The Best Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Rye.

Last updated on January 31st, 2024 at 07:52 pm

This sourdough chocolate cake with rye is absolutely divine. This decadent cake melts in your mouth, is not overly sweet, and is so good that we would be surprised if you weren’t tempted to eat the whole cake in one sitting! Wonderful on its own or with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

sourdough chocolate cake made with sourdough discard on a plate.

What Makes This Sourdough Chocolate Cake So Delicious?

This recipe is a direct homage to legendary chef Alain Ducasse. While the ingredients are similar, I have made a few tweaks, turned it into a sourdough chocolate cake, replaced some of the flour with rye flour, and used coconut oil in place of peanut oil. Olive oil would also work well as olive oil and chocolate tend to pair well together. When I was a young cook, I spent countless hours leafing through Alain Ducasse’s cookbooks. While his Grand Livre de Cuisine Dessert and Pastries edition is not exactly for beginners, it is a great book for professionals and avid home cooks or bakers.

While this take takes a very long time to bake, it does have minimal prep time. The cake stays extremely moist because of the oil in the batter. The rich texture from the dairy and eggs helps this cake melt in your mouth. The deep and complex chocolatey flavour comes from high-quality cocoa powder paired with freshly milled rye flour. The flavour profile of the chocolate and rye really amplify and lift each other up, putting this cake over the top.

sourdough chocolate cake made with sourdough discard, cooling on a resting rack.

The Importance Of Flour Selection: A Focus On Local Grain

For this sourdough chocolate cake with rye, I’ve used fresh-milled rye flour and all-purpose flour. The all-purpose flour comes from 1874 Stone Milling and is a blend of local hard red and soft red wheat. Both of these grains are grown within 100km of our house. The grains are milled together and then sifted. All of the germ is left in the flour and a portion of the bran is removed. This really enhances the taste and when paired with the rye is the perfect blend for this cake.

Rye and chocolate are excellent flavour pairing and the all-purpose flour provides enough strength to produce a beautiful final product. If you’d like to omit the rye you can, but keep in mind the final flavour will not be quite as good.

Tools You’ll Need:

Baker’s Percentage:

WeightIngredientBakers %
213 gramsAll-Purpose Flour90%
24 gramsRye Flour10%
7 gramsBaking Powder2.8%
340 gramsSugar143.4%
47 gramsSourdough Discard20%
95 gramsCocoa Powder40%
106 grams Coconut Oil44.7%
116 gramsHeavy Cream48.7%
99 gramsEgg (Two Whole Eggs)40%
237 gramsMilk (3.25%)100%
Ingredients for Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Rye.

Tips for Mixing the Chocolate Cake

  • Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. This helps ensure they are well mixed before combining with the wet ingredients.
  • In another bowl mix all the wet ingredients so they are fully incorporated.
  • Add the dry to the wet and mix slowly to try and absorb any dry bits.
  • Once you have combined the wet with the dry let the sourdough chocolate cake batter out a bit by adding the cream followed by the milk. Be careful not to overmix the batter at this point or you will have a tough cake.

Notes:

  • The coconut oil in this cake gives it a distinct coconut flavour. We think it pairs perfectly with the chocolate, but feel free to use a more neutral oil if you prefer.
  • You can change the ratio of rye flour to all-purpose, just keep in mind the result might differ.
  • Do not overbake! We suggest checking the cake for doneness at the 1 hour 20 mark and monitoring it. Everyone’s oven is different!
  • When adding the liquid, add it in stages to avoid lumps, but if your cake batter has a few lumps in it, don’t worry.

Finishing Touches:

  • While this cake is wonderful on its own, sometimes we like to jazz it up with some chocolate glaze or whipped cream. Add some nuts or sprinkles for some crunch and texture!

If you liked this recipe for sourdough chocolate cake, you might enjoy some of our other fantastic recipes using sourdough discard. Check out our Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies or our Fudgy Sourdough Brownies!

sourdough chocolate cake on a plate with glaze and walnuts on top.

Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Rye Recipe Card:

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Sourdough discard rye chocolate cake on a plate with some whipped cream.

The Best Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Rye.


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5 from 1 review

Description

This sourdough chocolate cake with rye is absolutely divine. This decadent cake melts in your mouth, is not overly sweet, and is so good that we would be surprised if you weren’t tempted to eat the whole cake in one sitting! Wonderful on its own or with a nice cup of tea or coffee.


Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 99g (2 Large) Eggs 
  • 340g (1 3/4 cup/ 353g) Sugar
  • 47g (23 tbsp) Sourdough Discard
  • 110g (1/2 cup) Coconut Oil
  • 106g (1 cup) Cocoa Powder
  • 213g (1 1/4 cup) All Purpose Flour
  • 24g (1/4 cup) Rye Flour (Sub All-Purpose Flour if Needed)
  • 7g(1.5 tsp )Baking Powder
  • 116g(1/2 cup) Heavy Cream
  • 237g(1 cup) Whole Milk (3.25%)

For the glaze:

  • 200g (1 cup) Dark Chocolate
  • 13g (1 tbsp) Light Olive Oil or another neutral tasting oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 390°F.In a small mixing bowl, sift together flours, cocoa, and baking powder.
  2. In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or a whisk, beat the eggs together with the sugar and oil.  Slowly mix in the sourdough discard. 
  3. Add the flour mixture a little at a time finishing with a spatula as the mix will get thick.
  4. Slowly add the cream and whisk it to let the batter out a bit.
  5. Add the milk and mix until just combined being careful not to overmix the batter.
  6. Carefully divide the loaf into two 640g loaves (approx.)
  7. Put loaf pans on a baking sheet and bake for 10 mins. Drop the temperature in the oven to 300°F and bake for 90 mins. Check it after 70-80 mins, as everyone’s oven is different.
  8. Turn cakes out onto a cooling rack.
  9. For the glaze, place chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
  10. Once the cake is cool enough, pour the chocolate to cover the entire cake.

Notes

  • The coconut oil in this cake will give it a distinct coconut flavour. We think it pairs perfectly with the chocolate, but feel free to substitute a more neutral oil if you prefer.
  • You can change the ratio of rye to all purpose flour  but keep in mind the final cake might differ. 
  • Do not overbake the cake!
  • Store in an air tight container once the cake cooled completely. Cakes will last 3-4 days at room temperature.
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 40 mins
  • Category: Baking
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: French



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