Some cakes are crowd-pleasers. This one is a keeper. The kind of recipe that lives in your family notebook, gets requested for birthdays, and disappears faster than you expect. At our house, this has become the FromAtoZ favorite chocolate cake: rich, chocolatey, not too sweet, and with just enough salt to make you take another bite.
The chocolate sourdough starter might surprise you here, but trust us, it works. This doesn’t make the cake taste “sour” at all. Instead, it adds depth, moisture, and a subtle tang that balances the chocolate. Paired with coffee (to intensify the cocoa) and finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, you get layers of flavor that go beyond your average chocolate cake.
This is chocolate cake for grown-ups.
Ingredients
For the Cake
190 g all-purpose flour
175 g sugar
75 g unsweetened cocoa powder
10 g baking soda
5 g baking powder
5 g fine salt
120 ml neutral oil
2 large eggs
10 ml vanilla extract
60 g chocolate sourdough starter
60 g sour cream 180 ml buttermilk
240 ml hot coffee
For the Chocolate Buttercream
280 g unsalted butter, softened
250 g powdered sugar
75 g unsweetened cocoa powder
120 ml heavy cream
5 ml vanilla extract
2 g fine salt
To Finish
Flaky sea salt
Red fruits
Ice cream
Method
1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and line two 20 cm round cake tins with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk oil, eggs, vanilla, sourdough discard, sour cream, and buttermilk until smooth.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and whisk until just combined, don’t overmix.
5. Slowly pour in the hot coffee while whisking gently. The batter will be thin and glossy, exactly right.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the two tins.
7. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the cakes spring back when touched and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
8. Let the cakes cool in their tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. For the buttercream: beat butter until pale and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and cocoa in batches. Stream in cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat until smooth and airy.
10. Once the cakes are fully cool, spread buttercream between the layers and cover the outside.
11. Just before serving, finish with a generous sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Why Sourdough and Salt Matter
The sourdough starter is the quiet hero, keeping the cake moist for days and adding just enough tang to balance the richness of the chocolate. Don’t worry, it won’t taste like bread or fermentation, just chocolate, but better.
The salt is the final touch. Those little flakes sharpen the chocolate and buttercream, cutting through the sweetness and making every bite more exciting.
Serving FromAtoZ
Serve with a handful of fresh red fruits (raspberries, strawberries, or cherries work beautifully) for brightness.
Add a scoop of vanilla or salted caramel ice cream for contrast with the rich cake.
This cake is even better the next day, once the flavors have settled.
FromAtoZ 