Sourdough Chocolate Cake [using sourdough discard]

This incredible sourdough discard chocolate cake can be easily be made with sourdough discard, but instead of just adding it to the cake batter, you allow the sourdough starter to ferment the flour and milk at room temperature overnight so that it creates a deliciously moist, rich chocolate sourdough cake that's uniquely fermented!

Finish this tender chocolate cake with lashings of chocolate ganache drizzled all over the top of the cake. It's the perfect cake for sourdough bakers who are also chocolate lovers!

The chocolate flavor in this chocolate sourdough cake comes from cocoa powder. You can increase the richness of the chocolate flavor by adding hot coffee, but this is not essential.

Theres's no need for sour cream, brown sugar or other ingredients you might not have on hand. The moist crumbs of this cake are formed through the fermented flour mixture, vegetable oil and using hot water at the end of the mixing process.

Another great thing about this recipe is you won't need any special equipment. A large mixing bowl, whisk and cake pan are all you really need. A small saucepan is also required if you'd like to make the ganache glaze as photographed in this recipe.

If you are a chocolate lover, you might also enjoy these other delicious recipes for chocolate sourdough discard bread or these sourdough chocolate chunk muffins.

Why Use Sourdough Starter Discard In A Cake?

This sourdough chocolate cake is unique because instead of just using sourdough starter discard in the batter, you are actually using the sourdough discard to ferment a mixture of flour, milk and cooca powder. This preferment is then added to the rest of the ingredients to create a moist cake, rich in chocolate flavour. This delicious cake is a great way to reduce food waste by utilising your sourdough discard in the best way!

Sourdough discard is simply the unfed portion of sourdough starter you remove before you feed it. If you don't have discard on hand, it's perfectly fine to use active sourdough starter. It will work in exactly the same way. I often feed my sourdough starter a little extra, so that when I make sourdough bread, I can use a little bit more to create the preferment for this rich chocolate cake.

What Does Sourdough Do For Cakes?

Using sourdough starter or sourdough discard in a cake can help to make the cake more tender. The acidity of the starter will actually tenderise the cake by inhibiting the gluten development.

Fermenting the flour and milk mixture in this cake serves to tenderise the crumb even further, as well as increasing the moisture content in the cake which gives it a longer shelf life.

Easy Sourdough Chocolate Cake Recipe

This rich chocolate cake is so easy to make! You can use a little extra sourdough starter to create the overnight ferment and the rest is just a really easy mix and bake chocolate cake batter.

While you would generally add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients when making a chocolate cake, in this sourdough chocolate cake, the dry ingredients are fermented overnight with milk and sourdough starter to create a unique fermented chocolate cake.

How To Make Overnight Ferment

1. To make the overnight ferment, place all purpose flour, cold milk, cocoa and sourdough starter in a large bowl and mix until it forms a shaggy dough.
   
2. Cover with plastic and leave on the counter to ferment overnight.

It's perfectly ok to leave the milk to ferment overnight. Using cold milk in the mix slows the fermentation down, but the sourdough starter bacteria will also prevent the milk from going bad.

To Make The Cake The Next Morning

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/338F
   
2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until they are light and creamy.
   
3. Then add vegetable oil, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well combined.
   
4. Now add the overnight ferment and the boiling water (with coffee dissolved if using) and whisk really well until it forms a liquid batter. The ferment will be quite stiff but the boiling water should loosen it up. The batter will be beautifully emulsified and velvety smooth.
   
5. If you're having trouble getting it all to combine by hand, it's perfectly fine to use an electric mixer or stand mixer for this step.
   
6. Grease a non stick cake tin with plenty of butter. I've made this recipe with a non stick 12 cup bundt tin. You can grease the pan with cooking spray if you like. I prefer butter as I love the way the outside of the cake turns out.
   
7. Pour batter into the greased cake pan. (I've used a bundt pan for this recipe).
   
8. Place the cake into the oven to bake for around 40 minutes at 170C/338F (or until a skewer comes out clean).
   
9. Once the cake is cooked, allow it to sit in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

Frosting Instructions

1. Place the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate pieces into a saucepan and heat over a medium heat, whisking consistently until the mixture is smooth.
   
2. Take the saucepan off the heat and allow it to cool slightly before whisking through the vanilla.
   
3. Allow the mixture to cool before pouring over your cake.

Which Pan To Use For Sourdough Chocolate Cake?

For this recipe, I have used this 12 cup capacity bundt pan. It measures 10" x 3". I love to use the bundt pan because it allows the chocolate sweetened condensed milk glaze to drizzle in the loveliest of ways.

Alternatively, you can bake this sourdough discard chocolate cake in a sheet pan, loaf tin or even 2 x 8 inch round cake pans to create a layered cake.

Recipe Variations for Sourdough Chocolate Cake

While this sourdough chocolate cake recipe is perfect just as it is, there are also a few recipe variations to help you ensure this cake suits your tastes.

• You can substitute the vegetable oil in this recipe with coconut oil. I do not recommend using canola oil or olive oil.
  
• If do not wish to use the coffee in this cake, substitute it with black tea instead! Or just use boiling water if you'd like to leave these out altogether.
  
• Instead of serving the cake with the sweetened condensed milk chocolate glaze, you could serve it dusted with powdered sugar or cocoa powder and a dollop of whipped cream.
  
• Spread the cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting (this is perfect if you want to spread the frosting all over the cake using an offset spatula).
  
• For a birthday cake or special celebration, spread the cake with your favorite chocolate buttercream frosting.
  
• For a layer cake split the mixture between two 8-inch cake pans and then sandwich them together with your favorite chocolate frosting.
  
• Make a sourdough chocolate loaf cake by baking this cake in a large loaf pan or two smaller pans.
  
• For a dark chocolate twist, add up to 100g of dark chocolate chips to the batter or use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate in the frosting glaze.

Freeze, Store + Make Ahead

This cake freezes really well. If freezing, I avoid using a bundt pan and use a sheet pan or loaf tin instead. Freeze the cake wrtapped in parchment paper and then placed into a ziploc bag. Do not ice the cake if you are going to freeze it.

To thaw the cake, allow it to come to room temperature before icing and serving.

This cake will last in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Although I would recommend consuming within 48 hours for the best texture and flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions