I baked a lot of bread in December and had leftover sourdough starter a few times. This cannot be disposed of down the drain, and instead of throwing it into the bin I decided to make use of it. That is how this sourdough mug cake recipe came about. Make sure your starter is not too acidic otherwise your cake will not taste as sweet as you would expect it to.
Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Sourdough Mug Cake ♥
Feeding your starter
If you use your sourdough starter a lot, it would require constant feeding. In order to refresh your starter, you remove a portion of the starter, and this is referred to as discard. In my case, I do things a little bit differently as I hibernate my starter for weeks or even months at a time. When I need an active sourdough starter, I remove 2 tablespoons of starter, and place it into a jar. I then feed both the discard and the starter with 2 tablespoons of bread flour and 2 tablespoons of water. I whisk everything together and then let nature do its thing. I leave my starter on the counter in the sun for an hour, with the lid off, before placing it back in the fridge. And I leave the jar in the sun to feed until active.
Is my starter active, and other things to make with it
To check if your starter is active, drop a small amount into a glass of water. If the starter sinks, it needs more time. If it floats, it is ready to use. There are so many recipes on this blog, and on others, with suggestions on how to use your sourdough starter. Bread is the most obvious choice, but there are crackers, and cakes, muffins and pastry, croissants and cookies and so much more. Just use the term sourdough in the search bar to see what I have made. Many recipes call for you to activate your starter, and then weigh out a portion of it. The leftovers are also basically discard. And this is what I have used to make my sourdough mug cake.
Why bake a mug cake?
Take a look at this inspiring recipe for ♥ Sourdough Mug Cake ♥ from Lavender and Lime #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Sourdough Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 25 g flour
- 25 g xylitol
- 10 g cocoa powder
- 3 g baking powder
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 40 g sourdough discard / starter
- 35 g milk
- 25 g jam (I used sour cherry)
- 20 g canola oil
Method
- Place the flour, xylitol, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a mug and shisk to combine
- Add the sourdough, milk, jam and oil and whisk until completely combined
- Place into a microwave and microwave on 900W power for 90 seconds
- Remove from the microwave and leave to stand for 30 seconds before enjoying
See the links below for blog posts I published on February 15:
- 2021: Sourdough Wholemeal Bread Maker Loaf
- 2019: Blueberry Compote
- 2017: Michael Cooke Answers Questions For The Blog
- 2016: Roast Turkey
- 2012: Ginger
- 2011: Pasta Vongole
Since I rarely eat cake and have not had a sourdough starter for years I should naturally and gracefully stay quiet! BUT, I quite like the sense and sensibility of cup cakes and yours looks very inviting indeed! Now have to think who might have a starter here and borrow ‘a bit’ !!!
You could make a simple starter with equal amounts of flour and water, and leave it to stand a few days ….
I did make a sourdough cake once upon a time but i couldn’t really tell much difference in the taste! An interesting experiment tho.
Unless the starter has a distinct taste, it gets lost in the batter 🙂
I don’t keep starter around, but I was intrigued! This looks amazing.
Thank you Mimi 🙂
Hi Tandy, a mug cake is a nice idea. The picture is very appealing.
Thank you Robbie 🙂
What a delight, Tandy. Just the thought of it makes me smile. I’ve actually never tried a mug cake, but I love the idea. Hugs.
There are a few more recipes coming soon, so you will have to try one at least 😉
Sourdough cake? I never tried anything like this – what a cool way to utilize starter. I bet it adds a little pleasant tang to the cake (which is nice).
It does add some tang, but you don’t want too much 🙂
I love mug cakes but never thought to make one with starter. My starter is not always in best of shape, depending on how busy I am but if I make breads with it when it is a bit sharp I sometimes just add a bit of honey to balance the flavours. I could probably do this here too as I am very keen to try it.
I have never thought to add honey! I shall file that away for future, to try it out 🙂
This is damn good! Especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 😋
Thank you!