A long fermented sourdough chocolate cake has a wonderful dynamic flavor. With extra vanilla, a little cinnamon, and a soft fluffy crumb, this cake will become your go-to chocolate cake for any occasion!
Ingredients
For the Sponge
1 cup kefir or full fat coconut milk
1 cup sourdough start
2 cups all purpose flour or 1 3/4 cup white Kamut flour
*you want your sponge to be very, very thick which is why we are using a thicker kefir or coconut milk. If you want to use regular milk then reduce the amount by 1/4 cup. The sponge texture should be that of a soft, slightly sticky bread dough.
For the Cake
1 1/2 coconut sugar
4 eggs
1 cup melted butter or melted coconut oil
3/4 cup coco powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
For the Sponge
The night before you plan to make your cake, mix up the sponge ingredients, cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and set it in a warm place. You can make this up to two days in advance and put it in the fridge for a longer ferment.
For the Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8" cake pans or a 9x13" pan.
Melt butter or coconut oil and set aside to cool off a bit.
In a mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand held mixer, whip eggs and sugar for 3-5 minutes until silky smooth and slightly fluffy.
Add butter/oil, coco powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and cinnamon and mix.
Take your sponge and drop small spoonfulls of it throughout the mixer or bowl. This will help it blend together faster and more evenly. Start by mixing for 30 seconds, then scrap down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds. The sponge takes time to fully incorporate and you want to be careful not to overmix the batter.
Once the batter is fully mixed, pour into cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes. The 9x13" pan may take a few minutes longer.
Enjoy!
Recipe Note
*Can also be made into fabulous cupcakes! Here's a little trick to getting tall cupcakes. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and bake the cupakes for 5 minutes at this higher temperature. Then, without taking the cupcakes out of the oven, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.
This is hands down the best cake I have ever made. Truth be told, I'm not much of a cake person. I love the idea of cake. There's a romantic nostalgia behind a beautifully decorated cake. Well what makes this cake different? I find that the reason I don't like cake is that it is usually way too sweet. This cake has a perfect balance of sweetness without overpowering the chocolate flavor. Add in a long ferment sourdough and the flavor dynamic is out of this world!
