Sourdough Chocolate Cake (With Sourdough Discard!)

Super moist and full of chocolate flavor, this Sourdough Chocolate Cake is a great way to use your precious sourdough discard! Serve this cake with your favorite frosting, or with the chocolate ganache recipe below!

We all know that you can make delicious Dutch oven sourdough bread with your sourdough starter, but did you know that sourdough discard is great to bake with too! There are so many sourdough recipes that you can make with sourdough discard including sourdough discard carrot cake!

This chocolate cake is perfect for the chocoholic in your family. It's loaded with cocoa powder and then topped with a decadent chocolate ganache, which is easier to make than you think! Get your glass of milk ready to enjoy with this cake!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• It's so decadent! This might be my new favorite chocolate cake! My kids ate this cake and loved every bite of it! My son even said this is the best cake ever! If that isn't a rave review, I don't know what is!
• It's a great use for your sourdough discard. If you bake a lot with your sourdough discard, you'll know that there can be a ton of discard left after you feed your starter. Never throw it out! It's great for lots of different baked goods and even for sourdough granola!
• It can be made ahead of time! You can bake this cake ahead of time and then ice or frost it right before you are ready to serve it. More on that later in the blog post.

What is Sourdough Discard?

Sourdough discard is something that is used a lot in the sourdough world, but what exactly is sourdough discard? Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you are not feeding. When you are "feeding" your starter to make Dutch oven sourdough bread with, you add equal parts flour, water, and starter to a mason jar and let it rise.

You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of starter to have on hand! If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out how to feed and maintain a sourdough starter post all about how to keep your sourdough starter happy.

With your sourdough discard, you can make lots of delicious recipes! I love making sourdough brownies for desserts, sourdough discard cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and sourdough chocolate chip cookies for a special treat!

Why Does Sourdough Discard Work in Cakes?

Besides being a way to reduce food waste, sourdough discard adds a lot to cake! The slight tang of the sourdough discard helps balance out the sweetness of the cocoa and sugar. It also adds to the rise of the cake, making it light and airy instead of dense.

Ingredients to Gather

• Sourdough discard. If you are new to sourdough, you'll need a sourdough starter. You can either make your own sourdough starter at home, buy one, or get one from a fellow sourdough baker.
• Sugar. This is a cake after all! Granulated sugar is perfect in this cake.
• Cooled coffee. This might sound a little strange to add coffee to cake, but the coffee brings out the flavor of the chocolate in the cake. If you don't drink coffee or don't have any on hand, you can leave it out and add a little more vanilla extract.
• Cocoa Powder. You'll want to use a high quality unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe because it gives the chocolate cake it's chocolatey flavor.
• Baking soda. Baking soda interacts with the sourdough discard to give this cake a really nice rise. The inactive starter on it's own is not enough to make the cake rise. The baking soda does most of the work.
• Oil. A neutral oil is best. Vegetable oil, avocado oil, or canola oil are great options. Olive oil will add more moisture and depth of flavor to the cake. If it's all you have, it's can definitely be used.

Be sure to check out the printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Use active sourdough starter. Yes, you can use active sourdough starter. It will add a little bit more rise to the cake, but not too much. If it's all you have, it's a great option!
• Change the sweetener! You can use coconut sugar or brown sugar to the cake. If you prefer honey or maple syrup, add a little more flour to balance the liquid in the batter.
• Change the fat! Melted butter or olive oil are great choices for a super moist cake. Both of those options have a depth of flavor that would add to the cake.
• Add mix ins! Add semi sweet chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or chopped cherries for a change of pace.

How To Make Sourdough Chocolate Cake

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a Bundt pan well with butter. Make sure to get into all the creases. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the oil, sugar, eggs, sourdough discard, and milk. Mix well.

Step 2: In a separate medium bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix well to combine.

Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until all the ingredients are combined. Do not overmix, but make sure there are no lumps of sourdough starter in the batter.

Step 4: Pour the chocolate cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan.

Step 5: Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a wire cooling rack and then turn out the cake onto a plate and let it cool completely.

Tips and Tricks

• Do not overmix the batter. Overmixing will cause the cake to be tough. You want to just disperse the flour and sourdough starter throughout the cake batter.
• Use high quality ingredients. Since there are only a few ingredients that you will be tasting in this cake, you want to make sure they are really high quality. Don't skim on the quality. This is a really decadent dessert.
• Make sure the cake is cooled before frosting. The chocolate ganache will drip right off the cake if the cake is too hot. Be patient once the cake is baked.
• To tell if the cake is baked through, do the toothpick test. Place a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, you are ready to take it out of the oven. Everyone's oven is a little different, so check the cake about 35 minutes, and give it another 5-10 minutes if it isn't ready.

What's the Best Type of Pan for Sourdough Chocolate Cake?

A Bundt cake is a great option for this cake as it creates a great shape and bakes evenly.

A 9x13 inch baking dish is a great choice too. Make sure to grease the baking dish well so the cake will be removed easily.

Two 8 inch cake pans can be used to bake this cake if you want a layer cake instead of a single layer cake.

Finally, don't forget about cupcakes! You can make 12 cupcakes with this recipe.

Icings and Frosting

Chocolate cake is great with almost any type of frosting! Here are some suggestions for what to frost the chocolate cake with!

• 3 Ingredient Cream Cheese Frosting
• Whipped Cream Frosting
• Peanut Butter Frosting
• Chocolate Frosting
• Chocolate Ganache
• Vanilla Frosting

Storage Info

If there is any leftover sourdough chocolate cake, place it in an airtight container or cover the cake with plastic wrap. It will keep fresh for 3-4 days.

You can also make the cake ahead of time. Bake the cake and then cover it with plastic wrap. When you are ready to frost the cake, place the cake on the serving platter and then ice it.

Freeze the unfrosted cake for up to 3 months. Allow it to cool completely to room temperature after being baked, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow it to defrost on the counter before frosting it.

Sourdough Chocolate Cake FAQs

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