A Cake Recipe For National Dessert Day

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Saturday marks National Dessert Day, and Melissa Ben-Ishay – owner of Baked by Melissa – joined CBS2's Cindy Hsu with some treats.

She also shared this recipe for Grandma Annie's Chocolate Cake from her new cookbook, Cakes by Melissa:

This chocolate cake—my grandmother's recipe—is completely different from the others. My father's mother was an unbelievable baker. The smell of this batter brings me right back to my childhood. I could have just added cocoa to my vanilla cake, but this is the best chocolate cake I've ever had, and everyone needs to know how to make it. It's fluffy, it's delicious, and it's the perfect canvas.

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs


3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream

1. Have all your ingredients at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter the pan of your choice or line the pan with wax paper or parchment and butter the paper.

2. With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 1 minute on high speed, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the sugar to the butter and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

3. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the vanilla extract; then add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the edges of the bowl midway through.

4. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt in a separate bowl.

5. With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture. When it's mostly incorporated, add half the sour cream. Add the remainder of the dry and wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Stop mixing as soon as you have a smooth batter.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the middle of the cake feels springy when you
gently press your finger against it (approximately 30-35 minutes). All ovens are different, so it's important to do the fingerprint test to see if the cake is done.

7. Let the cake cool completely before icing.

Recipe from CAKES BY MELISSA by Melissa Ben-Ishay. Copyright © 2017 by Baked by Melissa. Used with permission by William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.