Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Sourdough Surprises #12 - Cake

Twelve months. Can you believe it? This is the twelfth month of Sourdough Surprises. I can't even believe it. I am amazed and impressed by all of the deliciousness that fellow sourdough enthusiasts around the world (around the world! how cool is that??) have shared with us over these months and can't wait to see the deliciousness that people post for this month's challenge.

Because this month we made cakes.

You'd be amazed how many amazing cake recipes there are out there incorporating sourdough. But for this challenge, I decided that I wanted to go chocolate.  I chose to go with King Arthur Flour's recipe, as they are usually completely dependable.

And this time was no different.  The recipe called for a thick starter to be mixed into a grainy batter, yet somehow, it all incorporates and becomes a smooth, delicious looking cake batter.


Even more impressive is how this batter baked up - whoa!


To put these layers together, I used a vegan chocolate ganache-style frosting.


And as frosting? Cool Whip. Because... why not?


The results were delicious. The cake was moist and rich and chocolate-y. The ganache filling was only okay - I don't think I'll be repeating it, but the cake? An absolute keeper.


And it tasted even better the second day.


What a way to celebrate the completion of a year of sourdoughing. I can't wait to see (and taste!) what year two brings!

So what sourdough cake did you make? Link up and share your results! 


And if you haven't tried your hand at sourdough yet, what are you waiting for? You'll be amazed at what you can do with it!


Sourdough Chocolate Cake
(slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour)


1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
1 cup coconut milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa (not Dutch process)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
2 large eggs

Combine the "fed" 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.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan or two 9" circular pans.
In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, vanilla, salt, baking soda, cocoa and cinnamon. The mixture will be grainy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
Gently combine the chocolate mixture with the starter-flour-milk mixture, stirring until smooth. This will be a gloppy process at first, but be patient and the batter will smooth out as you continue to beat gently.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
Bake the cake(s) 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.
Remove the cake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool.
Fill and frost as desired.

Enjoy!

14 comments:

  1. I love sourdough chocolate cake. So moist and tasty!

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  2. Great job with the frosting, love the black and white look! Never used coconut milk in a cake, now I've got to give it a try.

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  3. I've been saving the King Arthur Flour recipe but always seem to find something else I want to try first. Good to know it's a good one - nice job!

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  4. Haha, I love how much that sourdough starter poofed up the cakes! They do like to be noticed, don't they?

    This looks really yummy, and I'd take a big ol' slice any time of day. Glad to be baking with you through Sourdough Surprises! :)

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  5. I also used this recipe from King Arthur and I thought it was delicious....and even better the next day! Everything tastes better with Cool whip:) Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines

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  6. Wow, that looks awesome! I love the decoration. I was going to make a chocolate cake myself, but wound up doing gingerbread since I was making chocolate cake for something else. A definite must-try though. :)

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  7. I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while, I'm glad to hear it's as good as it sounds!

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  8. Beautiful decoration and the cake looks amazing!

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  9. Congrats on keeping this fantastic group going for a whole year, Shelley! Thank you for all the work you and Jenni put into it :) Your cake looks wonderful, a giant tower of chocolate and whipped topping... mmm...

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  10. Oooh chocolate. Someday soon I'm going to have to try a sourdough chocolate cake.

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  11. I love that we used the same recipe! Your cake looks great, and I love the awesome cool whip frosting!

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  12. Wow, Shelley that looks amazing!!! I'm drooling all over my keyboard!

    Congratulations to you and Jenni on one year of Sourdough Surprises! I'm so glad to have joined you :)

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  13. So excited to have found this group-thanks for all the work that must go into it! Chocolate sourdough cake is definitely in my future :)

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  14. how did I miss this cake????
    amazing job on the challenge and WOW
    this is a king of chocolate cakes, so tall and moist. love all: the color, the vegan chocolate ganache, and the frosting... the way you worked the frosting does look professional, did you create the "movement" with a spatula? ciao and happy easter!

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