Microwave Sourdough Chocolate Cake

Oh, the microwave cake. This week has been a taste of normality – I've been working with a kid's scuba camp. And one of the great things about the microwave cake is that they are the weeknight baker's best friend – quick and easy.

So, with my lack of time this week, I decided to try and combine my last two microwave cakes. A Chocolate Sourdough Applesauce cake?

I took some risks here – I modified both so much I almost don't want to put my beloved “semi-original recipe” label here. For one thing, I reduced the sourdough starter slightly – I'm all about simplifying, especially for a quick recipe. 6 tablespoons of sourdough starter (twice what was in the not red velvet cake) works out to 1.125 thirds of a cup. Measuring sourdough starter by the tablespoon is possible, but being such a viscous liquid that isn't typically stored in a container where it can be easily poured into a measuring spoon, I'd rather just say 1/3 cup. I also increased the cocoa powder to match that of the regular microwave chocolate cake. Finally, I pulled out a toy that's been sitting in the back of the cupboard – a 4-cup bundt pan specifically for microwave cakes.

So, without further ado, here's the recipe:

Microwave Sourdough Chocolate Cake

Serves from 2 to 8

1/3 Cup Ripe Sourdough Starter

1/2 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup + 1 tblspn Sugar

1/4 Cup Cocoa powder

1/2 Cup Applesauce

2 eggs

1/4 tspn baking powder

1/2 tspn vanilla extract

1. Mix sourdough starter, eggs, applesauce and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add baking powder and vanilla.
2. Add cocoa powder and flour, mixing until just combined.
3. Spray microwave safe baking dish (I use Baker's Joy). Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Check for doneness, adding time in 30 second intervals
4. Tip onto serving plate and allow to cool. Slice and enjoy!

I was also trying to avoid the problems I've had with my first few microwave cakes. As I understand, the two major reasons a cake turns out tough is that the flour gets overworked and that it gets overbaked. I added the flour last to avoid the first problem, but ended up with a few lumps in the flour (I used the little mixing bowl, making it tough to mix properly). The latter...it finished on one side quickly, but the other side didn't turn out so well. So I put it in for two more 30 second stints after the initial two minutes. I nervously waited for my usual guinea pigs to have a taste.

The consensus? “A little chewy, but good.” So I'm going to give it one thumb up. I'm hoping a different baking dish might yield some better results.

The problem? I just ordered a whole host of new baking toys from Amazon (more on those when they come in). So looks like I'm going to be waiting for my next free gift card...