This ultra dark chocolate cake is made with sour cream for extra moisture, plus a combination of Dutch process and black cocoa powder for a deep chocolate color and hauntingly rich flavor.

The glossy chocolate frosting is a revelation: deep and rich without being overly sweet. It’s the perfect finish for this stunningly simple, single layer chocolate cake that’s as impressive as it is easy (no mixer required!)

Around here, it’s a standing rule that your birthday lasts as long as the cake does.

This year Taylor had a longer birthday than most, thrice as long in fact, since that’s how many tries it took me to get this cake right.

Let’s just say he’s been enjoying every single bite of it.

There’s no shortage of chocolate cake recipes on this site, but this one just might be the darkest and the moistest one yet, thanks to the addition of sour cream and a portion of black cocoa powder for an extra-dark color and flavor.

Not to mention it’s ridiculously simple: a single layer sensation that requires only one bowl (and a glass measuring cup) for the cake, and one small saucepan for the frosting. Seriously, no electric mixer necessary!

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