Sourdough Vanilla Cake
Sourdough Vanilla Cake is a great recipe for your sourdough discard! A flavorful, soft cake topped with vanilla buttercream is just the recipe you are looking for!
Vanilla cake with sourdough discard is an easy and delicious recipe to make with your sourdough starter.
Yes! Using your sourdough starter in a cake recipe is a brilliant idea. Sourdough is not for just bread!
The yeast and natural flavors found in the starter help to create a depth of flavor and tender texture that really makes your cake shine! You can use either sourdough discard or a fed and active starter in this recipe.
There are so many amazing ways to use your sourdough starter beyond bread! I love how versatile sourdough really is – you can use it in endless ways! But my favorite way might just be including it into desserts.
I chose to frost this cake with a simple vanilla buttercream, but you could frost it with any kind of frosting you want! A chocolate cream cheese frosting would also be lovely on this cake! You can also use sprinkles or any other decoration that you want.
How to make this white cake with sourdough discard
This recipe is very simple to make! Here is a brief overview of the recipe to give you an idea of how it works. For the full set of directions and measurements, please make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below!
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Grease a 9×13 cake pan.
Mix the batter
- In a large sized mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, milk, sourdough discard, eggs, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- To the flour mixture, add in the soft room temperature butter. Using your fingers, two forks, or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it resembles coarse sand, with some pea sized butter remaining.
- Add the flour/butter mixture to the large mixing bowl. Using a hand held electric mixer, mix, mix for 3-5 minutes, until the batter is mostly lump free. Start on low speed and gradually work your way up to medium speed.
Baking the cake
- Pour into the prepared 9×13 pan and spread out so the batter is even in the pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan completely.
Frosting the cake
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the room temperature butter with a handheld electric mixer until the butter is soft and fluffy.
- Add in the powdered sugar and mix to combine. I recommend starting with just ½ cup and mixing that, and then adding 1 cup, mixing, and then adding the final cup and mixing. That way the butter can slowly absorb the sugar and the sugar won’t fly all over your kitchen.
- Add in the vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and ¼ cup of milk. Mix until smooth.
- Taste and adjust for your preferences. If you want your frosting to be thicker, add a little more powdered sugar. If you want the frosting to be thinner and softer, add a splash more of milk.
- Frost and decorate the cake as desired.
Recipe Notes:
- To make cupcakes: Equally divide the batter into paper lined muffin tins and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- To make a layer cake: Equally divide the batter between two 8” round cake pans and bake for
Expert Tips:
- If you store your sourdough discard in the fridge, allow it to come to room temperature before you start mixing up your cake batter to help the starter incorporate easier.
- Double check that your baking soda and powder are good before starting to bake. If they are no longer active, the cake will not rise properly.
- Make sure you allow the cake to cool completely before frosting or the warm cake will melt the frosting!
What kind of sourdough starter do I need for this recipe?
This recipe uses 100% hydration starter. You can use either fed and active starter, or sourdough discard (sourdough starter that hasn’t been fed in a while). It does not matter what kind of flour your starter is fed with, either.
If your discard is older and has not been fed for a while, your cake will have a more pronounced tang. If your discard is newer (meaning it has been fed recently), then your cake will have a more subtle sourdough flavor. Both are good options!
Read “Feeding your sourdough starter” to get information on hydration rates and how to properly feed and maintain your sourdough starter.
New to Sourdough?
- How to Make A Sourdough Starter – This guide will walk you through building your own starter in easy to follow step by step directions.
- Sourdough for Beginners – Get the answers to all your questions in easy to understand descriptions!
Other sourdough discard recipes
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Sourdough Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup granted sugar
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup sourdough starter 100% hydration
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Grease a 9×13 cake pan.
- In a large sized mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, milk, sourdough discard, eggs, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- To the flour mixture, add in the soft room temperature butter. Using your fingers, two forks, or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it resembles coarse sand, with some pea sized butter remaining.
- Add the flour/butter mixture to the large mixing bowl. Using a hand held electric mixer, mix, mix for 3-5 minutes, until the batter is mostly lump free. Start on low speed and gradually work your way up to medium speed.
- Pour into the prepared 9×13 pan and spread out so the batter is even in the pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan completely.
Frosting the cake
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the room temperature butter with a handheld electric mixer until the butter is soft and fluffy.
- Add in the powdered sugar and mix to combine. I recommend starting with just ½ cup and mixing that, and then adding 1 cup, mixing, and then adding the final cup and mixing. That way the butter can slowly absorb the sugar and the sugar won’t fly all over your kitchen.
- Add in the vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and ¼ cup of milk. Mix until smooth.
- Taste and adjust for your preferences. If you want your frosting to be thicker, add a little more powdered sugar. If you want the frosting to be thinner and softer, add a splash more of milk.
- Frost and decorate the cake as desired.
This cake blew me away! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it is SO GOOD. The texture and flavor are really something special!!!
I’m going to make this cake tomorrow as we are leaving to go bear hunting and I have some discard to use up. I’m really looking forward to it because if it’s anything like your sourdough cornbread, it will be no less than amazing and dangerously delicious. Looking forward to trying your hamburger bun recipe as well.
I made it for my son’s birthday. I made it as a layered cake with buttercream frosting and raspberry in the middle. It was super delicious. I will definitely use this recipe again.