Three-Cup Cocoa Cake with Kefir
Three-Cup Cocoa Cake with Kefir -a soft and airy cocoa sponge cake with kefir, layered with creamy sour cream frosting. A simple yet delicious homemade dessert for any occasion!
Updated : 12 May, 2025
About 30 min.
Ingredients
Base
200 milliliters
Kefir
180 grams
Sugar
130 grams
Wheat flour
3 tablespoon
Vegetable oil
1
Chicken eggs
1 tablespoon
Cocoa
1 teaspoon
Baking soda
1 grams
Salt
Cream
450 grams
Sour cream
80 grams
Powdered sugar
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Advices
Advice
Be prepared for the fact that you may need more or less flour than stated in the recipe. Focus not on the exact amount of flour but on achieving the desired batter consistency.
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare all ingredients for the batter. Use high-quality flour and natural, unsweetened cocoa (not cocoa drink mix). Choose odorless vegetable oil. Take the kefir out of the fridge in advance to reach room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180℃ (356F)
Step 2
Lightly beat the egg with a mixer. Add sugar and salt, then beat until fluffy and the sugar is dissolved. Do not overbeat to keep air bubbles in the batter.
Step 3
Pour in the vegetable oil and mix again.
Step 4
Add baking soda to the room-temperature kefir and stir. The kefir will foam up, so use a large enough container.
Step 5
Once the kefir foams, pour it into the beaten eggs and mix with a mixer until smooth.
Step 6
Sift the flour with cocoa and mix into the batter on low speed. The batter should be runny and drip from the whisk. You may need slightly more or less flour, so adjust according to consistency.
Step 7
Pour the batter into a parchment-lined and greased baking pan (Ø 18-20 cm). Bake in a preheated oven at 180℃ (356F) for 35-40 minutes. Check doneness with a skewer—it should come out dry.
Step 8
Let the sponge cake cool completely. Trim off the top and slice the remaining cake horizontally into two layers.
Step 9
Blend the trimmed top into fine crumbs using a blender. These crumbs will be used for decorating the cake (top and optionally the sides).
Step 10
Now, prepare the cream. Use thick, high-fat sour cream (ideally 30%). If the sour cream is too runny, mix in 1 tbsp of gelatin dissolved in 40 ml of water or milk. Let it swell and heat until fully dissolved. Add it after the powdered sugar and mix well.
Step 11
In a bowl, combine sour cream with powdered sugar and mix.
Step 12
Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread half of the sour cream frosting evenly. I assembled the cake using a cake ring. Cover with the second layer and spread the remaining frosting on top. You can leave some frosting for the sides, but I didn’t.
Step 13
Coat the top (and optionally the sides) of the cake with the remaining frosting and sprinkle with crumbs. Refrigerate the cake for 2-3 hours to soak.
Step 14
Slice the homemade chocolate "Three-Cup" cake and serve. Enjoy!