Sour cream in cake batter?

[parrolet313]

Everyone seems to LOVE adding sour cream to their cake batter - but the two times I have done it - the cake did not seem to rise properly - had dense "brownie looking" layers within the cake itsself! ...am I doing something wrong????

[2sdae]

sour cream does make it more dense but I am not sure what you mean by "brownie" layers though.

[parrolet313]

THere are spots where it looks like the cake didn't rise properly....real dense..and others where it looks fine!

[cakebaker]

The only thing I can think of would be under mixing the batter.

Sour cream, yogurt, mayonnaise...basically they're just additions to make the cake more moist.

I don't add any of them anymore unless I'm making a scratch recipe that calls from them. I find if I get my cakes out of the oven just right before they test done, they're plenty moist enough.

[JaclynJ326]

How much do you add???

[parrolet313]

one cup...to two mixes

[JaclynJ326]

Thanks!

[Ironbaker]

Was that the only thing you added besides what the mix calls for? Sour cream does add moisture but it is a fat. Too much fat can make something more dense and not bake as high.

A couple of tablespoons may be enough.

[laurafromtx]

You might also consider using buttermilk to replace some/all of your liquid (water/milk). I usually use buttermilk for chocolate cake mixes and don't have any substitution 'problems', and I think it adds to the taste of the cake.

[Amanda]

Replace ALL the water with buttermilk? You still use the oil, right? Sounds yummy!