Half the Sugar Baker
This simple sourdough discard pumpkin cake is so easy to make and so delicious. It’s fluffy, moist, and full of pumpkin flavor. This cake is made with simple ingredients and there’s no creaming required. It’s such an amazing way to use up sourdough discard, and don’t worry, it won’t taste sour! Plus, this cake is made with nutritious ingredients for a wholesome twist.
This cake is lightly sweetened, so it’s perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert!
What is sourdough discard?
Sourdough discard is the mature sourdough starter that you get rid of each time you feed the starter. So what is sourdough starter? Sourdough starter is a colony of microorganisms that feed off of the sugars in flour. Usually, a sourdough starter is made of a mixture of flour and water with microorganisms living inside. These microorganisms are beneficial to our gut health and digestion!
To get sourdough discard, you first need a sourdough starter. If you don’t have one yet, I recommend following the guide from Feasting at Home! Make sure your sourdough starter is at least 7 days old before using the discard in recipes.
Ingredients and substitutions for this Simple Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Cake
- All purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour – I like using some whole wheat flour in this pumpkin cake for its rich and nutty flavor. It also has more fiber and nutrients than all purpose flour. If you don’t have whole wheat flour, feel free to substitute all purpose flour.
- Baking soda – This recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of baking soda, which may seem like a lot, but it’s necessary because this is a pretty heavy batter
- Baking powder – Make sure that your baking powder is not expired (this goes for the baking soda as well!)
- Spices – This recipe calls for classic pumpkin spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Although it is not necessary to use fresh-grated spices, I recommend making sure that your spices aren’t expired (I know sometimes they get forgotten about in the back of the pantry). If you would like to use pre-mixed pumpkin spice, go ahead!
- Salt
- Pumpkin puree – This recipe calls for an entire 15 oz can of pumpkin puree. I love this because it means I won’t have half a can of pumpkin going bad in my refrigerator! Make sure you are using pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Brown sugar – This cake is just lightly sweetened, so if you would like a sweeter cake, increase the brown sugar to 3/4 or 1 cup.
- Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt keeps this cake extra moist. You can use full fat, nonfat, or anything in between! Although I recommend greek yogurt, plain yogurt will work in a pinch. If you don’t have yogurt, try substituting sour cream, buttermilk, or neutral oil.
- Vegetable oil – Or substitute any other neutral oil. I’ve even used light olive oil and it worked out great!
- Eggs – For the best results, use room temperature eggs. If you’re in a rush, cold eggs will work as well.
- Vanilla extract
- Sourdough discard – I recommend using newer sourdough discard because older discard can be very acidic. Discard that has been kept in the fridge for 1-3 days should be fine, but I wouldn’t recommend going over that. Don’t worry, you won’t taste the sour flavor in the final cake! I also recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out the sourdough discard because volumes can vary.
- Pecans or walnuts – I love adding some chopped nuts to this pumpkin cake. Feel free to substitute chocolate chips or even raisins. Or, just skip the add-ins completely!
How to make this Simple Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Cake
I LOVE how easy this pumpkin cake is to make. There’s no creaming required and everything comes together in minutes!
- First, combine all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and whisk well to combine.
- Then whisk the brown sugar with the pumpkin, yogurt, and oil in a separate large bowl. After that is combined, add the eggs one at a time and whisk until each egg is completely incorporated. Lastly, add the vanilla and sourdough discard and whisk to combine with the rest of the wet ingredients.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Then add the nuts, if using.
- Pour the batter into a 9×13 inch baking dish. I recommend lining the bottom of the dish with parchment paper, but you can also grease with butter or nonstick spray.
- Bake the cake at 350ºF for 35-45 minutes. This is a very moist cake so an inserted toothpick may come out with a few small crumbs, but it should be mostly clean. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature. Then use a knife and run it along the edge of the cake to separate it from the sides of the baking dish. You can either flip the dish over to remove the whole cake, or just slice it in the baking dish.
- Optionally top the cake with cream cheese frosting (see below). Enjoy!
Cream cheese frosting
Many pumpkin desserts are served with a cream cheese frosting. My family isn’t a huge fan of cream cheese, and I don’t like using the electric beater for such a simple recipe, so I usually don’t make it. If you would like to make a cream cheese frosting, be my guest! I recommend the recipe from Sugar Spun Run! (I made some for these pictures because it looks nice!)
If you liked this Simple Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Cake, you might also enjoy…
- Healthier Pumpkin Bread
- Mini Pumpkin Pies
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Healthy Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
- Or check out the rest of my pumpkin recipes here!
Simple Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Cake
This pumpkin cake is super simple and full of cozy fall flavors. It's the perfect way to use up sourdough discard! Enjoy it for breakfast, snack, or dessert!
Servings: 1 9 inch by 13 inch cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour or substitute all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger optional
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup brown sugar increase to 1 cup for a sweeter cake
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt see notes for substitutes
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard (120 grams)
- 1/2 cup pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper or grease with butter or nonstick spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, greek yogurt, and oil. Then add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition until incorporated. Then add the vanilla extract and sourdough discard and whisk until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Then add the pecans, if using. Stir until incorporated, then pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean (there may still be a few tiny crumbs).
- Allow the cake to cool to room temperature. Run a knife along the edge of the cake to separate it from the baking dish. Then slice the cake and enjoy!
Notes
Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt keeps this cake extra moist. You can use full fat, nonfat, or anything in between! Although I recommend greek yogurt, plain yogurt will work in a pinch. If you don’t have yogurt, try substituting sour cream, buttermilk, or neutral oil.
Sourdough discard – I recommend using newer sourdough discard because older discard can be very acidic. Discard that has been kept in the fridge for 1-3 days should be fine, but I wouldn’t recommend going over that. Don’t worry, you won’t taste the sour flavor in the final cake! I also recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out the sourdough discard because volumes can vary.
Cream cheese frosting – If you would like to add a cream cheese frosting to this cake, I recommend following the frosting recipe from Sugar Spun Run! I didn’t include it with this cake, because I wanted to keep it super simple.
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