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Sourdough Chocolate Cake


Chocolate cake made with sourdough starter? Don't worry; you'll never taste the sour, just the rich, full flavor of chocolate. The coffee icing, with its pretty dark chocolate drizzle, takes this cake to another level. Read our blog about this chocolate cake, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.

Ingredients

Cake

Icing

  • 6 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
  • 1 tablespoon hot water

Drizzle

Directions

1) Combine the "fed" starter, milk, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. It won't necessarily bubble, but it may have expanded a bit.

2) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

3) In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, vanilla, salt, baking soda, cocoa. and espresso powder. The mixture will be grainy.

4) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5) Gently combine the chocolate mixture with the starter-flour-milk mixture, stirring till smooth. This will be a gloppy process at first, but the batter will smooth out as you continue to beat gently.

6) Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

7) Bake the cake for 30 to 40 minutes, until it springs back when lightly pressed in the center, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

8) Remove the cake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool while you make the icing.

9) Sift the confectioners' sugar into a large mixing bowl, and set it aside.

10) In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter and add the buttermilk or yogurt. Dissolve the espresso powder in the hot water, add to the pan, and bring the mixture just to a boil.

11) Immediately pour the simmering liquid over the confectioners' sugar in the bowl, and beat till smooth.

12) Pour the warm frosting over the cake. If you wait too ong and the frosting stiffens up, spread it over the cake.

13) Combine the chocolate chips, milk, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe cup. Microwave till the chips soften, then stir till smooth.

14) Drizzle/drip the chocolate over the icing. You can do this while the icing is still warm, or wait till it's cooled.

Recipe summary

Hands-on time:
15 mins. to 20 mins.
Baking time:
30 mins. to 40 mins.
Total time:
2 hrs 45 mins. to 4 hrs
Yield:
One sheet cake, 18 servings
*Overnight
Rate recipe
****+
Recipe comments (10) »

Tips from our bakers

  • Do you really need the espresso powder in the cake? Well, certainly it's not critical to the cake's structure. But we find espresso powder heightens chocolate flavor, just as vanilla does. You can't really taste either one; but each is a lovely accent to chocolate, bringing out the nuances of its flavor.
  • How do you tell when a cake is done? Start with the time it's been in the oven, certainly, but don't depend on that; ovens vary wildly in how they bake. Rely instead on the usual tests: is the cake barely beginning to pull away form the sides of the pan? Does it spring back when pressed lightly in the center (rather than your finger leaving an imprint)? And, most importantly, does a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center come out clean, or with perhaps only a few solid crumb clinging to it? Then, no matter what your timer says, the cake is done.

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Reviews

Page:   1  
*****

10/10/2009

SAM from ARIZONA

WOW!

*****

10/05/2009

Janet from Wyoming

Very good cake. Be sure and beat out all the lumps. I didn't the first time.

*****

07/23/2009

Amy from Phoenix

Not only was this cake easy to make and delicious, when I used it to make an ice cream cake, it stayed soft while frozen. I made it with a new sourdough starter, the sourdough flavor was undetectable. I'm curious to try it again once my starter is mature.

*****

07/19/2009

Arlene from Chicago

Nice cake, but my frosting didn't set up properly. Perhaps I measured incorrectly. It was nice for using the sourdough started but the frosting wasn't satisfactory to me. The preparation was, in my eyes, a bit more tedious than I'm used to. But then I'm not someone who has a ton of patience for cake. If you like doing cakes from start to finish you'll like this.

*****

07/10/2009

Janette from New Hampshire

This is THE BEST chocolate cake I have ever made. It is very moist and not too sweet - you really taste the chocolate more than the sugar.

*****

12/01/2008

from

Wow! I made this cake yesterday to use my unfed starter -- and I must say, it's one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever made. The frosting is over-the-top!
Thank you for opening up the sourdough boundaries beyond bread products! Happy Baking! Irene at KAF


*****

11/27/2008

Jennifer from Fairborn, OH

If I have the time (and plan well) this is the only chocolate cake recipe I use anymore.

*****

10/08/2008

Toni P. from Fresno, CA

I bought the sourdough started just to make this cake. It was so easy to make and my co-workers loved it. The only drawback is I had to grow enough sourdough starter to share it with everyone. It is now my "favorite" cake.

*****

09/16/2008

Jenni from Pittsburgh, pa

This recipe is straightforward and delicious, if you have the sourdough starter on hand (which I do). The cake is so moist and flavorful. The icing is a bit on the sweet side, and very rich. But yummy! .

*****

09/14/2008

from

Page:   1