Sourdough Chocolate Cake Divine

There is more to sourdough than bread and this Chocolate cake recipe is a prime example of what you can do with sourdough. The beauty of it is it does not taste really like sourdough thanks to the cocoa but the sourdough does enhance the flavor and this is a very moist cake as well. If you like chocolate cake you will love this recipe. Try it, you will not be sorry. See the order link below on the right side column to order one of my sourdough starters.

The Cake 1 Cup Wasatch Willy's Sourdough Starter (Fed and bubbly) 1 Cup Milk 2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1-1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar 1 Cup Vegetable Oil 2 teaspoons real Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda 1/2 Cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa 1/4 Cup Hershey's Cocoa 2 Large Eggs, farm fresh The Frosting 6 Cups Powdered Sugar 3/4 Cup Butter, Softened 1/2 Cup Buttermilk 1/3 Cup Stephen's Cherry Chocolate Powder 1/3 Cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa 1 Tablespoon Hot Water Drizzle for the Sizzle 1/3 Cup Dark or Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips 1 Tablespoon Milk 1 Tablespoon Corn Syrup Preheat your oven to 350F. The Fresh Egg Provider

The Cake In your mixer bowl, combine the Wasatch Willy live and active starter, milk and flour. Mix until just combined. Cover and rest for 2-3 hours. Don’t worry if it is not bubbling but it should have doubled in size.  In another bowl beat together the sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, salt, baking soda and cocoa. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after adding each one. In the picture lower left I show three eggs. This is because they are medium-sized and from one of my Leghorn hens. They are among her first eggs ever layed. Gently fold the two bowls into one until the combined mixture is smooth and immediately pour into two greased and floured 9” pans. Tap out the bubbles quickly and place the pans immediately in the oven. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350°F for 30-40 minutes, or until the cake tests done. My oven took exactly 30 minutes. I set it to 25 and tested. Toothpick method: poke the center of the cake and if it comes out clean it is done.  After removing from the oven, remove from the pans and allow the cake to completely cool on a rack before frosting.   FROSTING: Sift the powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder, Stephens Gourmet Hot Cocoa Cherry Chocolate powder, add the butter and buttermilk. Mix well. Add hot water a few drops at time until frosting is of the consistency you prefer. Frost the cake when cool. You can try other frostings as well, whichever you prefer the most, the possibilities are endless. Drizzle: Combine the Drizzle ingredients in a large coffee mug. Microwave until the chips soften and then stir until smooth. Drizzle or drip over the icing for a creative effect! I find that it is helpful to squirt the drizzle onto the cake otherwise you get blobs. Hint: If you use the Cherry Cocoa from Stephen's as I did, prepare the cocoa in a bowl by itself and add 1 Tablespoon boiling water and stir. I find not doing that leaves the frosting a little grainy. Top with a cherry and enjoy! If only I had thought of that the other day at the store.... To Order My Starters: Go to my ORDER page and you can see a description of all my starters. You can also get there by clicking here. Contact info is also listed on the order page as well. Special Thanks: I want to thank my daughter, Jennifer, for all her help. Without it this recipe and blogpost would not be possible. Other Thoughts: My grand daughter, who normally does not like sourdough, likes this recipe and was blown away after sampling it because I sort of forgot to mention the sourdough part when she was sampling it. 8/5/2014 My daughter made this for my birthday and used the Cream Cheese Frosting from the Carrot Cake recipe. It was pretty darn good. So much for weight loss and all. Well, birthdays only come once a year! Right?