Homemade Sourdough Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake

This homemade sourdough chocolate orange loaf cake has a mellow citrus tang and a deliciously moist crumb from the addition of a sourdough starter.

In San Francisco, there is a large candy store in the square that sells the most divine chocolate orange wedges. The ball is wrapped in a sparkly tin that I would know anywhere. The flavors of chocolate and orange blend together to form a surprisingly smooth richness you can smell the moment the tin is torn away. It is a scent I would know anywhere and a flavor that is burned in memory.

This sourdough chocolate orange cake is somewhat of an ode to that unique and special candy from that city square. Only there is no traveling involved and we get to use our sourdough starter for yet another delicious dessert.

The dry ingredients are sifted and the addition of baking powder allows you to use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard if you like. The wet ingredients are creamed together forming a rich glossy batter that I find can be a little lumpy if the butter isn’t fully softened. If this happens, it is completely fine and won’t affect the finished product. 

The cake is easily mixed together in about 10-15 minutes time and is ready in about an hours.

Sourdough Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake Is….

• A decadent, moist sweet treat.
• Can be made with an active sourdough starter, a starter from the fridge, or sourdough discard.
• Filled with a mix of chocolate flavor and fresh orange zest for a depth of flavor that makes this chocolate cake incredible!
• A loaf cake recipe that is a chocolate lovers dream.
• One of our favorite bread recipes and easy to get right on the first time.

Ingredients

Flour- I like to use all-purpose flour for a loaf cake like this. Not only does it give a nice tight crumb but the flour stands up well to the moisture in this cake.

Sourdough Starter- The starter helps gives the cake a nice moist crumb. What is great about this loaf cake is that you can use active fed sourdough starter, a starter pulled straight from the fridge, and even sourdough discard for this recipe.

Cocoa- Use unsweetened, good quality cocoa powder for rich bold cocoa flavor.

Instant Coffee- When making this cake, I couldn’t resist adding in a bit of instant coffee granules. It doesn’t matter if decaf or caffeinated. You can also use instant espresso.

Orange– Use a large organic (if possible) orange for both zest and juice. It adds a mellow citrus flavor that makes the

Eggs- Eggs help bind the loaf cake together. Use large organic (preferably) eggs.

Butter- To tell you the truth, I use both salted and unsalted butter for this loaf cake. I don’t see much difference in the final result. So use what you have on hand and if you should use salted, omit the added pinch of salt from the recipe since the butter adds it for you. Butter should be softened, not melted butter.

Brown Sugar- Use a good quality light brown sugar not white sugar.

Vanilla Extract- A hint of vanilla essence is always needed for a cake. Use a good quality, pure vanilla extract. I use my homemade vanilla for all my baking.

Baking Powder- To help give our cake a nice rise I sift the baking powder in with the cocoa and flour.

Salt- Only if using unsalted butter.  It is added to to help enhance the flavor of the ingredients.

Tools

Loaf Dish (if using a metal loaf pan, see baking notes)

Stand Mixer (optional, see baking notes)

Directions

For the dry ingredients, begin by sifting together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in a large bowl. Set it aside. Cream the butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, orange juice, and zest. Dissolve the instant coffee into the water and add it to the bowl. Fold in the sourdough starter. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.

Generously grease or spray a baking dish. Pour the cake batter into the baking dish and bake at 350℉ approximately 45 minutes or until the center of the cake is no longer wobbly.  Remove the hot loaf pan from the oven and allow it to cool slightly before removing.

After removing, place on a wire rack to finish cooling before slicing. 

Baking Notes

• It is important to grease or spray the baking pan generously, don’t skimp on it.
• The batter might look lumpy, that is ok. Mix until just done, avoid over-mixing.
• Allow cake to cool before removing it from the loaf dish.
• If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can cream the butter mixture by hand or an electric mixer works great too. 

How To Store

Store leftover sourdough chocolate orange loaf cake in an airtight container. Gallon size zip top bags also work well to store the loaf cake in. You can also wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Cake be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

For longer storage, the freezer works best. To freeze, allow the loaf cake to completely cool. Then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place the entire loaf into a gallon-sized freezer bag.  Label the bag and place it in the freeze to keep for up to 3 months.

To thaw, simply remove the sourdough chocolate orange loaf cake from the freezer and allow it to come to room temperature, then slice and enjoy. I like to freeze small portions so you can grab from the freezer and have on hand to enjoy.

To do this, I pre-slice the entire loaf cake, then place one to two pieces of the loaf cake into individual sandwich-size freezer bags. They take no time to thaw and it is the perfect way to keep delicious bread slices ready for whenever a craving should strike.

FAQ

Is a glass or metal loaf pan best?

You can use either for this loaf cake. One thing to note is that when baking with metal, the bake times might be quicker as the metal pans heat very fast in the oven. The sides of bread and loaf cakes also brown more in the metal pan.

The glass loaf pan will take slightly longer to heat up and also continue to bake after being removed from the oven. I like to use my glass baking dish for my loaf cakes which takes approximately 45 minutes to bake and I allow the cake to cool in the dish before removing. If using a metal pan, it is a good idea to check the center of the cake at 40 minutes or even less. The bake times can vary slightly.

Can I use cake flour for this?

You can. Just keep in mind that cake flour is more delicate and will have a finer crumb.  I find all-purpose flour to be the best flour choice for this particular style of cake. 

Is it possible to long ferment this recipe?

Yes, you can opt to longer ferment the batter by mixing as instructed but excluding the baking powder. For overnight ferments, it is a good idea to mix this recipe up (excluding the baking powder) the night prior and then have ready to bake in the next morning. When ready to bake, add the baking powder just before baking. Bake as instructed.

The recipe says butter, should I use salted or unsalted butter?

I know, most bakers will recommend using unsalted butter for baking and this is because salted butter often has slightly different amounts of salt depending on the brand you are using. Using unsalted butter, you can then control the amount of salt in the recipe.

I use salted butter to make this most of the time but have used unsalted as well. The flavor difference is not noticeable in my opinion. I do suggest adding a pinch of salt to the batter if using unsalted as the salt does help to balance out the flavors. 

Other Recipes To Try…

• Sourdough Chocolate Orange Bread Pudding
• Decadent Sourdough Chocolate Chip Boule
• Best Pull-Apart Sourdough Monkey Bread

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