Nearly two months ago I decided I should try my hand at creating my own sourdough starter. I tried to do it several years ago and got absolutely no where. I’m no expert but it’s pretty easy to figure out I did not dedicate enough time to nurturing my bag of flour and water; and my preference for keeping the house cool (60-65F if I get my way) didn’t do me any favors either. This time, it worked!

I was raised in a house where the only option was to have a clean plate before leaving the kitchen table. We were enticed with delicious desserts and large dishes of ice cream once we cleaned our plates, so no matter how much I was disgusted by the cold bites of shoe leather steak I had been served, I managed to finish my dinner and relish the sweet reward. Despite the garbage we generated each week, which of course was picked over by my dad before he brought it to the alley, we were taught the ageless adage “waste not, want not.” So when my sourdough starter recipe told me to discard part of my start twice a day, I reflexively looked for ways to use my “discard.” Before I knew it, everything I baked was sourdough something or other. I’ve made various recipes of sandwich bread, quick bread, muffins, English muffins, pretzels, cookies, scones, crackers, coffee cake, pizza crust, pumpkin-maple cake, sweet bread and now chocolate cake. This one is rich!

I often scan recipe names, their ingredients and preparation without paying much attention to the reviews. My intent is to follow the original recipe and decide for myself if it needs tweaking. Luckily I read a couple of the reviews on this one and decided ahead of time that I would only make half of the frosting they recommend. I am not a big frosting person and was tempted to skip it altogether but my husband voted for the frosting. So I gave in, at least our son could help make it without me worrying about him ingesting raw eggs. As it turned out, I am very glad I only made half the frosting, the cake was still drowning in icing and was incredibly sweet. Be sure to have a coffee chaser ready!

Here’s the link to King Arthur’s Chocolate Cake recipe. I made a few changes and used the following recipe:

Cake

• 1 cup “fed” sourdough starter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I used a little less, about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 2 large eggs

Icing (half recipe)

• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 6 Tblp butter
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 1/2 tablespoon hot water

Drizzle

• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar

1) 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.

2) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan.

3) In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, vanilla, salt, baking soda, cocoa. and espresso powder. The mixture will be grainy.

4) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5) Gently combine the chocolate mixture with the starter-flour-milk mixture, stirring till smooth. This will be a gloppy process at first, but the batter will smooth out as you continue to beat gently.

6) Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

7) Bake the cake 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.

8) Remove the cake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool while you make the icing.

9) Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a large mixing bowl, and set it aside.

10) In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter and add the buttermilk or yogurt. Dissolve the espresso powder in the hot water, add to the pan, and bring the mixture just to a boil.

11) Immediately pour the simmering liquid over the confectioners’ sugar in the bowl, and beat till smooth.

12) Pour the warm frosting over the cake. If you wait too long and the frosting stiffens up, spread it over the cake.

13) Combine the chocolate chips, milk, and agave nectar in a heat proof bowl over simmering water, or in a double boiler.

14) Drizzle/drip the chocolate over the icing. You can do this while the icing is still warm, or wait till it’s cooled.