Mini Cocoa Cakes

Rachel Ward

½ c. butter
3 eggs
½ c. sour cream
1 ¼ c. flour
¼ c. cocoa powder
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
Allow butter, eggs and sour cream to stand at room temp. for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease mini muffin tins (I use paper cups). Set aside. In med. Bowl stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. Preheat oven to 325 in a large mixing bowl beat butter on med. 30 sec. Add sugar beating 7 minutes until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating and scraping bowl after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream to butter mixture, beating on med after each addition until combined. Fill each muffin cup with about 1 tbsp. batter. Using a toothpick stir desired flavor into each cup (see below). Bake 15 minutes or until tops spring back. Cool on rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

With just a bit of spice or extract, nearly every cake becomes original. Possibilities include: orange extract, peanut butter, coconut extract, peppermint extract, grated orange peel, chocolate chips, cinnamon, raspberry extract, flavored honey, almond extract.
(If you don’t want to mix each individual cup, divide batter and add desired flavor. My favorites are raspberry and orange extract and cinnamon. Frost with coordinating frosting. If you don’t have mini muffin cups, use regular ones and up the cooking time about 5 minutes. )