Sour Cream Cake Batter

The last time I made a sweet treat was in the beginning of December, Maple Glazed Sour Cream Doughnut Holes. I don't make goodies that often since I mainly focus on dinner items whether that be the entree or side dish. I claim that I don't have a sweet tooth, that is, unless you set in front of me a pan of brownies then I have to strike that statement from the record. I claim that I have a salt tooth instead. Hello chips and guacamole!

Last night was a special night. It was Thursday night. What's so special about Thursday night? The only thing that made last night different from any other night was the fact that I decided to make some Sour Cream Cake Batter cupcakes after dinner.
Upon itty bitty's discovery that his mama was making cupcakes all he kept asking for were chocolate ones. He was in luck. Little did he know that was my plan all along. In the original recipe there was a variation for the Sour Cream Cake Batter that included Chocolate Red Velvet Cake Batter. Believe it or not, I have never had Red Velvet anything. That fact alone added to my excitement to be making my guys a special treat.

When the cupcakes were finally cooled enough to serve (frosting free tonight) itty bitty couldn't contain his excitement, "Cah-cake!" As he saw me walk by with his daddy's Sour Cream Cake Batter cupcake he exclaimed, "Mine cah-cake!" He just couldn't get over the fact that his mama made something he has been asking for. He's been asking for chocolate cake since I made the Chocolate Sheet Cake with a Quick Caramel Frosting  which was over two months ago. I'm sure he was thinking something more along the lines of, "It's about damn time mommy!"

Maybe make these tonight and make your Friday night (or whatever night it may be when you end up reading this) extra special for yourself and your loved ones. Who doesn't love cupcakes or as the original recipe states that this is a "Pick Your Pan" recipe and in that case who doesn't love a Bundt cake?

Sour Cream Cake Batter

MyRecipes.com and Southern Living, December 2005

Serving sizes vary depending on whichever pan you pick. Click the link above for serving sizes and cook times for the other pans. I'll be telling you about the cook times for using a muffin pan which will make 32 to 38 cupcakes.

Stars of the Show for the Sour Cream Cake Batter:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 (8 oz) container sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

And Action:

Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.

Stir together flour and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture alternating between the sour cream beating at a low speed until blended. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Stir in the vanilla extract. Use batter immediately. You can do as I did and save half the batter to make the Chocolate Red Velvet Cake Batter (recipe below).

Bake at 350° in muffin pans for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Stars of the Show for the Chocolate Red Velvet Cake Batter:

• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 2 (1 oz) bottles red food coloring

And Action:

Prepare the Sour Cream Cake Batter and stir in the unsweetened cocoa and red food coloring. Bake the cupcakes the same way as directed above.

Maple Glazed Sour Cream Doughnut Holes

No milk and cookies in our house for Santa. Nope. He's going to receive hot chocolate and doughnuts from here on out as our new family tradition. As I shared with you yesterday, I want to create new and bring into our home traditions both Mr. Sideline Chef and I grew up enjoying. One of our new traditions is leaving hot chocolate and doughnuts out for Santa. It's unique and I think it's something fun for itty bitty to have a tradition that sets his family apart from the others.

Luckily my skin is still intact and so is the house. Making doughnuts was such an overwhelming experience because I had no prior hands on experience of frying and let alone making doughnuts. My cooking anxiety was at Level 3 Meltdown Mode. The dough was sticky which I found out was the way it was supposed to be. The candy thermometer kept climbing above 375° and I didn't know how to keep the temperature constant since we don't have controls on our stove in our apartment, just low-high. I was panicked with having to drop the dough balls, which I made larger because the suggested portion sizes seemed too small and I didn't realize they were going to expand. Yea... I know. I ended up using two spoons to lower the dough balls into the vat of oil and luckily no oil splatters or skin burns! Go me! At one point when transferring the cooked doughnut holes to the plate of paper towels a tiny bit of grease hit the burner and flamed up. Not bad but enough to scare me and having Mr. Sideline Chef race in to make sure my eyebrows were still there for aesthetically reasons. I was in panic mode from start to finish of the frying part. Once all of the doughnut holes were cooked I was finally excited and feeling like I could breath easy again. Glazing was the easiest part next to eating.

We had invited the neighbors over to enjoy the doughnut holes and the Peppermint Stick Cocoa with us. After it was all said and done I feel a little more confident with a redo for next year's "Christmas Eve". The Maple Glazed Sour Cream Doughnut Holes were incredible! You get the crispness when you bite into them with the pillowy insides and the sweet maple glaze was out of this world. Eating these in combination with the Peppermint Stick Cocoa easily put us all into food coma.

Maple Glazed Sour Cream Doughnut Holes

MyRecipes.com and Cooking Light, April 2010

Makes 12 servings (Serving size = 3 doughnut holes)

I ended up with 15 doughnut holes because I didn't think the size of the dough balls was correct and when I make these again I will be sure to do it my way again. I just made a ball that fit comfortably in the inside of my palm. I have teeny tiny hands though.

Stars of the Show:

• 6 tbsp warm water (100° to 110°)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/8 tsp dry yeast
• about 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• cooking spray
• 6 cups peanut oil
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp water

And Action:

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Lightly spoon 1 1/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups. Combine the flour and salt in another bowl. Add sour cream and egg to yeast mixture, stir until smooth. Add flour mixture and stir to form the dough.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 3 minutes until smooth and elastic. Add 1 tbsp at a time to prevent hands from sticking to the dough. Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down. Divide dough into 36 equal portions. Roll each into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray and let stand for 30 minutes.

Clip a candy thermometer on the inside of a dutch oven and add the oil to the pan. Heat oil to 375°. Combine powdered sugar, maple syrup, and 2 tbsp water into a bowl and stir until smooth to create the glaze. Place 9 dough balls in the hot oil, fry 2 minutes (mine cooked a lot quicker and I just eyeballed the doneness by color) and turn them as necessary. Make sure the oil remains at 375°. Remove the doughnut holes from the pan and lay them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Dip doughnut holes in the glaze and remove with a slotted spoon. Place them on a cooling rack with a baking sheet placed underneath. Repeat with the remaining doughnut holes.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 178
Fat: 5.9g (sat 1.4g,mono 2.5g,poly 1.6g)
Protein: 2.4g
Carbohydrate: 29.3g
Fiber: 0.5g
Cholesterol: 19mg
Iron: 0.9mg
Sodium: 33mg
Calcium: 11mg