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Sourdough Chocolate Cake

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This sourdough chocolate cake recipe is rich, delicious, healthier, and a more nutritious take on your classic dessert. Start the night before to ferment the grains, develop the flavors, and make the cake easier to digest. 

slice of three layer sourdough chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on a blue and white antique plate with a candle on a antique wooden high chair

Somehow, Daniel turned one year old a few days ago. I’m not quite sure how that happened. It feels like just yesterday I was holding my newborn baby in my arms (read his home birth story here).

After six children, I can tell you with all my heart that babies don’t keep. You blink and they are one year old, they’ve learned to walk around the house, and they’re convinced they can do most things on their own.

Although it hurts my heart to move past the precious baby stage and into toddlerhood, watching Daniel become a toddler has its own set of blessings. 

I love watching them learn: learning about the world, how to communicate, and developing that curious personality. It’s a really fun stage. Soon enough, he will be running around barefoot on the farm playing with the goats and climbing trees. 

It goes too fast.

This chocolate sourdough cake was the perfect recipe to celebrate Daniel. Light, fluffy, and boasting my favorite sourdough tang, this cake has so much flavor. Layers of tender chocolate cake smothered with chocolate buttercream frosting. 

sourdough chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and 4 long beeswax candles on a white cake stand

Tips For Making Sourdough Chocolate Cake

  • Ferment this recipe overnight to increase the nutritional value of the grains and make them more digestible.
  • If you are in a pinch for time, skip the fermentation and use sourdough discard.
  • You can use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard. It is a great way for all that extra sourdough starter you may have on hand. Learn how to create your own sourdough starter here.
  • Add finely ground coffee to give this a deeper and richer chocolate flavor. Coffee and chocolate go together perfectly in baked goods.
slice of three layer sourdough cake with chocolate frosting on a blue and white antique plate with the remaining cake on a white cake stand in the background

Why you will love this recipe:

  • Start this recipe the night before (or even up to 24 hours before) to allow it to ferment. Starting the night before removes a few steps the next day, making it easier to whip together.
  • Chocolate lovers rejoice. Rich chocolate cake with a delicious chocolate frosting. This light and fluffy layer cake will have your family asking you to make this recipe over and over again.
  • It is healthier and easier to digest than a standard chocolate cake.
  • It’s the perfect cake for a birthday, holiday, or even just a weekend.
  • You can easily turn this into a sourdough discard chocolate cake by just using sourdough discard, mix the cake batter together, and bake.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Ingredients:

close up picture of a slice of sourdough chocolate cake with chocolate frosting

Cake:

All-purpose flour

Coconut oil: Could also substitute with another oil like avocado. I would avoid using vegetable oil as it inflammatory and highly processed.

Sourdough starter – Discard sourdough starter or active sourdough starter will work.

Water

Eggs

Sugar: Sucanat or rapadura (regular sugar would work also)

Salt 

Finely ground coffee (optional)

Vanilla extract: Homemade or store-bought

Cocoa powder

Whole milk 

Baking soda

Chocolate Frosting:

Salted butter: If you only have unsalted butter available, you may want to add a dash of salt to the frosting to bring out all the flavors.

Powdered sugar

Vanilla extract

Cocoa powder

Heavy cream

Tools you may need:

Cake pans

Large bowl

Measuring cups and spoons

Stand mixer

chocolate cake with chocolate frosting with 4 long candles on a white cake stand

How To Make Sourdough Chocolate Cake

The Night Before:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, coconut oil, sourdough starter, and water. Cover with plastic wrap, a tight lid, or beeswax wraps, and allow to sit overnight at room temperature or up to 24 hours.

The Next Day:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. 

In a separate bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together sucanat or rapadura (regular sugar would work, as well), salt, and finely ground coffee (optional).

To the flour mixture, add remaining wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla, cocoa powder, and whole milk). 

Next, add the sourdough mixture into the rest of the ingredients. Whisk to incorporate until smooth. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment for easier mixing starting on low speed.

Lastly, add baking soda and incorporate well.

Prepare two, 9-inch cake pans with butter. Tip: Trace the round cake pans on parchment paper and cut out. Place the paper on the bottom of the greased pan. This will help the cake pop right out after baking.

Pour chocolate cake batter evenly between the two greased cake pans. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Create The Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

In a stand mixer bowl with whisk attatchment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), add the softened butter.

Beat the butter on high speed for a few minutes until it becomes light and fluffy.

Turn the mixer down to low speed and slowly add in the cocoa powder and powder sugar until it is incorporated.

Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons of cream.

Once the ingredients are incorporated well, turn the speed back up to medium speed and whip until light and fluffy. Add remaining cream if the frosting seems too stiff.

Frost cake.

FAQ:

slice of sourdough discard chocolate cake on a blue and white antique plate with the rest of the cake on a white cake stand in the background with a case of eucalyptus

Do I have to ferment this recipe?

No you do not. You can easily just whip it up without letting it sit overnight.

How do you store chocolate cake?

  • Frosted cakes (with dairy) should be stored with a cake cover in the refrigerator. You don’t want to keep it in an airtight container as the cake can absorb the frosting.
  • Frosted cakes without dairy can be kept at room temperature covered.,
  • Freeze unfrosted cake in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking for up to 6 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature for 6-12 hours before frosting and serving.
  • Freeze frosted cakes in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Be aware that frosted cakes may not looks as pretty after then come out of the freezer.

What does sourdough do for cakes?

Not only does it add a slight tangy flavor to the cake, but it also helps break down the gluten in the cake. This helps it be more tender rather than tough and chewy. If you ferment the grains with the starter it helps break down the phytic acid which makes the nutrients in the grains more absorbable.

Is sourdough hard to bake?

This depends on the recipe. Some recipes like bread can be more challenging, while others like this sourdough cake recipe is much easier.

I love this type of recipe because you mix a portion of it the night before and then finish the recipe the next day. It does take some planning ahead (although you could just whip it up and forgo the fermentation), but it is worth it.

What is unfed sourdough discard?

It is sourdough starter that has not been fed in over 12 hours. When you feed a sourdough starter it gets nice and active, plus it should doubles in size.

Once the yeasts in the starter have fed off the new flour and water, the bubbles release, and it will then come back down (the process takes about 12 hours). This is then considered unfed sourdough stater. Normally, you toss half of the starter (or use it in a discard recipe). What you get rid of would be considered unfed sourdough discard.

Find More Sourdough Desserts

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Thank you! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.

sourdough chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and 4 long beeswax candles on a white cake stand

Sourdough Chocolate Cake

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Additional Time: 12 hours
Total Time: 12 hours 55 minutes

Rich, delicious, sourdough chocolate cake is a healthier, more nutritious take on your classic dessert.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter - discard or active starter
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups sucanat or rapadura (regular sugar would work also)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon finely ground coffee (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3/4 cup cocoa
  • 1 cups whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup salted butter, softened
  • 3 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
  • 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, mix together flour, coconut oil, sourdough starter, and water. Cover and allow to sit overnight or up to 24 hours. (Optional)
  2. In a large bowl, mix together sucanat or rapadura, salt, and finely ground coffee (optional).
  3. To the dry ingredients, add eggs, vanilla, cocoa powder, and whole milk.
  4. Next, add the sourdough mixture into the rest of the ingredients. Whisk to incorporate until smooth.
  5. Lastly, add baking soda and incorporate well.
  6. Preheat the oven to 350º F.
  7. Prepare two, 9-inch cake pans with butter.
  8. Divide cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
  9. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  10. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Create the frosting:

  1. In a stand mixer bowl with whisk attatchment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), add the softened butter.
  2. Beat the butter on high speed for a few minutes until it becomes light and fluffy.
  3. Turn the mixer down to low speed and slowly add in the cocoa powder and powder sugar until it is incorporated.
  4. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons of cream.
  5. Once the ingredients are incorporated well, turn the spead back up to medium and whip until light and fluffy. Add remaining cream if the frosting seems too stiff.
  6. Frost cake.

Notes

Ferment this recipe overnight to increase the nutritional value of the grains and make them more digestible.

If you are in a pinch for time, skip the fermentation and use sourdough discard. You can use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard.

Add finely ground coffee to give this a deeper and richer chocolate flavor.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 497Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 532mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 3gSugar: 28gProtein: 6g
© Lisa Bass
Cuisine: American / Category: Sourdough

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Comments

  2. Lisa says

    Sounds delicious! Did I miss the recipe for the chocolate frosting? Excited to give this a try! Thanks for sharing

    Reply

    • Mary Odom says

      I was hoping for the frosting recipe too. thanks ! this looks delicious. I am planning on using Einkorn flour… we’ll see

      Reply

      • Erin says

        I was looking for a sourdough chocolate cake recipe for my son, Daniel, on his 6th birthday. This recipe is perfect; it was meant to be!

        Reply

  3. Lisa Moran says

    Can’t wait to make this! Do you have a recipe for the icing?
    Love your youtube channel, the cooking segments are my favorite :0)

    Reply

  7. Ashley Lisa says

    Yes Lisa please share the frosting I have a Halloween baby’s birthday coming up and would love to use this

    Reply

  10. Kelly says

    Can I use honey instead of sugar? I haven’t heard of the sugars you mentioned before. What are they? Why do you use them

    Reply

    • Ali says

      When I make any baked goods with sourdough (cookies, waffles, cake pancake, etc) I let it the dough and starter mixture autolyse for one hour at room temp before overnight cold ferment in the fridge because you want to allow the wild yeast to incorporate and spread throughout the dough at a warm temp before the fermentation activity slows down at a colder temp. This is the similar process of making sourdough bread- bulk ferment then cold ferment.

      Reply

    • Brooke says

      I just made these as cupcakes- baked for 15 min. They turned out great!
      I also substituted half coco sugar and regular sugar. Would love to try substituting honey next but I’m not sure if it’s an equal amount…

      Reply

  14. Sandy says

    Love this cake! I made a half recipe for the two of us and substituted coconut sugar for the sucanat. It’s delicious, and going fast. Thank you!

    Reply

  16. Michelle Hertzler says

    If I use active starter or discard… How much do I put in? Is it replacing the 2 c. flour, 1 c. water and 1/2 c. starter? So 3 1/2 c.??

    Reply

    • Alice says

      Excellent! Moist and yummy. Except for icing w/ ganache, I simply followed the recipe. I served w/ fresh pomegranate seeds, a lovely contrast. Thank you!

      Reply

  17. Frank says

    I baked the cake this morning using two cups of dark brown sugar and a bunt pan. It’s probably the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten or baked. And Lord knows I’ve eaten plenty. Wow. I opted not to make frosting. It’s perfect as is! Thank you!

    Reply

  18. Jane says

    This is so good! I was afraid my family may pick up the slight fermented taste of sourdough but not at all! I made a half recipe which gave up 12 good size cupcakes. They rose great and the top has a shiny appearance similar to a brownie. Great texture. Im an older baker and my standby was the Betty Crocker chocolate cake for the past 45 years. To note another comment…a keeper! Thank you

    Reply

  19. Mikayla says

    This recipe sounds wonderful! My baby girl turns 1 in a couple of weeks, and I’d like to try a vanilla/almond version of this. Any recommendations on this substitution? I realize there would be less dry ingredients and more wet, so I’m wondering if I should add some flour to get the right consistency?

    Reply

  20. Lolly says

    I made this as a birthday cake yesterday and it was delicious! I replaced the whole milk with rice milk (about 3/4 cup) and made a buttercream frosting (butter, creamed coconut, icing sugar and cocoa powder) and it worked perfectly. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

    Reply

  21. Sarah Mazur says

    Can the starter mix be left out for more than 24 hrs? We lost power before I could make the cake.

    Reply

  22. Maya says

    So excited to make this! What kind of flour did you use? I want to use fresh milled einkorn. Would the measurements be different do you think?

    Reply

    • Rachael says

      I will try to pay attention when I make it again but I used einkorn and the measurements were pretty similar. I judge it by the consistency. It was sticky (as is everything with einkorn) and wetter than bread dough but thicker than pancake mix. This cake turned out SO well.

      Reply

  23. Karena says

    Have you ever had anyone try this recipe with a flax egg or another egg substitute? I am allergic to eggs but I’d love to give the sourdough cake a whirl!

    Reply

    • Danielle says

      Thank you so much for the frosting tip! I’m going to follow the icing link and use it for this cake! It sounds amazing ❤️

      Reply

  27. Ali says

    I followed your recipe exactly and it came out so yummy, moist and rich. I will be using this recipe from now on. I blended it in a food processor to get it smooth since the dough had been in the fridge for 24 hours. I will also see if I can reduce the sugar by a cup and still taste great.

    Reply

  32. Judy says

    It sounds great and it looks great. But I have no sour dough starter and I’m positive none of my friends or neighbors have it either. So I’m going to the link you shared on how to make our own sourdough starter and Then I’ll be able to try the recipe (but I know I will like it)!

    Reply

  34. Brianna says

    I can’t seem to find the instructions on how to only use sourdough discard. Does it replace the flour only? Would love instructions on how to do it.

    Reply

  35. Kristien says

    This turned out perfectly! I make sourdough bread often, but a sourdough cake was new to me, and I wasn’t sure how the texture would be. It was very moist, and also very dense – in a good way! I always make my husband a chocolate cake for his birthday and so I tried this one this year. He said it was the best cake he’d ever had! I made it into three layers instead of two and I baked them for about 28 minutes. This recipe is a keeper for sure.

    Reply

    • Kristien says

      I wanted to add that I sub’d butter for coconut oil because my husband has a coconut allergy. Also anyone wondering about a good chocolate icing recipe, check out Sally’s Baking Addiction.

      Reply

  36. Ashley says

    Hi Lisa, thanks so much for this delicious cake recipe. I made this for my sons 2 yr birthday and it was a huge hit. Only problem I had was that the dough didn’t mix in completely with the rest of the batter. Has this every happened to anyone? It still tasted great, but I had chunks of dough in the cake. Also, I used the frosting recipe from your vanilla cake and used a vegan coconut oil butter and swapped out the dairy milk for pea milk and it all worked out really well!! Thanks again and definitely making this cake again.

    Reply

    • Moire says

      This happened for me, and I think it’s b/c we didn’t mix thoroughly enough. I think next time, we could use a blender, food processor, or just mix longer to make sure the batter is smooth.

      Reply

  41. Dayna says

    This was so so good! I used half of powdered swearve and half regular sugar. I wanted to lighten the sugar up in it, but also keep the fermentation process. It was so fudgey and flavorful! Will definitely be making this again!!

    Reply

  43. Maggie says

    I have a friend who is gluten and lactose intolerant. She can eat a bit of each, but not much. She does better with fermented breads. So, I fermented my batter for 24 hours and substituted soy milk for the whole milk. The next day I made cupcakes, 30 of them! Mine took about 13 minutes. I frosted the cupcakes with a soy milk, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla icing. The result was fabulous. The cupcakes have a nice crumb that goes all melty when you eat it. I can taste and smell the sourdough, but I kind of like that. It’s faint, but it’s there.

    I think she is going to love these cupcakes.

    Reply

  44. Laura says

    Made this today using the long ferment method. I’ve always made Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe but decided to give your recipe a try for a double birthday celebration this evening. Wow! So moist! Everyone raved about it and my husband has already requested it for his birthday! Thank you for a new favorite!

    Reply

  45. Moire says

    Hi Lisa, I had a question. I made this cake this morning with a 9″ round pan, but when I divided the batter into 2, each of the segments that came out of the oven were like not even an inch thick – they were VERY flat. The photos make it look like they’re 2-3″ tall each segment. Do I need to double the recipe, or did you use like a 6″ round pan?

    Reply

  46. Laurie says

    I made this for my husbands birthday and he loved it! I cut the recipe in half and baked it in a 9 inch glass baking dish. Thanks so much for sharing! It turned out perfect and it’s our new favorite chocolate cake!

    Reply

  47. Madeline says

    Hi Lisa! I would like to make a sourdough strawberry layer cake since it’s almost strawberry season (yay!) and was wondering if you think I could make this recipe into a strawberry cake (sans chocolate)? I’m worried that the wetness of the strawberries would affect the moisture level of the cake, like make it too soggy. How would you do this?

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Hmmm. Here are some thoughts. If you don’t want to use the chocolate I would suggest my sourdough vanilla cake. I think most strawberry cake recipes call for a reduced strawberry puree so you get a more concentrated strawberry flavor without as much moisture. You may also need to reduce the amount of liquid a bit as well. If that is too many changes, you could make the vanilla cake and add layers of strawberry puree and frosting between layers. Hope that helps.

      Reply

  48. Amy says

    I just made this, but used butter instead of coconut oil, only 1/4 cup water + 3/4 c. Sour cream(plain yogurt is yummy too), and then I used 3/4 tsp. Of baking soda and 3/4tsp. Baking powder. The batter tasted delish! Thank you for your recipes! I love them!

    Reply

  50. Mackenzie says

    Made this one this week and it was delicious! The chocolate buttercream was amazing. I think next time I am going to try out peanut butter buttercream just because I love that combo. Got thumbs up from my whole family! I am loving all of your recipes.

    Reply

  51. Marla says

    So I have now made both the vanilla and chocolate cake recipes, following the instructions as listed, and both times they bubbled over out of the pans into the oven. This creates burnt cake on the oven, lots of terrible smoke, and is so frustrating! What can I do to make sure this does not happen again? Has anyone else had this problem?

    Reply

  52. Kyle says

    Hi Lisa, I made this in a 9 x 13 in pan last time and it turned out great. Do you think it would also work/fit in a 9″ spring pan?

    Reply

  54. Heather Young says

    In your picture you have three layers of cake; does this recipe make enough for 3 or do I need to make extra for a third layer?

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Probably not. Dutch cocoa is going to give you a deeper, richer, bittersweet chocolate flavor compared to regular cocoa.

      Reply

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About Lisa

I’m so glad you’re here! Join me and my family as we find beauty in our everyday life in the farmhouse: food from scratch, natural living and a handmade home.

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