Note To Self: Bake This For Mother's Day

I'll be going to a friend's house for Mother's Day, and it's my habit to take along something for desert. I'm thinking this Sourdough Chocolate Cake might be the ticket.

I'm just wondering if I have it in me to follow the recipe AS WRITTEN, though. This is a clear sign of my mother's influence, as she always views recipes as merely "suggestions," just like boxed cake mixes are a "suggested use," though she always uses boxed mixes for half-homemade things. They are great time savers.  

And now I am having a brilliant idea of morphing a boxed cake mix into a sourdough permutation. 

Do I have the willpower to just follow this recipe? The photos look so enticing! 

Maybe I'll allow myself ONE tweak? Perhaps two? Mocha frosting, and I'll use yogurt as I have that on hand (and need to use it up) instead of the sour cream.

I just wish there were a way to totally HACK the frosting. I bristle at the idea of all that confectioner's sugar. Isn't there a way to bulk up a frosting and use Splenda to sweeten? (Also that frosting needs a pinch of salt, IMHO.)

Stay tuned, for Saturday evening we make cake!

ETA: 

Our friend's son is the "official taster" and grand arbiter of deliciousness, and he whole-heartedly gave his thumbs up for this cake. "It's a keeper!" And he of course ate second helpings of it.

Tweaks, such as they are, for the cake:

• As I mentioned above, I was out of sour cream but had plain yogurt, so I used that.
• I wanted a contrast in depth of flavor between cake and frosting, so the cake got that ultra dark cocoa powder (think: Oreo cookie dark), and the frosting used regular ol' Dutched cocoa.
• The oil I used was macadamia nut oil, which I had on hand, and wanted to use up my supply. This lent a nice nutty/buttery aspect to the batter.
• I divided the batter between a square pan and some cupcakes, and cooked the cupcakes for roughly 22 minutes, and the cake itself baked for roughly 32, and the cake still seemed a bit over-moist in the middle, but I let the cake cool in the pan.
• I did not reduce the sugar AT ALL in this; however, if I were making this for a cake for home, I would adjust the cake with Splenda.
• Frosting I followed the recipe, but I added a tsp of coffee powder and maybe 1-2 T of Ovaltine powder, and a pinch of salt. 

Future tweaks for this cake if I make it for myself:

• Splenda
• Coconut flour

END NOTE:
I still had about five cupcakes remaining, so like a good DO-BEE, I brought them into the office for the buzzards. I brought them in on Monday, and by this morning (WEDS), there were still three of them remaining. Cream cheese frosting will not abide sitting out unrefrigerated this long, so while it broke my heart, I tossed the remaining three, and made a mental note NOT to bring in any more baked goods for these assholes.  Let no good deed go unpunished.