this past weekend, i had a craving for chocolate cake, but wanted something with real substance and lots of flavor.  i decided to fiddle around with the recipe for recipe for elvis’ favorite poundcake that i made a few weeks ago.  i substituted valrhona cocoa for part of the gluten free flour blend and substituted sour cream for the heavy cream in the original recipe. see recipe below:

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan

2 ¼ cups (288g) sifted Cup4Cup gluten free flour blend; sift before measuring plus additional for dusting

¾ cup good quality dark cocoa powder (I use Valrhona)

¾ teaspoon salt

3 cups sugar (superfine works best)

7 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract also works)

1 cup sour cream (the fat is essential, do not substitute low fat variety)

Special equipment: a 10-inch tube pan (4 1/2 inches deep/ with a fixed bottom) or a 10-inch bundt pan (3 1/4 inches deep/ 12 cup capacity). Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven. It is important to start this cake in a cold oven.

Method

1. Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour (or spray with a gluten free non-stick spray)

2. Sift together the pre-sifted flour (2 ¼ cups cups), cocoa powder and salt into a bowl. Repeat sifting into another bowl (the flour will have been sifted 3 times total).

3. Beat together butter (2 sticks) and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, then all of the sour cream, then remaining flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down side of bowl, and then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamy and satiny.

4. Spoon batter into pan and rap pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles. Place pan in (cold) oven and turn oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with only a few crumbs adhering, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, then invert rack over pan and invert cake onto rack to cool completely.