips and heavy cream in the microwave on 50% power stopping to stir every 20 seconds. Repeat until smooth, then mix in the corn syrup and almond extract. Drizzle over the cooled cake.