The best of both worlds- vanilla and chocolate mixed together! This cake is moist, flavorful, and beautiful inside and out.
Ingredients
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray.
- In a small microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until melted. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla until well incorporated. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add the sour cream and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. Then add ½ the milk, and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate. Then add another ⅓ of the flour, followed by the last ½ of the milk. Finally, add the remaining ⅓ of the flour and mix until all ingredients are fully combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
- Remove approximately ⅓ of the batter to a medium size bowl. Add the melted chocolate and stir until no white batter streaks remain.
- Pour enough vanilla cake batter into each prepared pan so the bottom is covered. Then dollop about 6 areas of chocolate batter over the vanilla batter in each pan. Finally, top each cake pan with the remaining vanilla batter. With a butter knife or skewer, swirl the chocolate batter through the vanilla batter.
- Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done. Remove the pans from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert cakes onto baking rack until completely cool before frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a small microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until melted. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with an electric mixer, mix the butter until creamy.
- Add the cooled melted chocolate to the butter and mix thoroughly.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix until combined.
To assemble:
- Put one of the layers of cake on an 8-inch cardboard cake circle or plate and then top it with 1 cup of frosting. Repeat with the next layer.
- Cover the cake with a thin crumb coat. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to set. Then finish with the rest of the frosting. You can decorate with sprinkles if desired.
Notes
If you prefer to not use gluten free flour for the cake, you can substitute all purpose flour using the same measurement.
Sometimes I use vanilla buttercream frosting mixed with mini chocolate chips for the frosting in the middle of the two cakes. It is another layer of mixed vanilla and chocolate flavors.
