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Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

February 23, 2015 by Nicole 38 Comments

Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting | pinchmysalt.com

I know that some of you looked at the title of this recipe and thought sourdough chocolate what? Or perhaps you thought it was a typo and that this is actually a sour cream chocolate cake.

Actually, it is a sour cream chocolate cake, but the recipe title is also correct. This chocolate cake includes a cup of sourdough starter in the batter, which is awesome for those of us who keep sourdough starters for bread and are sometimes looking for ways to use up the cup of sourdough discard we end up with when feeding our bubbly little pets.

If you don’t have a sourdough starter, don’t worry, this cake can easily be made without one and it will still be an absolutely delicious chocolate sour cream cake. Instructions for doing this are in the recipe notes. If you would like to experiment with sourdough, here are my instructions for creating your own starter.

Rich and Moist Sourdough Chocolate Cake | pinchmysalt.com

The great thing about this cake, other than the fact that it’s a great way to use sourdough starter discard, is that this cake is super easy to make. It’s a dump everything into one bowl and mix for three minutes kind of cake.

It’s also one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever tasted– rich, moist, sweet, intense. And the chocolate cream cheese frosting? It’s easily my new favorite chocolate frosting recipe. Hands down. The frosting is simple to make, too.

Easy Chocolate Cream Frosting - the best chocolate frosting I've ever tasted! | pinchmysalt.com

While I’m sure this cake will be very good made with pretty much any brand of unsweetened natural cocoa powder, including the Hershey’s that I usually have in the pantry, I used some Scharffen Berger that Phil brought home from work and it really took the cake and frosting to the next level.

Although this isn’t a fancy layer cake, it is such a delicious recipe that I think it’s worth splurging on the best quality cocoa powder you can afford, especially if you’re making this for a gift or a special occasion.

Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and Pecans | pinchmysalt.com

I had planned on putting chopped walnuts on top of the cake but the last of my walnuts were pretty old and not tasting so great. Luckily I found some pecans in the freezer and they were the perfect addition. If you don’t like nuts on your chocolate cake, just leave them off. But please, please try the frosting.

Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting | pinchmysalt.com

This recipe was created after reading through several recipes, including the Sourdough Chocolate Cake from King Arthur Flour, and Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake from Two Peas and Their Pod. I made notes, adjusted ingredients according to what I had on hand and what sounded good to me, and came up with this, which will now be my go-to chocolate cake for every occasion that requires a chocolate cake.

My husband, who has been saying over and over “I don’t even like chocolate cake!” as he shoves another piece into his mouth, told me that this is a perfect cake.

Enjoy!

Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting | pinchmysalt.com

Related Recipes:

  • Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Pumpkin Maple Sourdough Cake
  • Lemon Jello Cake with Tart Lemon Glaze
  • Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Praline Pumpkin Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting

Around the Web:

  • German Chocolate Sheet Cake from A Farm Girl’s Dabbles
  • Texas Sheet Cake from My Baking Addiction
  • Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake from Tea Peas and Their Pod
  • Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Rich Coffee Icing from King Arthur Flour
  • Sourdough Coffee Cake from House of Bakes
Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting pinchmysalt.com

Sourdough Chocolate Cake

Yield: 16 pieces

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
  • 1 cup sourdough starter*
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup coffee
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional garnish)

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
    2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir to combine, breaking up any large lumps of cocoa powder.
    3. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl using a hand mixer or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula to make sure all ingredients get incorporated.
    4. Pour batter into the greased cake pan (batter will seem thin, but this is okay) and bake on the center rack of preheated oven for 27-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and/or the top of center of the cake springs back when touched lightly. It's best to start checking the cake a bit early.
    5. Let cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once completely cool spread the top of the cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting (recipe below) and sprinkle with chopped pecans or walnuts if you like.
    6. If using the cream cheese frosting, store leftover cake covered in the refrigerator. If making the cake a day before serving, store the cake covered in the refrigerator but remove it an hour or two before serving as the flavor and texture are best at room temperature (although it's delicious straight out of the fridge as well). I think the cake tastes just as good if not better the next day so it's a great make-ahead cake.

Notes

*This can be made with starter straight from the fridge as long as it has been regularly fed and isn't too funky. If your starter has been neglected for a while, I would feed it once before using it in this recipe. I keep my starter at 100% hydration, if your starter is very stiff, add a bit of water to make it a batter-like consistency before measuring for this recipe.

To make this cake without sourdough starter, simply omit the starter, increase the flour to 2 cups and add 1/2 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt (water or milk could be substituted for the buttermilk or yogurt if that's all you have on hand).

I used Diamond Crystal kosher salt when testing this recipe, if using table salt, please decrease the salt amount to 1/2 teaspoon. Plain yogurt (Greek-style or regular) may be substituted for sour cream.

Any light-flavored oil can be used in place of canola oil. This recipe has not been tested by me with melted unsalted butter or coconut oil. If you want to try using melted butter in place of the oil, make sure that it is unsalted.

© Nicole Cross
Category: Desserts
Easy Chocolate Cream Frosting - the best chocolate frosting I've ever tasted! pinchmysalt.com

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: Frosting for one 9x13 sheet cake
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened

Instructions

    1. Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder together into a bowl then set aside.
    2. Beat cream cheese and butter together with a hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment until light and creamy.
    3. On low speed gradually beat in the sugar and cocoa powder, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as you go. Once it's all incorporated, increase the speed on your mixer to medium and beat for another minute.
    4. Use immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for a day or two (frosting will need to come to room temperature before frosting a cake)

Notes

If you decide to make the frosting ahead of time, you will need to let the frosting sit out and come to room temperature (then maybe give it another brief mixing to make it creamy and spreadable again) before frosting the cake.

Recipe can be doubled to frost a layer cake or two dozen cupcakes.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 80Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 67mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g
© Nicole Cross
Category: Desserts

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Filed Under: Adventures in Baking, Desserts, Sourdough

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bonnie says

    April 30, 2016 at 7:08 pm

    This cake was AWESOME! The only thing I did different was I left out the nuts. I'm making it again tomorrow. Thank you for a great recipe:)
    Reply
  2. Samuel Kazungu says

    June 20, 2016 at 1:38 am

    Very great and sumptuous chocolate cakes!
    Reply
  3. Barbara says

    March 1, 2017 at 9:58 am

    I have no instructions with ingredients, i.e. Temperature, time, sequence
    Reply
    • Barbara says

      March 1, 2017 at 10:01 am

      Sorry, found another site with helps
      Reply
  4. Kendra says

    April 15, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    Made this cake today. I just obtained a sourdough starter a week ago and have not stopped baking since. Already made two batches of bread, sourdough waffles this morning, and this cake for dessert tonight. It was heavenly. Love the texture. I agree it is a bit dense for a cake, but I don't mind. It's super moist. My favorite part is that it is not too sweet, which is perfect for me. Wanted to let every know what worked for me. I used sea salt, instant decaf coffee, butter instead of canola oil, and replaced the white sugar with 1 cup coconut palm sugar along with 1/2 cup dark brown sugar. Used pecans on top. I also used the convect bake on my oven at 350 and my cake was done at 22 mins. It may have been done at 20 mins but I had set the timer for 22. My husband and I both love it and look forward to sharing it with friends, and trying it out tomorrow, since it states it will be even better after refrigerated. Thanks for the recipe.
    Reply
  5. Sylvia Jalomo says

    August 21, 2018 at 5:43 pm

    This is my new favorite chocolate cake! Who knew that you could bake a chocolate cake with sourdough?! I'm new to all this sourdough baking. I just made my first starter and I didn't want to just discard the discard so I began to hunt for something new and delicious. I was a bit skeptical because I REALLY didn't want a sour chocolate cake and was afraid that the tartness would come through. After reading that you went through a few recipes including KA I was Very comfortable trying yours. After all, you did exactly what I do to make this recipe work. This cake is delicious! Moist, chocolatey and a great way to use my starter! Thank you :-)
    Reply
  6. Mel says

    September 18, 2018 at 7:26 am

    I just made these in a mini muffin pan. I added a splosh (official measurement) of whole milk because my starter was a bit stiff. O. M. G. I’m not even going to frost them they are so moist and delicious.
    Reply
  7. Sav says

    December 30, 2019 at 8:15 pm

    I made this for cupcakes! I did a bit of modification: -reduced the baking time to 20 min -swapped the butter in the frosting with ghee -swapped the coffee with a half cup of water (with maybe 3-4 shots of whisky added) -sprinkled in about a tbsp of some leftover coffee grounds. -used a fed starter that had a bit of rye flour (maybe 15%) but was mostly wheat flour (freshly fed so it was doubled in size). The result? Extremely moist, airy/fluffy cupcakes with serious depth in flavor! Thank you for this base recipe! <3
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      January 2, 2020 at 7:09 am

      Sounds great! Thanks for letting us know what worked for your cupcakes!
      Reply
  8. Eliza Sorber says

    February 26, 2020 at 1:53 am

    Can I make this cake in a loaf pan? I'm currently living abroad and don't have access to my normal equipment. This cake is one of my favorites, but I don't know how it would react to the difference. How would the time/ temperature change?
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      February 29, 2020 at 6:33 am

      I definitely haven't tested this in a loaf pan, but if you try it please let us know! I would bake it at the same temperature, but it will most like likely take at least an hour to bake all the way through. Start checking it at 55 minutes, but it might take 60 to 70 minutes, total.
      Reply
  9. Essentail Mama says

    April 6, 2020 at 10:47 pm

    I want to make this but do not want to use coffee or booze. What would be a good substitute?
    Reply
    • Nicole says

      April 7, 2020 at 1:18 pm

      You can use any liquid you would like as a replacement... water, milk, buttermilk would be fine.
      Reply
  10. Christina Mankin-Guiney says

    April 19, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    Loved this recipe! I did a 50/50 split with wheat and all purpose flour, left out the coffee, and frosted half of the cupcakes leaving out the cocoa powder for variety. The cocoa frosted ones were the clear favorites though! Great recipe, thank you!
    Reply
  11. Gabrielle says

    April 29, 2020 at 6:33 am

    I made this last night and even my cake-averse husband had two pieces!! Subbed butter for the oil, since that's what we had on hand and it was so tasty.
    Reply
  12. Andrea says

    May 5, 2020 at 4:41 pm

    This is hands down the best chocolate cake recipe I've ever made and eaten. The depth of flavor in the cake is delicious. The only change I make is in the frosting. I double the butter and halve the cream cheese to make it less tangy. As long as I have sourdough starter, this will be my go-to chocolate cake recipe!
    Reply
  13. Kara says

    May 22, 2020 at 6:21 am

    I made this tonight with half butter half avocado oil. Also used half whole sugar and half white. Replaced coffee with milk. Soooooo delicious! Thank you!
    Reply
  14. Laurie L says

    September 22, 2020 at 1:47 pm

    Love this cake! Have made it 3 times now. Was a huge hit at my parent's 80th bday (born on the same day & same yr). Thanks for posting the recipe!
    Reply
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