Turkish-Inspired Sourdough Chocolate Cake

I love sourdough, and I love making all things sourdough. This is a recipe that I have tested and is family-approved. This recipe was created with sourdough in mind as an ingredient, but be sure to check the footnotes so you can adjust the recipe to use without sourdough. That way, you can still enjoy this delightful cake too.

This recipe is a delicious play on a basic sourdough chocolate cake and my love for Turkish coffee and flavors. The spices pair so well with each other and make for a dense yet fluffy and moist cake. (Sorry about that word, but there is no other word to describe it.) Not only are there warming spices in this cake, but it has a slight hint of a cherry in the far background, and the frosting pulls everything together for a wonderful dessert. This is a rich cake, so keep that in mind when you slice into it. lol. I would never tell you how big a slice of cake to eat.

If you like cake, Turkish coffee, Turkish flavors, or tasty desserts, then you are going to love this cake.

So grab a big ol’ glass of cold milk and let’s make a cake.

Let’s go!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CAKE:

2 c. (280g) All-Purpose flour
1 c. (236g) Water
1/2 c. (113g) Neutral Oil – Any flavorless oil will work.
1/2 c. Sourdough starter – I also use discard from time to time, so it works either way.
2 c. Sugar
1 tsp. Salt – I use fine pink salt
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground Cardamom
1/4 tsp. Ground Allspice
1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves
1 Tbsp Turkish coffee powder – or you can use fine-ground espresso powder.
1/4 tsp. Almond extract
1 tbsp. Maraschino cherry juice
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 c. (244g) Milk
3/4 c. Dutch Cocoa (or regular cocoa powder)
2 Eggs
2 tsp. Baking Soda

FOR THE FROSTING:

1 c. Unsalted Butter ( 226g = 2 sticks) Room temp
3 c. (360g) Powdered Sugar
1/2 c. (48g) Cocoa powder – I used Dutch, but regular cocoa powder will work.
3 tbsp. (45g) Heavy cream – more if needed, if the frosting is too thick.
1/2 tsp. Fine salt
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Cardamom
1 tsp. Turkish coffee (or fine espresso) dissolved in 1 tbsp of hot water (do not skip this step)

DIRECTIONS:

1. The day before, in a bowl, add the flour, water, oil, and sourdough starter/discard and stir until well combined. Cover tightly and let sit for 6 to 8 hours or overnight to develop that sourdough flavor.
2. When ready, you can preheat the oven to 350* and grease and line the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans with parchment rounds. (see note) Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, spices, coffee, and cocoa powder until well mixed.
4. Whisk in the milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, cherry juice, and eggs until just combined.
5. Add the sourdough mixture and whisk until the sourdough mixture is well combined. You don’t want any lumps of sourdough starter mix in the batter, so mix until the sourdough mixture is just combined with the chocolate mixture. This is going to be thick, so just be patient. It will mix together.
6. Evenly pour the batter into the prepared pans. I like to use a 1 cup measuring cup to help me out, or you can use a scale.
7. Bake the cakes for about 30 – 40 minutes or until springy in the center, or when tested with a toothpick in the center, it comes out with a few crumbs. You do not want to overbake this cake. (see notes)
8. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Place a wire rack over the top of the cake pan, gently flip over, and remove the parchment liner. Place your hand on the cake and gently flip the cake over so the bottom is now on the wire rack. Let the cakes cool completely. This helps the moist cake hold its shape, and it keeps the crumb fluffy. You do not want to frost a warm cake. That’s a mess. lol. This should take 2 to 3 hours or so.
9. Now that the cakes are cool, let’s make the frosting. Grab a bowl with a handheld mixer or your stand mixer. Attach the whisk attachments.
10. Add the butter to the bowl and whisk it for about 3 to 4 minutes until the butter is pale and fluffy. You do not want to skip this step, as this gives the frosting structure and the desired fluffiness you want.
11. Now that the butter is nice and fluffy, you can turn the mixer off and add in the cocoa powder, 1 cup of powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, heavy cream, and the dissolved coffee powder in water. Whisk this together until well combined. It will thicken and become fluffy. Turn the mixer off and add another cup of powdered sugar and whisk to combine. Turn the mixer off and add the last cup of powdered sugar, and whisk together until light and fluffy. The frosting will become fluffy and a pale chocolate color. If you think the frosting is too thick, you can add in more heavy cream, 1 tbsp at a time, until the frosting is your desired thickness. I like the frosting on the thicker side, so depending on the weather, I typically add in 1 extra tbsp of cream, but only if I need it.
12. Now it is time to frost this wonderful cake. Take a dab of frosting and place it in the center of your cake plate. This is just to hold the cake in place. You don’t need much. Probably about 1 tsp or so of the frosting. Place your bottom layer of cake onto your cake plate. It really doesn’t matter which cake layer you choose. (see note)
13. Add about 1/3 of the frosting to the cake and gently spread the frosting to the edges of the cake.
14. Place the next layer on top of the frosting and add 1/2 of the remaining frosting, and gently spread the frosting to the edges of the cake. Now, what I like to do is add the remaining frosting to the top edges of the cake and frost downward so that whatever frosting I don’t need on the sides of the cake, I can just smooth over the top portion of the cake. You frost however you want. This is just what I find is easier.
15. Let the cake stand for 5-10 minutes to settle before slicing. This way, the cake doesn’t slip or slide when slicing, and it holds its shape, especially at room temp.
16. Slice and enjoy with a cold glass of milk, with vanilla ice cream, or hidden under a thick blanket with your favorite show. No judgments here. I won’t tell anyone.

FOOTNOTES:

• If you can not find Turkish coffee, you can substitute it with a fine-ground espresso coffee powder. I buy my Turkish coffee online, but sometimes we just want cake now and don’t want to wait for that Turkish coffee to arrive. lol.
• One step you do not want to miss is dissolving the coffee powder in the hot water for the frosting. This helps dissolve the coffee so the frosting is smooth and has no flecks of crunchy coffee in your frosting. You worked hard on this heavenly stuff, so you want it smooth and luscious and not crunchy and bitter.
• This is my favorite way to grease my cake pans. Look up “cake goop” on my blog and voila… a cake release that works no matter the pan, but just to be extra sure, make sure to add a parchment cake liner to the bottom. You can never be too careful with cakes. The last thing you want is your cake to stick to your pans. Also, run an offset spatula around the edges of the cake to help release the sides of the cake before flipping it onto your wire rack. Sometimes those silly sides like to stick too.
• You do not want to overbake this cake. Why? because we want a slightly dense, fluffy, slightly fudgy, moist cake and not a dry cake with crunchy edges. You can also use cake strips with this cake as well. You can order those from Amazon if you like. They work wonders. You want to keep an eye on this cake, so as soon as the 30-minute mark is hit, you want to start keeping an eye on the cake. Mine took about 40 minutes to bake. The center should be slightly moist, and when gently pressed, it springs back, or you can test it with a toothpick. Stick the toothpick into the center of the cake, and it should come out with a few crumbs on the toothpick. This is when you want to remove it because it will cook for another 5 minutes while it cools in the pan.
• If the cake is still jiggly in the center, let it bake for 5 minutes and check again.
• If your cake domes quite a bit, you can cut the dome off with a cake knife or a cake leveler. Mine did not dome that much, so it was not an issue for me. Cake strips will help with this, also. It keeps your cakes from domming in the center and helps keep them flatter. See the work wonders. Speaking of.. I need to order new ones. lol. ( I did not use cake strips on this cake)
• For the cake layers. If your cake layers are flatter, you can pick and choose which layer you want on top or bottom. It really doesn’t matter. If the dome, you can level off the cake with a cake leveler and frost. Also, if they are flat, you don’t have to worry about flipping the top or bottom over to frost the “flat” side. This makes it so much easier, in my opinion. You do you.
• Please whisk the butter until pale and fluffy. This is so important. It only takes 3 to 4 minutes. It is well worth the wait for fluffy frosting.
• To convert to a cake without sourdough: Replace the sourdough starter/discard with 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup buttermilk (or 1/4 c milk plus 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice). This helps keep the acidity where it needs to be so the baking soda does its job properly and gives the cake the rise it needs for this recipe. Decrease the 1 cup of milk to 3/4 cup of milk. You do not want to use too much buttermilk (1 1/4 c) because it causes too much acidity and the cake will be too sour, bitter, and won’t rise properly.
• Add the powdered sugar slowly, or it will be a powdered sugar party in your kitchen. We don’t want to clean powdered sugar from the ceiling and cabinets, but if you want a sugar extravaganza in the kitchen, then by all means. lol.
• Did I miss anything? I hope not, but if you have any questions, then find me on socials. You can find my socials on my socials page here on my blog, or just search “thesouthernrustic” on Instagram or YouTube. I think that about covers it.
• Ok. Bye! : )