Following on from our sourdough blueberry cake (previous post), I thought I’d try using leftover starter in place of buttermilk. I had to add a teaspoon of lime juice to raise the acidity level, but the finished cake was deliciously tender and flavoursome.
- 200g self raising flour
- 150g almond meal
- 200g caster (superfine) sugar
- 175g unsalted butter, softened
- 150ml liquid sourdough starter*
- 1 tsp lime juice (if needed)
- 3 large free-range eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)
- mulberry jam (any jam or curd should work)
*I didn’t fuss too much about the starter – I used mine straight out of the fridge and just eyeballed the quantity in a cup measure. Taste it first to see if you need the extra lime juice.
1. Cream together butter, sugar and zest, then mix in eggs and vanilla. Beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
2. Stir together the flour and almond meal in a separate bowl.
3. Mix in half of the flour mixture, then the starter and lime juice, then the rest of the flour, mixing well after each addition.
4. Spoon half the batter into a well-oiled bundt pan, spoon on a layer of jam, then top with remaining batter. Bake in a preheated fan forced 160C oven for 40 – 45mins, rotating the cake halfway through if needed.
5. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
I tried this cake again in my 20cm square tin with removable base (which was sooo much easier to wash than the bundt pan). It needed a few minutes longer in the oven, but produced a gentle, easy eating cake that the boys are finding irresistible. And as Pete and I are becoming more lactose intolerant in our old age, we’re very happy to find a way to revisit all the yoghurt and buttermilk cakes that we’ve had to avoid in recent years.
So the next time you have leftover sourdough starter and some jam, bake a cake!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
It looks awesome!
You inpired me to make a lemon cake similarly. It tasted lovely, and has kept well.
In Estonia this would be called ‘moosikeeks’ and my blessed birth country is 100 years old tomorrow: tho’ you could not find a more fervent Aussie than me ! Well, with full accreditation, the recipe and photos have kind’of flown around the world in the past half-hour: thank you!! Methinks it was the delightful Walt Disney who said ”Tis a small world after all’ . . .
Interesting. Good for you trying this to encourage us to ‘spread’ out…no pun intended.
Another lovely recipe I would have pinned it if I could…And I must make a sourdough starter :)
What a fab idea, Celia.
Fabulous! I am so eager to give this a try…I always have some starter (thanks to you) ready to go! :-)
Now they are two thinks I always have too much of- jam and sourdough. This is a great idea Celia and I will definitely give it a go.
Not thinks- things- ah well, you know what I meant. xx
Yes, but I actually love the typo so I left it for you. It’s good to have thinks too. 😉😘
Yeah, Me thinks so too.
The cake looks delicious:)
What a delicious idea! My excess sourdough has been mainly used in pancakes and waffles, but I could definitely use a way to use up a jam surplus! Thanks for sharing!
Looks utterly delicious! On another subject…I just finished reading the novel “Sourdough” by Robin Sloan. It’s definitely a different take on baking with a sourdough starter that sings, has a face, and lights up. Fantastical and quirky, but you might enjoy it.
I will definitely be trying this Celia 😃
Oh wow, what an inspiration, thank you Celia. Due to issues in my life, I had to ignore my starter for so many months ): This starter was your gift to me. Do you think I can revive it again after such a long time? Please help! Thank you dear Celia.
Cornelia, I hope everything is ok now? I think you could give it a try if your starter has been in the fridge and isn’t growing any mould. Pour off any black liquid then give it a good stir. Then put a little bit into a bowl and give it a good feed – it might need a few feeds to get it going again but see how you go. If that doesn’t work, email me your address again and I’ll send you some next time I dry some off. xx
You had me at “mulberry”!! What a delicious looking cake. Meg:)
My mum has also had issues with lactose in the last few years. I wonder why that happens. You should give my zucchini and walnut cake a whirl, absolutely gorgeous and no dairy.
so yum they look my mouth is watering
Ooh that looks good. Big Man is back from Spain on Wednesday…I think I should bake him a cake!
Wow that looks so good I love food but I struggle a lot with desserts I don’t like sugar much anymore,well health choice I took any ideas on sugar free desserts?
The only thing I could think of would be very dark chocolate…
Ok I am listening what do you have in mind about dark chocolate ?
I suggest you google, but very dark chocolate has very little sugar. Maybe a dark chocolate mousse? Good luck with your quest! :)
A woman after my own heart I love that I will google and let you know what I find,so where are you based I am in South Africa.
Thanks Celia,
I run my starter wet but not liquid and I’ve used it happily for general baking and it’s okay, but I think your posts will be a good adjustment i.e.. loosen it to your consistency and add lime juice. Thank you!
great idea
I will definitely try
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