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.

PREP

15 mins

BAKE

30 to 40 mins

TOTAL

2 hrs 45 mins

YIELD

One sheet cake, 18 servings

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Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup (241g) sourdough starter, ripe (fed) or discard
• 1 cup (227g) milk (whole milk or 2% preferred) or evaporated milk
• 2 cups (241g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (198g) vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cup (64g) natural cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
• 2 large eggs

Icing

• 6 cups (680g) confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup (170g) butter
• 1/2 cup (113g) plain yogurt or buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon (14g) hot water

Drizzle

• 1/3 cup (57g) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon (14g) milk
• 1 tablespoon (21g) corn syrup

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Instructions

1. Combine the 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.

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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 until smooth.
12. Pour the warm frosting over the cake. If you wait too long 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 until the chips soften, then stir until smooth.
14. Drizzle/drip the chocolate over the icing. You can do this while the icing is still warm, or wait until it's cooled.

Tips from our Bakers

• Don’t have any starter? Here’s a recipe for homemade sourdough starter. If you're making it from scratch, you'll need to feed it for 5 to 7 days before it’s ready for baking. Want a head start? Purchase our classic fresh sourdough starter – it’ll be ready for baking about 24 hours after it arrives at your door. Looking for tips, techniques, and all kinds of great information about sourdough baking? Find what you need in our sourdough baking guide.
• 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.