Okay, so it’s been a while, but I have a good excuse. I changed jobs, and it‘s been an exhausting process. Worth it, but I feel like I could nap for a month and still be tired. You know what almost makes all that sleep deprivation melt away? Chocolate.
I found a version of this recipe in a very old cookbook that I bought at a secondhand sale in the middle of the Christiansburg mall in 2011. I don’t have it anymore, but the gist of it was that you can make chocolate ganache with sour cream. It’s great on chocolate cake. If you like a rich icing but not a sweet one, this is for you. My favorite part is that it sets hard in the fridge to this fudge-like consistency, and it’s like eating a candy bar and cake at the same time.
The cake that this rich, tangy ganache is spread all over is not from scratch. I love boxed cake mix—it’s a great invention. But I do doctor it. For box mix chocolate cake, I always sub brewed coffee for any water the box calls for. And I add some vanilla extract and a little cinnamon if I’m feeling spicy.
The Recipe:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup sour cream
Microwave the chocolate chips in a bowl for 45 seconds (or until just melted), stopping to stir every 15 seconds. Chocolate can burn in the microwave.
Once melted, add the sour cream and stir until combined.
If the chocolate seizes, put the mixture back in the microwave for 10 seconds and stir again.
Notes & Substitutions:
Use some of those Hershey bars you didn’t give to trick-or-treaters this year instead of chocolate chips.
So that’s my new-job sour cream chocolate ganache. It’s a lazy person’s ganache, but it doesn’t taste lazy. It would make a great centerpiece at all those holiday parties you’re not throwing. It’s almost better that way. I made it for myself, and no one asked me to share.