Simple. Small-batch. Sourdough. Chocolate. Cake. That’s all there is to this recipe, but it seems to be everything we’re craving right now.
This is a riff on the chocolate cake that will be in my cookbook, scaled down and adapted to use sourdough discard, AKA the portion of starter that you normally discard every time you do a feeding. I usually collect all my discard in a container in the fridge and use it within a week or before it starts to develop an overly acidic smell / layer of liquid “hooch” on top.
For the best cake texture, I like to use discard that has fallen and no longer bubbly. The discard is just here for flavor and not leavening; and using a super active starter can make for a “bready” texture — not what we want here.
I frosted this cake with about a cup of silky fudge frosting I had left in the freezer, but you could certainly enjoy this plain, with a simple dusting of icing sugar, or maybe some whipped cream and berries. Whatever you pair it with, I hope you enjoy!
Sourdough Chocolate Cake
Makes one single-layer 8″ cake
Ingredients:
- 57g (1/4 c) unsalted butter
- 28g (2 Tbsp) neutral vegetable oil
- 120g (1/2 c) 100% hydration ripe sourdough starter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 63g (2/3 c) rye flour (all-purpose works too)
- 34g (1/3 c) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 160g (3/4 c) light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 80g (1/3 c)sour cream, at room temperature
- 60g (1/4 c) hot coffee
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper, then grease the pan again and dust with cocoa powder.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. When the butter has melted, remove from the heat and whisk in the oil, starter, and vanilla. Allow to cool slightly while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the sour cream into the butter mixture, followed by the egg. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until combined. Add the hot coffee and whisk just until smooth.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 28-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once the pan is cool enough to handle, run an offset spatula around the edges and turn the cake out to finish cooling completely.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe! I have made this several times and always delicious. I usually top it with an Italian meringue and have doubled it to make jumbo cupcakes.
Thank you so much for sharing your success! Italian meringue sounds like a delicious topping!
This cake is so moist and chocolatey it does not even need frosting. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I adore this recipe (as does everyone benefiting from it)! The silky fudge frosting is perfect too. It’s my new go-to frosting. Thanks again for the recipe.
Is there any recommended substitute for sour cream? It’s a bit challenging to find where I live
You can try yogurt — plain, full-fat Greek yogurt would be my first choice!
Finally made this simply beautifully delicious chocolate cake ! Thank you Ruth for your endless inspiration!
Hooray! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Hello Ruth,
May I check the weight of 1 large egg in this recipe?
I only have smaller egg, around 50g with shell.
Sorry for the late response! My eggs weigh about 50g (without shell), large size here in Canada.
This is a terrific go-to recipe when you have some discard to use. I like that it’s a small cake (so we don’t keep eating more and more!), mixes up quickly. Moist and delicious.
So happy to hear you enjoy the cake! I agree, it is the perfect “snack” size!
Lovely cake! I used my gf sourdough discard, made with brown rice and buckwheat flours, and used an all-purpose gf flour in place of the rye flour. I doubled the recipe in an endeavor to use up a bunch of the discard. The buckwheat tastes very nice with the chocolate, not overwhelming but with a pleasant complexity. The second cake will be popped into the freezer for a day when you just need a little something sweet and chocolatey. Thank you for the great recipe!
I love this cake so much! The first time I made it as written. The second time, I accidentally doubled the amount of coffee, and ended up loving it even more. Great way to use up some discard and all-around delicious cake!