Moist Sourdough Vanilla Cake Recipe With Discard
This sourdough vanilla cake recipe is moist, sweet, and buttery! Pair it with buttercream frosting and you'll have a match made in heaven. This is the perfect sourdough recipe to use up all that excess discard!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 26 minutes
Frosting Time 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 46 minutes
Servings: 1 Cake
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
Sourdough Vanilla Cake
- 1 ¾ Cup (223 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons (2 Teaspoons) Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon (0.5 Teaspoon) Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon (1 Teaspoon) Salt
- ¾ Cups (170.25 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 1 ¾ Cups (350 g) Granulated Sugar
- 5 (5) Egg Whites large
- ½ Cup (120 g) Sour Cream room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Vanilla Extract
- ⅔ Cup (157.73 ml) Whole Milk room temperature
- ½ Cup (144 g) Sourdough Discard 144 grams
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 3 Cups (681 g) Unsalted Butter room temperature (6 sticks)
- 6 ½ Cups (780 g) Powdered Sugar 780 grams
- 1 ½ Teaspoons (1.5 Teaspoons) Vanilla Extract
- 3 Tablespoons (3 Tablespoons) Heavy Cream
- ½ Teaspoon (0.5 Teaspoon) Kosher Salt
Instructions
Sourdough Vanilla Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9" cake pans with butter (or oil spray), and line them with round parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
- With a hand mixer and whisk attachment (or stand mixer), beat the butter on high in a large bowl for two minutes. The butter should be soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat on high for an additional two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the egg whites, sour cream, vanilla extract, milk, and sourdough discard. Whisk on medium for one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk on low until just incorporated. Do not overmix! You can whisk by hand or use a silicone spatula to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans. Bake on the middle rack for 24-26 minutes until done. To check if the cakes are done, insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake. The tookpick should come out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in their pans completely. The cakes need to be cool before decorating.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Place the room temperature butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream on medium speed for one to two minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar in batches. Then, add salt, heavy cream and pure vanilla extract. Mix until fluffy.
- Transfer the frosting into a piping bag or use a spatula to decorate the cake layers.
Notes
- Cake Assembly Tips: It is easier to assemble cake when the cakes are cold. Take the cakes out of the pans once they have cooled down. Then, wrap each cake in plastic wrap. Freeze or refrigerate for at least one hour.