Tennis Anyone?

This is definitely my kind of tennis - sour cream chocolate cake with Swiss meringue buttercream and fondant. An athlete I am not, but I do love making cakes. This giant racket was made for my cousin, the tennis star, who turned 18 the 4th of July. The biggest problem with this cake was finding something big enough to put it on - the cake was about 22 inches long. After trying every tray I own, I came across an unused shelf which did the trick.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

From San Francisco A La Carte

2 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure all ingredients into a larg bowl and beat for 1/2 minute at low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Then beat for 3 minutes at highest speed. Pour into greased and floured cake pans: 2 9 inch pans or 3 8 inch pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In the top of a double broiler, melt butter and chocolate over barely simmering water. Remove from heat and cool. Add powdered sugar, then blend in sour cream and vanilla, beat until smooth.

The sour cream chocolate frosting is delicious, but the Swiss meringue buttercream is an nice alternative. It pipes nicely and holds up well. One of many recipes can be found at Martha Stewart.com. For this cake, I used 3 1/2 sticks of butter rather than the 4. I just couldn't bring myself to add those last 4 tablespoons. Somehow, psychologically, it made a difference - like I was being virtuous. See, who needs an actual tennis racket when you can save yourself calories like this? I think that may just be "15-love".