Skip to main content

Sourdough Chocolate Cake


 VS
Full on chocolate cake vs chocolate cake. I thought the top version's icing was a little too sweet. The Sous Chef preferred this one, but I preferred the bottom one. The Sous is not a fan of cream cheese so that might have been the problem with the bottom one for him. With that being said, I wouldn't turn either down.

Sourdough Chocolate Cake (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Cake
1/2 c sourdough starter
1/4 c water
1/2 c flour

1 c milk
1 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c canola oil
2 t vanilla
1 t chocolate extract (optional)
1 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
3/4 c cocoa
1 t espresso powder
2 eggs
1 1/2 c chocolate chips (optional)

Icing (Option 1)
6 c confectioners' sugar
3/4 c butter
1/2 c buttermilk
1T espresso powder
1t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
1 t chocolate extract
3T cocoa
1 T hot water

Icing (Option 2)
8 oz cream cheese
1 c confectioners' sugar
1/4 cocoa powder
2 t vanilla
1 t chocolate extract
2 c heavy cream

Drizzle
1/3 c chocolate chips
1 T milk
1 T corn syrup

Combine starter, water, and flour in a 4 c measuring cup or a bowl. Stir until combined. Add milk and flour. Set aside for 2-3 hours. It will expand but not bubble like the usual sourdough feed.

In a separate bowl combine sugar oil, vanilla, chocolate extract, salt, baking. soda, cocoa, and espresso powder. It will look grainy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Gently combine the flour mixture and chocolate mixture. It will look like it will not combine and you will have serious doubts whether this recipe will work - but have faith. If using chocolate chips, stir in. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean. Set aside to cool.

Icing Option 1:
Sift confectioners' sugar into mixer bowl. Set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add buttermilk. Dissolve espresso powder in the hot water and add to pan. Bring just to boil. Remove from heat, add cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa powder and chocolate extract. Pour liquid over confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. Immediately pour over cake - it might need a little help spreading.
Still crap at that drizzle thing and not getting better...
Icing Option 2:
Beat cream cheese in mixer until very creamy.  Sift together confectioners' sugar and cocoa. Gradually add to cream cheese. Add vanilla and chocolate extract. Gradually pour in heavy cream. Mix until the consistency of whipped cream. Refrigerate and then frost cooled cake.


Drizzle:
Melt chocolate chips, milk, and corn syrup for 10 second bursts in the microwave until melted. Stir until smooth. Drizzle with a fork over the cake.

I did not use the drizzle on the Icing Option 2 since I'm drizzle-challenged but I think it would work for those not thus challenged.  Now this may look like a lot of steps but trust me it is not.

The cake is super moist. I think it is an interesting way to get some of that sourness in a cake without using sour cream or buttermilk. Besides I always feel so wasteful when I haven't baked any sourdough bread and just discard some starter for the feed. Why not make chocolate cake - options are a good thing.

The second go round I decided to add the chocolate chips because why not? I think both versions came out great so if you need that extra chocolate fix, go for the chocolate chips. If not, then leave them out and you still have a really decent cake. So which version did you prefer??
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

I appreciate your comments!

Popular posts from this blog

New Kid on the Block

So here's a picture of the new kid on the block. Ain't she a beauty? It's a Blomberg . They are fairly new to the US. They have been around in Europe for quite a while. I really liked the design. I've been dying to have a freezer on the bottom. With the old refrigerator I would constantly lose brain cells by hitting my head on the freezer will poking around in the refrigerator. It really makes sense to have the refrigerator on top - that is where you spend most of your time. When we bought the old one, it was an emergency situation. The prior one was leaking on the floor and was no longer cooling. Fifteen years ago the freezer on the bottom was just starting to get popular but we were in no situation to wait for delivery. We had to take what they had on hand. Now the freezer on the bottom is by no means unique. What is - is this freezer's design. There are 3 compartments in the freezer. I used to have a chest freezer in the basement and everything would get los...
2 comments
Read more

Mensa Member?

I think Mickey is a member of Mensa. We heard him last night but could not determine where he was in the kitchen (or should I say the Sous Chef could not locate him - I certainly was not looking). He had been lurking in the toaster cabinet the night before and averted the glue trap. This is absolute torture. Still no cooking going on.
Post a Comment
Read more

Mr. Boston

Since we were discussing cocktails, I thought I would discuss Mr. Boston . The Sous Chef has his father's Mr. Boston and then the girls one year for Christmas got him the new version.  They are different enough that you need to keep both of them. We had once thought about working our way through the book but then decided that probably wasn't a good idea.  We have found some really tasty treats though. Old Mr. Boston/New Mr. Boston Here is one of them: Banana Foster (from New Mr. Boston) 2 scoops vanilla ice cream 1 1/2 oz spiced rum 1/2 oz banana liqueur 1 medium banana cinnamon Combine ingredients in blender.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into a large glass and sprinkle with cinnamon I guess there is one improvement with the new Mr. Boston - the index is a bit better. In the old version, you cannot look up the drink by name. You can only look it up by liquor - which doesn't really help you out if you don't know what is in say a grasshopper and just wa...
Post a Comment
Read more