Best Sourdough Discard Chocolate Cake
If you’re looking for the best sourdough discard chocolate cake recipe, this is it! There’s no better way to use sourdough discard.
The process of making a no-yeast sourdough boule is not for the novice baker and it’s certainly not for the time-crunched. More than once I’ve discussed with my fellow baking addict, Sally of Real Mom Nutrition, the commitment required to work sourdough into your schedule.
I, for one, plan to keep my starter alive as long as possible. And to do that, I have to feed my starter at least once a week… boule baked or not.
And with feeding the starter, of course, comes the inevitable — sourdough discard.
When I first made my Sourdough Discard Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips…
… I had no idea it would turn out to be one of my family’s all-time favorite recipes. I made it countless times during quarantine… and apparently, so have many other people. It’s rapidly become one of my most popular recipes and for good reason.
It’s easy and delicious — my two favorite qualities in a baking recipe.
Primed to knock it out of top spot, though, is this new Sourdough Discard Chocolate Cake:
I mean, look at it. If you can’t envision the deliciousness, I’m not sure what else to say.
I realized early in my sourdough experience that one of the shortcomings of so many sourdough discard recipes is how little discard they used.
I get that if you’re just doing a one-time feeding maybe a few ounces is enough to whip up some sourdough pancakes and call it a day. But for those of us accumulating a jar full of discard, we need sourdough discard recipes that use a lot of discard.
And that recipe needed to be a show-stopper. I get that sourdough crackers have a place, but c’mon. Who can say no to sourdough discard chocolate cake?
I’ve made this cake multiple times and even shared the recipe with a friend who asked for it as soon as shared a pic of it on Instagram. So just know it’s well-tested, family-approved, and just what you need to make something special with your sourdough discard. Enjoy! ~Regan
Best Sourdough Discard Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 Bundt cake
Description
If you’re looking for the best sourdough discard chocolate cake recipe, this is it! There’s no better way to use sourdough discard.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup oil
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (275 g) sourdough discard*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose or cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
Icing**:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 pound powdered sugar (this is 1/2 of a 1-pound box)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a Bundt*** pan; set aside.
- Beat together oil, sugar, eggs, discard and extract with a handheld mixer until smooth.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder; add to oil mixture and beat with mixer for 2 minutes.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean (about 45 minutes).
- Let cake cool in pan 15 minutes on a wire rack. Invert cake onto cake plate to let cool.
- Meanwhile, prepare Icing by combining butter, cocoa powder, and milk in a medium-size saucepan; cook over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat; add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake.
Notes
*If you don’t have “sourdough discard” simply substitute 1/2 cup additional flour and 1/2 cup water.
**A big thanks to Sally at Real Mom Nutrition for this Icing recipe. It’s from her mom’s Texas Sheet Cake and it’s delicious. It’s versatile, easy and makes a great icing for any chocolate cake when you don’t want to cover the entire cake.
**If you don’t have a Bundt pan, I recommend making this in a 13- x 9-inch rectangular baking dish. Check for doneness 15 minutes early and bake until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 60
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Check out these other easy baking recipes for Chocolate Lovers!
Mississippi Mud Brownies
5 Ingredient Flourless Brownies
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Could you make this into a layer cake using two 8″ or 9″ rounds?
It’s not a huge Bundt cake with a ton of batter, so I’d probably say try the 8″ pan. I’d also check the cake for doneness at 22 – 25 minutes.
I made this recipe into 18 cup cakes and it was delicious. I’ll definitely use it again. I cooked them for 15 minutes and they turned out perfect
Great tip! Glad it worked well. Thanks for the 5-star rating! ~Regan
Lovely texture! will definitely make again (converted all the measurements to grams to make it quicker for me!)
So glad you enjoyed it! ~Regan
Not sure why there isnt a bake time given for this recipe in the instructions. It was 45 min for me.
Hi Rachel, The bake time is listed at the end of Step 4 in parentheses. Sorry it didn’t jump out at your earlier, but so glad that it worked out for you.
Made this and was told Beat chocolate cake ever! Thanks
I’m so glad!
My family loved it! Easy and oh so good!
I’m so glad! Thanks for letting me know. ~Regan
If i’m trying this as a sheet cake would I double it?
I don’t think so. It has a note about making it an a 13- x 9-inch baking dish or pan. If you’re thinking of a much larger baking sheet, I still think it will be enough batter. But do check on it to test for doneness earlier than you would the Bundt recipe. Hope that helps!
This cake is absolutely to die for! Instant favorite! I’ve made it three times already lol
This makes me so happy! I’m glad you love it. ~Regan
In 45 minutes, the batter shook like there it was completely unbaked underneath the crust. Unfortunately, I put a thermometer in to check the temperature and it deflated it. It was only 150 degrees so I had to bake it quite awhile longer, but it stayed deflated. I sure hope it is ok.
This cake is amazing! This may be the best discard recipe I’ve tried!
I am going to use my Chocolate sourdough discard I made and we will see if the chocolate gets stronger 😁💪
Hands down, the BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever made, sourdough or not. This cake comes out amazingly moist, light and so chocolatey! The frosting is a perfect compliment to the cake and just puts it over the top. My hubby is not a fan of homemade cakes and always compares them to store bought cake mixes. He actually thought this was a box cake and didn’t believe me when I told him it was scratch made. Perfect texture and taste. Thank you!!
Heidi I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this comment. It makes my heart so happy to know both you and your husband loved this cake! ~Regan
New at sourdough and the large amount of disgard/ waste but……..this cake is easy and fabulous on top of that!!!! Thank you for sharing and look forward to making it with the icing this time/ today:)
This cake is way too oily and not chocolaty enough. So disappointing. I recommend cutting the oil down to 1/2 cup and add in some chocolate chips.
I’m so sorry to hear the recipe didn’t turn out to your liking! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. The cake is intentionally formulated to be extra moist—similar to the texture you’d find in a bakery-style chocolate cake—but I understand preferences can vary. Many bakers (as you can see from other reviews here) love the balance of moisture and rich chocolate flavor, but your suggestion to reduce the oil or add chocolate chips is a great way to customize it to your own taste. I truly appreciate you trying the recipe and sharing how you’d make it your own next time.
Warmly,
Regan | The Baking Dietitian
Not an experienced baker so followed the recipe exactly as written. I don’t know if the cake and/or the icing was too warm and that affected it, but when I put it on I wound up with way too much icing. It wasn’t as thick of a layer as the picture shows, but I still covered the whole cake with maybe half the icing left over. Might try to halve that part of the recipe next time and see how that works out. Hate to waste all the ingredients. Tasted great though.
Is there any way I can use Buttermilk in this recipe?
I haven’t tested it that way, but I suspect it will work.