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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.
4. 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.
5. 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.