Citrus Berry Sourdough Cake

Today I would like to share with you my recipe for Citrus Berry Sourdough Cake. Not only does it make a great dessert, but also it works equally well for brunch, tea time and more! For instance, I will be serving this cake for Easter lunch. I hope you’ll give this delicious cake a try!

Have you ever used sourdough to bake a cake? It is one of the ways I like to use my starter. In order to keep my sourdough starter healthy I use it (and feed it) often. In fact, I use my starter daily to make many different things. It is not just for loaves of bread! For example, here are a few of the things I make with my starter: pancakes, crepes, bagels, english muffins, biscuits, noodles, pie crust, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, and cobbler dough.

And here is a link to my post on how to make a sourdough stater from scratch.

Why Bake a Cake With Sourdough?

Cakes baked with sourdough have a delicious, delicate crumb. Moreover, they are perfectly moist. In addition, sourdough mixed into cakes enhances the flavor, as a result of the acidity. Also, cakes made with sourdough are easier to digest due to the grains being fermented.

Tips for Making Citrus Berry Sourdough Cake

• Firstly, if you’ve got the time I suggest fermenting the grains overnight to increase digestibility. I will explain how to do this below.
• Otherwise you can simply make the cake without the additional fermentation. It will still turn out great!
• Next, you can use lemon or a blend of citrus in place of the orange juice and zest. However, I like it best with orange.
• Lastly, you can use fresh or frozen berries. Either way, I recommend sticking with smaller berries like blackberry, blueberry and raspberry. Feel free to use just one kind of berry, or use a mix like I did here.

Tools

• 9 x 13 Baking Dish
• Mixing Bowls
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons

Ingredients for Citrus Berry Sourdough Cake

• Active sourdough starter
• Milk
• Sugar
• Avocado oil
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Orange juice
• Orange zest
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Fresh or Frozen Berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)

Notes on Ingredients

Active Sourdough Starter: I use fed and bubbly sourdough starter to make this cake. I am not sure how it would turn out with discard. If you try it with discard let me know in the comments how it turned out!

Milk: I use grass-fed raw or low-temp batch pasteurized whole milk. Skim milk and plant milks can be substituted, but the end result will be slightly different due to the reduced fat content.

Sugar: I like raw organic cane sugar for baking.

Avocado Oil: Any neutral tasting oil will work. I prefer avocado oil because it is healthier than canola, sunflower, etc. but still has a neutral flavor.

Orange Juice & Zest: You can use lemon, or a blend of citrus in place of the orange. However, I like it best with just orange! And don’t skip the zest, it really adds to the flavor of the cake.

How to Make Citrus Berry Sourdough Cake

If you would like to do the overnight fermentation, simply mix up the batter the night before you wish to serve the cake. But leave out the baking soda until just before baking. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a large plate. Now allow the batter to ferment in the fridge for 12-24 hours.

Otherwise, you can mix up the batter and bake it straight away. It will still turn out great!

To begin preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. And grease a 9×13 dish by rubbing the bottom and sides with butter.

Then in a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup sourdough starter, 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup avocado oil, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1 tbsp. vanilla extract, 1 cup sugar and 2 tbsp. orange zest.

Next in a separate mixing bowl combine 2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp. of salt.

Then pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Now pour the batter into the greased baking dish and spread it out until even.

Then scatter fresh or frozen berries over the top. I don’t have a specific measurement for this, because I just eyeball it. You don’t want the entire surface covered, just enough for pops of berry color and flavor in each slice. For example, see the picture below.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Now comes the hardest part! Let it cool completely before slicing.

This cake is delicious without icing. But it is especially delicious with icing! Below is the recipe for the simple orange icing I like to use. However, this would also be good with royal icing. As much as I love buttercream and cream cheese frostings, I think they would be too heavy for this cake in particular.

How to Make Orange Icing

In a medium mixing bowl combine 2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 3 tbsp. orange juice, 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 tbsp. orange zest. Mix with a whisk until smooth.

Spread onto the cooled cake with a spatula.

If you prefer a thinner, pourable icing you can add more orange juice.

If you try this recipe and enjoy it, I would be so grateful if you could come back and give it five stars! And I love to see your pictures of my recipes, so be sure to tag me on Instagram @verityfolkschool.

Here is another sourdough dessert recipe: sourdough blueberry cobbler.

And here is a great sourdough chocolate cake recipe.

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