Sunday is probably one of my favorite days of the week. Despite the impending threat of “back to work” on Monday morning, Sunday is the day on which you can rest and recharge – and if you’re not an early churchgoer, you can do anything and everything you like in your pajamas, all day if you so wish. For some folks it’s laundry day. For sports enthusiasts (and I would not be one of them), Sundays usually mean an afternoon game on TV, inviting friends over to watch over snacks, beer, and/or steaming bowls of chili. Sundays can also mean a quiet afternoon sipping coffee, reading a good book or planning for the week ahead – at home or in a cozy coffee shop. Simply put, Sundays are all about pausing for comfort in your busy week, and this week’s recipe fits right into the Sunday groove.
If Baked’s tower-high three-layer cakes are not your thing, you may want to add this recipe to your recipe files. Inspired by Edna Lewis, the Sunday Night Cake from Baked Explorations is the creation of Baked’s former employee and talented baker Eric Wolitzky (one of the competing bakers on the original Top Chef Just Desserts). It is a sweetly simple cake – light tan in color due to the inclusion of brown sugar, spiced with cinnamon, touched with the subtle tang of sour cream, and crowned with an almost pudding-like, dreamy chocolate frosting. It’s unapologetically quirky and carefree, a cake to have fun with. It doesn’t strive to win any beauty pageants.
Best of all, this cake is a snap to make and perfect for one of those “it’s Sunday night/I’m done in by the busy weekend/I need something sweet to cap it off” panic moments. Feel free to add a bit more cinnamon if you’d like. I used Penzey’s Vietnam Extra Fancy Cinnamon (the best) and added an extra 1/4 teaspoon, because I’m a cinnamon fanatic. When I discovered that my light brown sugar had gone rock-hard, I used dark brown sugar, so my cake may be slightly more tan in hue and have a slight molasses flavor, a nice complement to the cinnamon and sour cream flavors. The decadent frosting is just as easy to put together, and I dare you not to want to eat it straight from the bowl. I added a pinch of salt for flavor and found that my frosting whipped up to a thicker consistency than expected.
Now that all of us have posted it this wintry Sunday morning, what are you waiting for? Go get your ingredients ready to whip it up this afternoon!
The link: Sunday Night Cake at Baked Sunday Mornings
By the way, blasting this song in your kitchen while making this cake is a must. Your family may look at you oddly, but they’ll get over it. It will lighten your day and put a bouncy spring in your cake crumb. It will make it even better. Trust me.
Next week: Cheesy Focaccia with Caramelized Onions and Sautéed Spinach
neufangled desserts 
Ah, I long for the days when Sunday meant sitting around in my pjs reading a book and sipping coffee. Now it means going to 400 different events, birthday parties, etc. However, even with a crazy Sunday, I loved this cake.
Glad you finally had a week with flavors you like! Cake looks delicious!
Your cake and frosting look like they turned out perfectly.
Fun post! Your cake and especially your frosting look great! And I listened to the Sunday song…all part of the fun. We love this frosting and, yup, I did eat some straight out of the bowl…made lots of extra frosting so I’d be sure to have enough! Looks like you did a perfect job.
The payoff is so great when we make one of those fantastic three-layer jobs. But so much work. I like simple cakes, but this wasn’t my favorite. I approve of your dark brown sugar substitution, though – it sounds great!
Penzeys really is the best! I have 3 drawers full of their spices! Oh, and the vanilla! I forgot to mention that I added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the frosting, too. I always use dark brown sugar – I love the rich flavor. Have a great week!
Looks amazing! I like the look of your frosting….mine was just like pudding…..but it was very tasty! Glad we finally did a recipe that you enjoyed!