Sour Cream Fudge Layer Cake with Chocolate Rum Frosting

This is absolutely the best chocolate cake that I have ever tasted! It's from a recipe in Recipezaar (one of my favorite sites), is quite easy to make and has a nice soft but firm crumb. Big extra plus - you can taste the rum in it!

This cake went to a dinner given by a good friend of mine, Joanne, and is photographed on her dining room table. It was served after a delicious entree of sauteed turkey wings with tasty rice and vegetables, cooked in the Rachel Ray large saute pan. The wine was Trapichihe Broquel Carvernet Sauvignon and it went exceedingly well with the turkey wings and the chocolate cake.

Now that I have this recipe it's going to be a keeper. My last chocolate cake was of the cloud cake species and it fluffed all over the place. This one is just right.

Here's the recipe:
Sour Cream Fudge Layer Cake with Chocolate Rum Frosting (Recipezaar #191214)

Cake
2/3 cup strong coffee
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup dark rum or Kahlua
1 cup regular sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
frosting
2 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons dark rum or Kahlua
1-2 tablespoon sour cream or milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Two 9 inch round pans; line bottoms with parchment paper. Butter pans well and dust with cocoa powder; shake out excess.

CAKE.
Combine coffee with chocolate in large glass bowl and microwave on high 1-2 min until very hot and chocolate has melted.
Whisk in rum until smooth.
Cool to room temperature.
Place sour cream in smaller bowl and add soda and salt, stir.
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Beat in chocolate mixture until smooth.
Beat in 1/2 flour, 1/2 sour cream; repeat. Make a smooth batter.
Spread evenly in prepared pans.
Bake on middle rack for 35-40 minutes or until cake feels firm in the centre and the edges begin to pull away from the sides.
Cool on racks for 5 minutes, turn out onto wire racks to cool.
Cakes can be plastic wrapped and frozen for 1 month at this stage or continue on with frosting.

FROSTING.
Sift sugar and cocoa into a large bowl.
Beat in butter and rum, start at low speed, until smooth.
Beat in enough milk or sour cream to make a spreadable frosting.
Frost top of one cake, then top with other cake. Frost sides and then the top of the cake. Decorate with chocolate curls or raspberries or eat it just as it is!

Enjoy!