Learn how to make a sourdough carrot cake from scratch using sourdough discard. This simple recipe is easy and delicious!
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Why Sourdough Carrot Cake?
Calling all sourdough fanatics out there! If you are a sourdough lover like me, then you may find yourself searching for good recipes to use up that precious sourdough discard that’s kicking around.
Whenever I find a good sourdough discard recipe that uses 1 cup of discard at a time I think “score”. We hate wasting anything, especially sourdough. It’s great to have several sourdough discard recipes on your Pinterest boards, or in your recipe box for when you find yourself with an abundance of discard. For a while, it seemed as if most of the recipes we made with sourdough were all discard recipes!
Carrot cake has been my all time favorite cake since I can remember. So, it seemed obvious that I would need to find a way to incorporate sourdough into it. This was a recipe that we were excited to test again and again, until it was perfect.
What makes Sourdough Carrot Cake Different from Regular Carrot Cake?
Aside from being a great way to use discard, sourdough carrot cake has a little bit of that classic sourdough flavor. The texture of cakes and muffins made with sourdough is a little more dense and sponge-like (but in a good way). The cake develops those beautiful sourdough bubbles that are visible when the cake is cut into.
Aside from that, sourdough carrot cake is much like regular carrot cake! Surely delicious and will be a hit for the whole family.
My oldest son has developed my same love for carrot cake, so needless to say he was very happy when we experimented with this recipe.
How do I store the Sourdough Discard for This Recipe?
This sourdough carrot cake from scratch recipe calls for one cup of sourdough discard. If you generally keep a small amount of starter on hand, one whole cup may seem like a lot!
Sourdough discard can be kept in a jar in the refrigerator for one week. When it’s time to bake, go ahead and scoop one cup straight out of the fridge and add it to the recipe. There is no need to use fully fed, bubbly sourdough for this recipe as we are using the sourdough for flavor and texture, not for leavening.
Tools and Ingredients Needed to Make Sourdough Carrot Cake from Scratch
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
This recipe is adapted and inspired from the King Arthur Flour recipe as well as The Clever Carrot recipe! Please be sure to check out both of these beautiful recipes.
For this recipe, I am using the cream cheese frosting recipe from King Arthur’s Sourdough Carrot Cake. Be sure to visit the King Arthur site to snag the frosting recipe!
- cheese grater to shred carrots – I love this one because it folds up!
- mixing bowl
- measuring spoons
- cake pans
- electric stand mixer – not essential, but makes life much easier
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 2 c all purpose flour (we always use unbleached)
- 1 c sourdough starter (unfed discard, cold right out of the fridge is perfect)
- 2 c granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 c oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 c shredded carrots
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 c chopped walnuts (plus more for decorating the cake, if desired)
- coconut oil to grease cake pans
How to Make Sourdough Carrot Cake
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Chop the ends off of the carrots, then peel and shred. If you have chickens, they’ll go bonkers over the carrot peels!
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and mix until well incorporated. Set aside.
In the bowl of the electric mixer, add vanilla extract, oil, sourdough starter and eggs. Mix until well incorporated, then slowly add dry ingredients.
Lastly, add chopped walnuts and shredded carrots.
Coat the cake pans with coconut oil, then lightly flour to prevent sticking. This should be done immediately prior to pouring the batter into the pans, otherwise it is not an effective way to prevent sticking.
Fill the cake pans and bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Run a butter knife around the outside of the cake pans about 5 minutes after they have been removed from the oven. Then gently bump the cake from the pan, and it should release without sticking.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting Tip
Wait until the cake is completely cooled before attempting to frost. If the cake is too warm, the frosting will melt off of the cake.
If the frosting looks a bit runny after whipping it, throw it into the refrigerator for an hour or so and it will harden up and be easier to work with.
To make the cake appear flatter on top, we cut the tops of the cake level, and then stacked the cakes upside-down. So that the part of the cake that was the bottom of the baking pan is now the top. This leaves a flat surface to frost.
Printable (or Pinnable) Recipe Card
If you make and love this recipe, please take a moment to give the recipe 5 stars and drop a comment in the comments section below. This helps other folks to be able to find this recipe and try it for themselves. I would love to see pictures of your sourdough carrot cake creations, so please don’t forget to tag us on social media with your beautiful cakes!
Simple Sourdough Carrot Cake Recipe from Scratch
Ingredients
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 c granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 c peeled, shredded carrots
- 1 1/2 c oil
- 1 c sourdough discard (cold, straight from the refrigerator is okay)
- 4 eggs
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Chop the ends off of the carrots, then peel and shred. If you have chickens, they'll go bonkers over the carrot peels!
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and mix until well incorporated. Set aside.
In the bowl of the electric mixer, add vanilla extract, oil, sourdough starter and eggs. Mix until well incorporated, then slowly add dry ingredients.
Lastly, add chopped walnuts and shredded carrots.
Coat the cake pans with coconut oil, then lightly flour to prevent sticking. This should be done immediately prior to pouring the batter into the pans, otherwise it is not an effective way to prevent sticking.
Fill the cake pans and bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Run a butter knife around the outside of the cake pans about 5 minutes after they have been removed from the oven. Then gently bump the cake from the pan, and it should release without sticking.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Storage
Because of the cream cheese frosting, sourdough carrot cake should be stored in the refrigerator until consumed.
If longer term storage is needed (as if it’s going to last that long without getting eaten), this cake can be put directly into the freezer. Thaw on the counter before eating, and enjoy!
Sourdough carrot cake surely won’t last too long because it’s too good!
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