This Sourdough Spice Cake is soft and moist, filled with warm Fall baking spices, and topped with a buttery cinnamon streusel for a little crunch. Unfed sourdough discard goes straight into the easy quick cake batter, putting that extra starter to delicious use - and with all those cozy spices, you won't taste any sourdough tang!
Jump to:
- Quick Recipe Summary ✨
- Why this recipe works
- Recipe Ingredients
- Vary the flavor with spice blends
- How to make spice cake with sourdough starter
- Storage instructions
- Other ways to bake Sourdough Spice Cake
- Troubleshooting tips
- Questions asked and answered
- More recipes featuring sourdough discard to try
- Good news for sourdough bakers!
- Recipe
- Comments
Quick Recipe Summary ✨
Sourdough Spice Cake: A soft, moist quick cake made with sourdough discard and warm Fall spices, topped with a buttery cinnamon streusel.
Easy discard cake: Unfed sourdough starter goes straight into the simple batter, putting extra discard to delicious use without adding noticeable sourdough tang.
Prep Time: 15 minutes • Bake Time: 45 to 55 minutes • Cooling Time: 1 hour • Total Time: About 2 hours
Difficulty Level: ⭐ Easy. Mix the streusel, stir together the batter, and bake!
Yield: 16 slices • Freezer-friendly: Up to 3 months • Make-ahead: Stays fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days.
👉 Follow the detailed instructions and troubleshooting tips below for a moist Sourdough Spice Cake with plenty of warm spice flavor and a crisp, buttery streusel topping.
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Why this recipe works
- Sour cream keeps it tender: It adds moisture while its acidity works with the baking soda for a soft crumb
- Oil adds lasting moisture: It helps the cake stay soft even after it cools
- Cold streusel stays crumbly: Chilling the topping keeps the butter firm so it bakes into crisp crumbs instead of melting into the batter
- Bold spices balance the discard: Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg provide warm, assertive flavor that keeps sourdough tang in the background
I love all the flavors of Autumn, from Pumpkin Bread to Glazed Orange-Cranberry Bread, but sometimes I want something that's all about those warm baking spices - no pumpkin required.
Longtime readers know that I'm always looking for delicious ways to use my weekly unfed sourdough starter (that's what you remove from your starter container when you feed it). Hold on to your spatulas...here comes Sourdough Spice Cake!
With cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg in a soft, moist cake and a buttery cinnamon streusel on top, this is one cozy Fall bake.
Whether you serve this cake for brunch, dessert, or for an afternoon snack on a chilly Autumn day, you're in for a treat!
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this sourdough spice cake recipe:
Adding the streusel topping brings a buttery crunch to the top of the cake. It's not unlike the topping found on my Apple Crisp recipe (aka Apple Crumble), minus the oats.
Ingredient Notes
Sourdough starter discard: Sourdough discard is unfed sourdough starter, the amount you remove from your crock before feeding the remainder starter. Here it replaces some of the flour and liquid in the recipe, assuming your starter is at 100% hydration (equal parts flour and water, by weight). Its acidity also helps keep the cake tender.
Don't worry though - the warm spices cover any sourdough tang (just like in this Tahini Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake), so it's an easy way to put that discard to delicious use.
No sourdough starter? No problem! You can make spice cake by replacing the starter with more flour and water (see the Recipe Notes for the exact amounts).
Spices: This spice cake recipe is flavored with the warm baking spices of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Most spices will lose potency the longer they sit. Give each one a sniff - if the smell is faint, it's time to open a new jar.
Sour cream: Use full-fat sour cream for the richest texture. Plain regular or Greek yogurt can be substituted in equal amounts.
Brown sugar: For the streusel topping, using dark brown sugar will contrast more with the cinnamon than light brown sugar. You can customize the streusel to fit your desired flavor profile.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Vary the flavor with spice blends
You can vary the spice mix used to take advantage of pre-mixed spice blends if you'd like. Just use 2 teaspoons of your favorite pumpkin spice, speculaas spice, chai spice, or gingerbread spice blends (just to name a few) instead of the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg used for the batter. Great for seasonal variations!
How to make spice cake with sourdough starter
Step 1: Make the streusel topping
The method for making streusel is very similar to making biscuits or scones in that you start with a flour mixture, then add butter to until you get something resembling pea-sized crumbs.
Whisk the flour, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl (photo 1).
Cut in the cold butter using a fork or your hands until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs (photo 2).
Place the streusel in the refrigerator while you make the batter (photo 3).
Keep the streusel chilled
Chilling the streusel while you make the cake batter keeps it from melting into the batter when the cake is baking. I learned that the hard way, as you can tell from the pictures.
Step 2: Make the cake batter
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. If necessary, mash any large lumps of brown sugar (photo 4).
Add the sourdough starter, egg, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract to the flour mixture. Stir together until everything is just combined (photo 5).
Step 3: Bake the spice cake
Pour the batter into a standard loaf pan that's been sprayed with baking spray and lined with parchment paper. Top the batter evenly with the streusel, pressing it down gently into the top of the cake so it sticks.
Bake at 350˚F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (photo 6).
Storage instructions
Sourdough Spice Cake should stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. This cake also makes a great gift and ships well!
Other ways to bake Sourdough Spice Cake
My Sourdough Spice Cake recipe makes a standard loaf, but the batter can also be baked as mini loaves, muffins, or mini muffins. For a more traditional cake presentation, bake it in a small Bundt pan (like with this Sourdough Pumpkin Bundt Cake).
For any pan size, don't fill it more than ⅔ full to prevent the batter from overflowing.
| Pan Size | Yield | Bake Time |
| Standard loaf pan | 1 large loaf | 45 to 55 min |
| Mini loaf pans | 6 mini loaves | 25 to 30 min |
| Standard muffin pan | 12 muffins | 18 to 23 min |
| Standard muffin pan | 24 mini muffins | 15 to 20 min |
| 6-cup Bundt pan | 1 small Bundt cake | 35 to 45 min |
Troubleshooting tips
Here are some issues you might encounter when making this Sourdough Spice Cake:
- Streusel melted into the cake: Keep the prepared streusel refrigerated until you're ready to top the batter - cold butter helps the crumbs hold their shape.
- Cake is dense or tough: Stir the batter only until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing develops too much gluten.
- Center is still wet: Keep baking until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover the loaf with foil.
- Cake is dry: Check it toward the beginning of the baking-time range and remove it as soon as the center tests done.
- Streusel falls off when sliced: Press the crumbs gently into the batter before baking so they adhere to the top.
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
Sure! The cinnamon streusel adds buttery crunch and extra sweetness, but the spice cake can be baked without it. The cake itself still has plenty of flavor from the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
Yes. This cake is a good make-ahead option because the oil and sour cream help it stay moist after baking. Make it a day or two ahead and keep it well covered at room temperature, then slice and serve when you're ready.
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I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L'chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
More recipes featuring sourdough discard to try
Good news for sourdough bakers!
Discover a new method to feed your starter with less flour, making your baking both sustainable and scrumptious.
Plus, get my bonus recipe for naturally-leavened sourdough bread using unfed starter for fresh bread any time.
Recipe
Sourdough Spice Cake
Ingredients
For the streusel topping
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cubed
For the batter
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, see Recipe Notes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup sourdough starter discard, at room temperature, see Recipe Notes
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream, or plain yogurt (regular or Greek), at room temperature
- ¼ cup canola oil, see Recipe Notes
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray a standard loaf pan with baking spray, and line with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on the long sides.
- Prepare the streusel: In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt.
- Cut in 4 tablespoons unsalted butter using a fork or your hands until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs. Place the streusel in the refrigerator while you make the batter. It's important to keep the streusel chilled - that keeps it from melting into the batter when the cake is baking.
- Prepare the batter: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, and ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmegIf necessary, mash any large lumps of brown sugar.
- Add 1 cup sourdough starter discard, 1 large egg, ½ cup sour cream, ¼ cup canola oil, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract to the flour mixture. Stir together until everything is just combined.
- Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan. Top the batter evenly with the streusel, pressing it down gently into the top of the cake so it sticks.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan using the parchment paper as a sling and allow it to cool completely. Serve & enjoy!
- Storage instructions: Sourdough Spice Cake should stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. This cake also makes a great gift and ships well!
Lisa van der Steur says
Made this at 9300 feet of elevation (Quito, EC) and is it ever delicious. It sank a bit as in the photos, and -- as often happens here -- it tested as being done but seemed a little batterish on the bottom. Didn't stop us or our guests from eating it. Next time I'm going to make it as muffins instead. OH, so good!
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Lisa, I’m glad you liked it, and I appreciate you telling us about your high altitude experience. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Alicia says
Not sure there is enough liquid in this recipe. I checked 4 times and I included all ingredients but the batter was very dry and thick. I went ahead and bake it. The flavor is great but the bread is so extremely dry. It would seem that it’s missing milk or something like that to help bring some additional moisture.
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Alicia, I’m sorry your spice cake didn’t turn out as expected. I haven’t needed to add any extra liquid as I find the sourdough discard, egg, and sour cream all provide enough moisture for the batter. One reason for an overly thick batter could be too much flour. If it’s not being weighed out, it’s best to spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. In any case, if you find your batter to be too thick, you can always thin it out by adding a tablespoon or two of water. Good luck, and happy baking! 🙂
Christine says
Hello Tammy,
This sourdough spice cake sounds delicious. My sourdough culture is about one week from being ready to use and I would like to try it in your recipe. I notice that you suggest 2 teaspoons of baking soda for this recipe and was wondering if you could confirm this is the correct quantity as it seems to me to be quite a lot of baking soda to use.
Regards, Christine
Tammy Spencer says
Hi Christine, thanks for your question. Yes, the recipe does call for 2 teaspoons of baking soda. The sour cream reacts with the baking soda, so there isn't a metallic aftertaste (at least not one that I notice). My Sourdough Banana Bread is a variation of this recipe, and the same is true there. I haven't tested either recipe with less baking soda, but that might be an interesting experiment. If you do decide to use less, please let me know how it goes. Welcome to the world of sourdough, and happy baking! 😉