Chocolate cake is one of the most indulgent desserts, but is arguably one of the trickiest to . The addition of the cocoa powder in the mixture - while delicious - is what can cause things to go wrong, as it impacts the texture of the cake to make it dry and dense. Of course this lack of moisture can also be influenced by other factors, like overmixing, overbaking and the temperature of your oven, but in the case of , it is more likely to be down to not having enough liquid in your cake.

The combination of flour and cocoa powder together makes for a very dry mixture and so to get , you need to introduce another ingredient into the mix. According to baking experts, sour cream should be added to chocolate cake as it helps to give the cake moisture without diluting the mixture too much.

Sour cream also helps to enhance the richness of the cake, with its subtle tang balancing perfectly with the sweetness of the chocolate, and it gives it a wonderfully velvety texture.

Allrecipes explains: "Sour cream adds moisture without thinning your batter the same way that a liquid would. The fact that sour cream delivers moisture without further thinning out a batter results in a cake with a very tender, very fine crumb.

"Sour cream has higher fat levels than the other common dairy go-tos in baking - milk and buttermilk. Per (8-ounce) cup, both whole milk and whole buttermilk contain roughly, a little over 8 grams of total fat. Comparatively, 8 ounces of full-fat sour cream offers closer to 45 grams of fat.

"As most cooks know, more fat means more richness. This fat content lends a mouth-pleasing, velvety texture to baked goods."

Not only does sour cream help to enhance the richness and overall texture of chocolate cake, but its acidity also helps to activate baking soda, helping the cake to rise and become lighter in texture.

Cakes by MK adds: "When it comes to baking soda, you need to have an acid in your batter like buttermilk, yogurt, cocoa powder, vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, sour cream or lemon juice to activate its leavening power.

"Without an acid, the required chemical reaction will not occur and your baked goods will end up short and dense. Baking soda that hasn't been activated will also leave a metallic, or even soapy taste in your baking."