Sourdough Chocolate Cake Recipe | Easy Chocolate Cake
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🍫 Sourdough Chocolate Cake
Rich. Fudgy. Deeply chocolatey. Completely irresistible.
Because sometimes your sourdough starter doesn't need to become bread. Sometimes it needs to become cake.
If you've been wondering what to do with all that sourdough discard, allow us to introduce you to cake. This Sourdough Chocolate Cake is rich, moist, intensely chocolatey, and incredibly easy to make. The sourdough starter adds depth and a subtle tang that balances the sweetness of the chocolate. No complicated sourdough techniques required. Just mix, bake, frost, and try not to eat the whole cake.
🍫 Why You'll Love This Cake
✔ Deep chocolate flavor
✔ Moist, tender crumb
✔ Great way to use sourdough discard
✔ Simple beginner-friendly method
✔ Homemade chocolate frosting
✔ Easy enough for a weeknight bake
✔ Impressive enough for guests
🍫 Sourdough Chocolate Cake
🍫 Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup (240 g) sourdough starter or discard
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (65 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup (240 g) milk
- 1 cup (240 g) neutral oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
🍰 Chocolate Frosting
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup (55 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup (80 g) milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
🔥 Preheat & Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking pan and, if desired, line the bottom with parchment paper.
🥣 Combine the Sourdough, Flour & Milk
In a large mixing bowl, combine:
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup milk
Stir until everything is evenly combined.
🍫 DISCARD WORKS BEAUTIFULLY
This is a fantastic recipe for using sourdough discard. You don't need a perfectly peaked starter to make an incredible chocolate cake.
🍫 Build the Chocolate Mixture
In a separate bowl, whisk together:
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Whisk until smooth and evenly combined.
🤎 Bring It All Together
Pour the chocolate mixture into the sourdough mixture.
Stir until the batter is smooth and there are no obvious pockets of flour remaining.
🛑 DON'T OVERMIX
Once the batter is smooth, stop mixing. Overworking cake batter can lead to a heavier crumb.
🍰 Into the Pan
Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
Gently spread the batter into an even layer.
Give the pan a couple of gentle taps on the counter to release any large air pockets.
🔥 Bake
Place the cake in the preheated oven.
BAKE 30–40 MINUTES
Begin checking around 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
❄️ Cool Completely
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely before frosting.
This is important.
⚠️ HOT CAKE + FROSTING = CHOCOLATE AVALANCHE
If the cake is still warm, the frosting will melt instead of sitting beautifully on top.
🍫 Make the Chocolate Frosting
While the cake cools, let's make the frosting.
🧈 Beat the Butter
Place ½ cup softened butter into a mixing bowl.
Beat until smooth and creamy.
🍫 Add Cocoa
Add ⅔ cup cocoa powder and mix until combined.
🍚 Add the Powdered Sugar
Slowly add the 3 cups powdered sugar, alternating with the milk.
Add the vanilla and beat until smooth and fluffy.
🎂 Frost the Cake
Once the cake is completely cool, spread the chocolate frosting generously over the top.
Smooth it out with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
Or don't smooth it.
Rustic chocolate frosting is still chocolate frosting. Nobody is complaining.
👩🍳 Squirrelly Girl Chocolate Cake Tips
🌟 New to Sourdough? Start Here.
This recipe is proof that sourdough doesn't always have to mean a complicated loaf of bread.
There's no shaping. No scoring. No banneton. No worrying about whether your dough passed the windowpane test.
You're simply using sourdough starter as an ingredient in an incredibly delicious chocolate cake.
If you can mix ingredients, you can make this cake.
👩🍳 Want a More Professional Result?
Weigh your ingredients whenever possible. Keep your eggs and milk close to room temperature, use good cocoa powder, and don't overbake the cake.
The goal is a cake that is just baked through while still retaining plenty of moisture in the center.
Moist crumbs on the toothpick are your friend.
⚠️ Baker's Warning
This cake has been scientifically proven to cause people to say:
"I'm only having one piece."
Followed immediately by:
"Well... technically that second piece is just quality control."
☕ How to Serve It
This cake is fantastic at room temperature, but there's something special about a slightly warm slice with a cup of coffee.
For an extra-indulgent dessert, serve it with:
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Fresh berries
- Whipped cream
- A drizzle of chocolate sauce
Or just eat it straight from the pan.
📦 How to Store It
Store the frosted cake covered at room temperature for up to a couple of days, or refrigerate if you prefer a firmer frosting.
Allow refrigerated cake to sit at room temperature before serving for the best texture.
📚 Continue Your Sourdough Journey
Ready to do more with your sourdough starter? Keep building your sourdough skills with the Squirrelly Girl guides designed to make sourdough easier to understand — whether you're brand new to sourdough or already baking regularly.
🐿️ Ready to Make Better Sourdough?
Great sourdough baking starts with a strong, healthy starter.
Squirrelly Girl Sourdough Starter makes it easy to get your starter active, healthy, and ready for breads, cakes, cookies, and everything in between.
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Get Squirrelly Girl Sourdough StarterOne starter. Endless sourdough possibilities.
❤️ Happy Baking!
Chocolate cake. Sourdough starter. Homemade frosting.
That's a pretty good reason to keep some sourdough discard around.
Now go make cake. 🍫
🐿️ Happy baking from Squirrelly Girl!