Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes
These sourdough chocolate cupcakes are rich, soft, and delightfully sweet with a balanced tang from the sourdough discard. Topped with a simple chocolate buttercream, these cupcakes are perfect for any occasion.
Equipment
- Food scale
- Stand Mixer (or large mixing bowl and whisk)
- Medium bowl
- Muffin/cupcake pan
- Cupcake liners
- Three tablespoon cookie scoop (optional)
- Flour sifter (optional)
- Piping bag (optional)
- Icing tip of choice (optional)
- Potato peeler (optional, for chocolate shavings)
Ingredients
Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour 90g
- ½ cup cocoa powder 45g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup sourdough discard 100g
- ½ cup cane sugar 100g
- ½ cup brown sugar 100g
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil 79ml
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk 118 ml
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 cup salted butter softened, 227g
- ½ cup cocoa powder 45g
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar 420g
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare your cupcake pan with liners. If you want to ferment your batter, see the notes below for the instructions you'll need a day in advance.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix your dry ingredients together. Set aside.¾ cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a medium bowl, mix together your wet ingredients. Slowly mix your wet ingredients into your bowl of dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin; Do not over mix!2 eggs, ⅓ cup sourdough discard, ½ cup cane sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, ½ cup milk
- Use a three-tablespoon cookie scoop to evenly divide the batter between 14 cupcake liners. If you don't have a scoop like this, aim for ½-3/4 full in the liners. If you only have a 12-cupcake pan, it is fine to set the remaining batter aside while the first 12 bake.
- Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes at 350F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 18 minutes is perfect for me, typically. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
Chocolate Buttercream
- With a stand mixer and paddle attachment (or mixing bowl with a handheld mixer), beat the softened butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Slowly add the sugar mixture to the butter (if the sugar or cocoa is clumpy, use a sifter to add it in to ensure a smooth result). Slowly add in the 3 tablespoons of milk until you achieve your desired consistency.1 cup salted butter, 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Decorate your cooled cupcakes with the chocolate buttercream using a piping bag and icing tip (I used a Wilton 1M star tip) or even just a spoon or knife. Top with chocolate shavings* and/or sprinkles.
Notes
Long fermentation: Mix flour, milk, sourdough starter, and oil in a bowl. Cover and store in your fridge for 24 hours. Alternatively, you can leave it at room temperature overnight to ferment, as the bacteria in the starter will prevent the milk from spoiling. The next day, add the remaining ingredients and bake from there!
Salted butter in buttercream: I prefer salted butter in my buttercreams, but if you'd rather use unsalted, just add a pinch of salt to the buttercream. If using dairy free butter, don't add salt as they are usually well salted.
Storage: Store at in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Chocolate shavings: To make chocolate shavings/curls, run a potato peeler along a chocolate bar.
Nutrition
Calories: 403kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 4gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 253mgPotassium: 143mgFiber: 3gSugar: 45gVitamin A: 458IUCalcium: 55mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!