Sourdough Chocolate Cake

It's chocolate, it's cake, 

it's simply scrumptious 

& I love it! 

A little over a week ago I shared a post on how to start your own sourdough starter. If you haven't seen the post, check it out. I spent about 6 months looking into different methods and techniques until I found a starter method which consistently worked. Once you start maintaining your own sourdough starter you'll find yourself with quite a bit of excess. This is because you discard part of your starter each time you feed it, which happens 1-3 times per day. You could pitch the extra starter or preferably utilize it in a variety of sourdough recipes, this can include bread, donuts, muffins, crackers, pancakes and so forth. As you become accustom to using sourdough starter, you'll find yourself gradually incorporating it into your baking more and more.

The use of a sourdough starter in baked goods, particularly bread, has a history that begins about 6,000 years ago during the time of the Egyptians. Here in the United States, it's believed that the first sourdough starter made it's way over in the hold of Columbus' ship. One of the wonderful benefits of incorporating this naturally-fermented form of leavening is its ability to break down the anti-nutrients that exist in grains. This is best done by allowing the flour to soak with the starter for overnight or longer. I will say the chocolate cake recipe I have included doesn't take advantage of allowing the flour to soak overnight, however you are still using a naturally fermented product in your baked food and you are able to avoid baking powder, which can contain aluminum.

This sourdough cake is easy enough to throw together and much healthier and tastier than the standard box cake. If you are wondering if the cake is sour in flavor, it's not. Actually, you'd probably not even know that it's made with a starter, and even whole wheat flour, unless someone told you. That's one of the things I love about it. So sit back, relax and let me show you how to make this great cake. :-)

What You'll Need

For 2 - 8" or 9" cakes

*all ingredients should be at room temperature*

1 cup butter

 2 cups white sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cup sourdough starter

2 cups white whole-wheat flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. unrefined sea salt

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the icing

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

3 cups powder sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder
5 tbsp. whole milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Getting Started

For the cake

1. Preheat your oven to 350°. Line the bottom of your two round cake pans with parchment paper, also grease and dust the sides and bottom of the cake pans with a thin coat of cocoa powder. Shake any excess cocoa powder out.

2. In a large bowl cream together your soft butter and sugar for 3-10 minutes using a hand mixer. The longer your cream the sugar and butter together the lighter your cake will be in the end.

3. Add eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, blending them in for about 10-15 seconds between each addition.

4. Add the sourdough starter and blend on low just until mixed, then set bowl aside.

5. In a separate smaller bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a third bowl mix milk and vanilla extract.

6. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture in 2 parts. Use a hand mixer on low to mix ingredients together, starting and ending with the flour.

7. Split batter in half between the two cake pans and cook in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake, comes out clean.

8. Remove cakes from pans and allow to thoroughly cool on racks before icing.

For the icing

1. In a large bowl cream together all ingredients until light and creamy. 

Note: If your powdered sugar tends to be lumpy (which for me is almost the case when I use organic powdered sugar) sift it before using it in the icing. It's very difficult to get the icing completely smooth otherwise.

2. Once cake has completely cooled spread icing between the two layers and on the top layer. Garnish with almond slivers.

Note: If you want to ice the sides of your cake too, you will probably want to do 1 1/2 times the original recipe.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my post. I hope you will also take a moment and cast me a vote in Project Food Blog. Voting opens Monday, November 15th. Simple click HERE to vote!