Rich Sourdough Chocolate Cake with with Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting
If you're looking to bake a simple, but indulgent cake with sourdough discard, this sourdough chocolate cake is one of my favorite cake recipes out there (sourdough or not!). It has almost brownie like chocolate cake layers, a rich chocolate flavor that isn't overly sweet, and a chocolate mascarpone frosting that makes every bite feel bakery-worthy. The sourdough discard doesn't make the cake taste sour! Instead, it helps create a tender crumb and adds depth of flavor, so you shouldn't skip it.
I love making this cake for birthdays and holiday gatherings because it looks impressive without being difficult to make. I like to use different frostings, but the base always stays the same, because it's a tried and true favorite.
If you want a "lighter" version of a chocolate cake that I reserve mostly for spring or summer, be sure to check out my sourdough chocolate cake with raspberries. If you own a grain mill, I cannot recommend my sour cherry chocolate cake with fresh-milled flour enough!
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Quick Look
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: Approximately 2 hours 30 minutes (including cooling and frosting)
- Servings: 12-16 slices
- Difficulty: Easy
- Baking Method: Oven Baked
- Best For: Birthdays, celebrations, chocolate lovers, sourdough discard recipes
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- Summarize & Save This Recipe On:
- Quick Look
- Important Ingredients
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Cake
- Baking Schedule
- 💭Crucial Success Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- How To Store Sourdough Chocolate Cake
- Other Delicious Recipes
- Rich Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting
- Need Help Tweaking This Recipe?
- Other Dessert Recipes You'll Love
- Simple Summer Cake Bars with Berries
- Chocolate Coconut Puffed Rice Clusters
- Baked Crepes with Sweet Cheese Filling (Oven-Baked Palatschinken)
Important Ingredients
- Sourdough Discard helps give the cake a really soft texture, it sort of tenderizes it.
- Cocoa Powder is the main source of chocolate flavor in the cake.
- Coffee helps bring out the chocolate flavor even more. The cake won't taste like coffee though!
- Mascarpone makes the frosting creamy and smooth, and is a great lighter alternative to buttery frostings.
- Heavy Cream helps lighten the frosting so it isn't too dense.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Use Water Instead of Coffee: Hot water works perfectly if you prefer not to use coffee (I do this when I know the cake will be primarily for the kids.
- Swap the Chocolate Spread: Nutella is great here, but any chocolate-hazelnut spread or chocolate spread will work. I like the one that's all natural with only hazelnuts, hazelnut butter and coconut sugar.
- Use All White Sugar: If you don't have brown sugar on hand, you can use only granulated sugar. The cake will still be delicious.
- Single Layer Option: Bake the batter in a 9x13-inch pan and frost the top for an easier, everyday version.
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How to Make Sourdough Chocolate Cake
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease two 20 cm (8-inch) round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and you can even lightly grease the sides with oil or butter to help it not stick (Image 1)(you know your cake pans best, you don't need to do it if you think you don't need to).
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, to disperse all ingredients (Image 2).
Step 3: In another bowl, mix together melted butter, oil, buttermilk, sourdough discard, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix just with a hand mixer (Image 3) (or very vigorously with a fork) until the batter becomes smooth and the sourdough discard is nicely incorporated. Pour it into the dry ingredients.
Step 4: Pour the hot coffee (or water) into the batter. Stir well and make sure all ingredients are nicely combined (Image 4). The batter will become quite thin (thinner than pancake batter), but that's exactly what gives the cake its soft and moist texture.
Tip: Coffee won't make the cake taste like coffee. It simply deepens the chocolate flavor.
Step 5: Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Step 6: Let the cakes cool in their pans for about 10 minutes before carefully turning them out onto a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before frosting (Image 6).
Step 7: While the cakes cool, melt the chocolate gently over boiling water or in short microwave intervals. Set it aside for a few minutes so it's still smooth and pourable (Image 7), but not extremely hot.
Step 8: In a large bowl, mix the mascarpone and Nutella until you have a uniformly colored mixture (Image 8). It's ok if it's quite stiff, especially if you used mascarpone straight from the fridge. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate while mixing continuously, until you have a smooth chocolate mixture. Again, it's ok if it's stiff, because we're going to use it as frosting, so it shouldn't really be runny.
Step 9: In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip it.
Step 10: Using a spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mascarpone mixture until the frosting becomes light, fluffy, and evenly combined.
Step 11: Once the cake layers are fully cooled, spread frosting between the layers and over the top and (optionally) the sides of the cake (Image 11).
Hint: For the cleanest cake layers, chill the assembled cake for about 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. This helps the mascarpone frosting firm up slightly and gives you beautiful, clean slices. If your kitchen is warm, you can also refrigerate the frosting for 10 minutes before decorating if it feels too soft.
Baking Schedule
- Mix everything (0:00 - 0:15) You prepare the batter and get your pans ready.
- Bake the cake (0:15 - 0:50) Put the cakes in the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes.
- Cool the cake (0:50 - 1:15+) Take them out, let them sit in the pans for 10 minutes, then move to a rack.
You wait until they are COMPLETELY cool before frosting (this can take longer than 1 hour depending on room temp). - Make the frosting (while cake cools) This is the best time to do it so you're not waiting later.
- Frost the cake (only when fully cool) Spread frosting between layers and on top.
💭Crucial Success Tips
Don't be alarmed by how thin the batter looks after adding the hot coffee (or water). This is completely normal and is one of the reasons the finished cake stays so moist and tender. Also, avoid overwhipping the heavy cream when making the frosting. Medium-stiff peaks create the lightest, fluffiest texture.
Recipe FAQs
No. The sourdough discard adds moisture, tenderness, and a subtle depth of flavor, but the cake does not taste sour. The chocolate flavor remains the star of the recipe.
Yes. You can bake the cake layers up to two days in advance and store them tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the unfrosted layers for up to three months.
Yes. Active starter works just as well in this recipe. Since the starter is not used for leavening here, either active starter or discard will produce excellent results.
How To Store Sourdough Chocolate Cake
Because of the mascarpone frosting, store the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For the best texture and flavor, let slices sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.
The unfrosted cake layers freeze very well for up to 3 months. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and place them in an airtight container before freezing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before frosting.
Other Delicious Recipes
- Rich Sourdough Chocolate Cake with with Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting
- Simple Summer Cake Bars with Berries
- Chocolate Coconut Puffed Rice Clusters
- Baked Crepes with Sweet Cheese Filling (Oven-Baked Palatschinken)
If you tried this rich sourdough chocolate cake with chocolate mascarpone Frosting or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below! Happy Baking!
Rich Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting
Jump to VideoIngredients
Cake Ingredients
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 75 g cocoa powder natural
- 110 g unsalted butter melted
- 120 g oil neutra, olive oil works too!
- 200 g buttermilk
- 140 g sourdough discard
- 2 eggs large
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 ml water very hot or coffee
Frosting Ingredients
- 750 g mascarpone
- 250 ml whipping cream heavy
- 120 g chocolate dark baking
- 2 tablespoon Nutella
Instructions
CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease two 20 cm (8-inch) round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and you can even lightly grease the sides with oil or butter to help it not stick (you know your cake pans best, you don't need to do it if you think you don't need to).
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, to disperse all ingredients.
- In another bowl, mix together melted butter, oil, buttermilk, sourdough discard, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix just with a hand mixer (or very vigorously with a fork) until the batter becomes smooth and the sourdough discard is nicely incorporated. Pour it into the dry ingredients.
- Pour the hot coffee (or water) into the batter. Stir well and make sure all ingredients are nicely combined. The batter will become quite thin (thinner than pancake batter), but that's exactly what gives the cake its soft and moist texture. Tip: Coffee won't make the cake taste like coffee. It simply deepens the chocolate flavor.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cakes cool in their pans for about 10 minutes before carefully turning them out onto a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING
- While the cakes cool, melt the chocolate gently over boiling water or in short microwave intervals. Set it aside for a few minutes so it's still smooth and pourable, but not extremely hot.
- In a large bowl, mix the mascarpone and Nutella until you have a uniformly colored mixture. It's ok if it's quite stiff, especially if you used mascarpone straight from the fridge. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate while mixing continuously, until you have a smooth chocolate mixture. Again, it's ok if it's stiff, because we're going to use it as frosting, so it shouldn't really be runny.
- In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overwhip it.
- Using a spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mascarpone mixture until the frosting becomes light, fluffy, and evenly combined.
- Once the cake layers are fully cooled, spread frosting between the layers and over the top and (optionally) the sides of the cake.
Video
Notes
- You can adjust the sugar ratio in the cake if you prefer it sweeter. The total amount matters more than the exact split between white and brown sugar.
- You can use only white sugar if that's what you have on hand.
- Any chocolate spread works in the frosting, not just Nutella.
- The cake batter is supposed to be thin, so resist the urge to add extra flour.
- Keep the mascarpone cold until using for the best frosting texture.
- Don't overwhip the cream or the frosting can become grainy.
