Easy Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake Recipe
This easy sourdough discard coffee cake is soft, buttery, and topped with a sweet powdered sugar finish that tastes somewhere between an old-fashioned coffee cake and a funnel cake treat. It’s one of my favorite ways to use up leftover sourdough starter discard because it comes together quickly with simple pantry ingredients and stays incredibly moist and tender.
The subtle sourdough flavor balances the sweetness perfectly without making the cake taste sour. Around here, this sourdough discard coffee cake rarely lasts more than a few hours before someone sneaks back for another slice. It’s perfect for lazy weekend mornings, afternoon coffee breaks, holiday brunches, or whenever your sourdough starter jar starts overflowing in the fridge.
Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake
- Uses up leftover sourdough starter discard in a genuinely delicious way
- Soft, moist cake with a tender crumb and buttery cinnamon topping
- Tastes like a cross between old-fashioned coffee cake and a powdered sugar donut
- Easy to make with simple pantry ingredients
- Perfect for breakfast, brunch, afternoon coffee, or dessert
- Stays soft and delicious the next morning
- Beginner-friendly and works with either cold or room temperature discard
What Does Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake Taste Like?
This sourdough discard coffee cake has a mellow flavor and is not overly sweet. Most of the sweetness comes from drizzling maple syrup over the top, similar to how pancakes are not especially sweet until syrup is added. It does not taste strongly sour like sourdough bread.
The inside stays moist and tender while the top develops a sweet cinnamon crumble that reminds me of a fresh bakery coffee cake or powdered sugar donut. Around the edges of the pan, the butter creates slightly crispy golden bites that honestly taste a little like funnel cake.
The sourdough discard adds depth of flavor more than noticeable sourness, making this one of my favorite sweet sourdough discard recipes for sharing with people who are new to sourdough baking.
INGREDIENTS FOR EASY SOURDOUGH COFFEE CAKE
Wet Ingredients
200 GRAMS SOURDOUGH STARTER DISCARD || Sourdough starter discard is the portion of unfed sourdough starter removed before feeding your starter with fresh flour and water. Instead of throwing it away, it can be used in delicious sourdough discard recipes like pancakes, muffins, crackers, and this easy sourdough discard coffee cake.
Discard adds a subtle sourdough tang and extra depth of flavor while helping create a soft, tender crumb. This recipe works well with either cold discard straight from the fridge or room temperature discard.
Older discard will usually create a slightly tangier flavor, while recently fed discard tastes more mild.
If you do not already have a starter, you can learn how to make a sourdough starter here.
4 TABLESPOONS BUTTER, DIVIDED || I use a fork to mix half of the butter in the coffee cake batter and use the other half to grease the cast iron skillet. The result is a buttery, crispy golden crust around the edges of the skillet. Read How to Make Butter if you'd like to learn how to make your own from scratch!
Dry Ingredients
1 TABLESPOON BAKING POWDER | Baking powder helps lighten the batter and gives the coffee cake its fluffy texture.
2 TABLESPOONS SUGAR || This recipe is lightly sweet on its own, but becomes extra cozy and dessert-like with maple syrup drizzled over the top. If you are not planning on serving this with maple syrup, I would add a few extra tablespoons of sugar.
1 TABLESPOON OATS || I love dusting coffee cakes with a sprinkle of oats and brown sugar. It adds a layer of streusel-like texture to the coffee cake. Quick oats or steel cut oats are both fine!
1 HEAPING TABLESPOON BROWN SUGAR || I prefer using light brown. It has less of a strong molasses flavor.
1 HEAPING teaspoon CINNAMON, DIVIDED || Half of the cinnamon will be mixed into the batter. I add the remaining half to the faux-streusel topping. A little bit of warm cinnamon in each delicious bite!
¼ TEASPOON SEA SALT || A little salt balances the sweetness and helps bring out the warm cinnamon flavor.
1 TABLESPOON POWDERED SUGAR || Just for fun, a dusting of powdered sugar makes this coffee cake feel extra special.
OPTIONAL || A teaspoon of store-bought or homemade vanilla extract in the batter. I also have made a blueberry coffee cake version of this recipe with fresh blueberries on top of the batter and it was delicious!
SERVING SUGGESTION || Maple syrup for serving! Think of this as a crispy funnel-cake mixed with a pancake.
How to make this Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake Recipe
- If the sourdough starter has been stored in the refrigerator, let it sit at room temperature for thirty minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet. Setting the oven to medium heat and letting the skillet slowly creep up to temperature allows it to cook evenly and be nonstick.
- Add the starter, baking powder, 2 tablespoons of butter, white sugar, half of the cinnamon and sea salt in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk it together. This will be a thick batter!
- Add two tablespoons of butter to the skillet and swirl it around the bottom and sides of the pan. It will begin to turn bubbly and brown, just like the browned butter I use in my SNICKERDOODLES. Browned butter has definitely become a lasting obsession in my kitchen!
- Pour the batter into the skillet and gently spread it out over the melted butter.
- For the best crumble topping, sprinkle the oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon evenly across the top of the batter before baking. As the coffee cake bakes, the butter around the edges of the skillet helps create crisp golden pockets and buttery caramelized edges. The topping lightly melts into the cake while still adding texture and warm cinnamon flavor to every bite.
- Watch as the coffee cake begins to lightly fry along the edges of the pan. After about two minutes, the edge of the cake will be slightly crisped and cooked. Place the skillet in the oven to finish cooking for about ten minutes.
- After the coffee cake has cooled a bit, my boys like to dust their slice with powdered sugar. This is the easy way to get kids excited about a delicious coffee cake!
Helpful Tools
You won't need a stand mixer or even a hand mixer for this original recipe! The only thing you'll need is a medium or large bowl to stir the sourdough mixture in and a cast iron skillet for baking. I am using a small skillet, and would recommend an 8 or 10-inch. The batter will resemble a thick pancake batter and can be stirred with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Why Bake This Coffee Cake in Cast Iron?
One of my favorite parts of this sourdough discard coffee cake is the texture you get from baking it in a cast iron skillet. As the butter melts around the edges of the pan, the batter lightly fries and caramelizes against the hot skillet, creating crispy buttery edges that taste almost like a funnel cake or old-fashioned donut.
Cast iron also holds heat incredibly well, which helps the coffee cake bake evenly while keeping the center soft and tender. The contrast between the golden crisp edges and the moist middle is what makes this recipe so unique compared to a traditional fluffy bakery-style coffee cake.
If you have never baked coffee cake in a cast iron skillet before, this is the recipe that will convince you to start.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead
Recipe
Sourdough Starter Discard Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 8-10" cast iron skillet
- whisk
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 200 grams sourdough starter discard hungry or fed
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 tablespoon baking powder heaping
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon oats quick or steel cut
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon divided
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- *maple syrup optional for serving
Instructions
- If the sourdough starter and butter have been stored in the refrigerator, let it sit at room temperature for thirty minutes to loosen up a bit. Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet. I do this by placing it on the stovetop over medium heat for about two minutes until it is very hot but NOT smoking. If it begins to smoke, I remove it from the heat until it cools slightly.
- While the skillet is preheating, add the sourdough starter, baking powder, two tablespoons of softened butter, sugar, and half of the cinnamon and the sea salt to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add remaining two tablespoons of butter to the skillet and swirl it around the bottom and sides of the pan. It will melt and turn bubbly brown.
- Pour the batter into then skillet with the melted butter. Gently spread it out, but DO NOT MIX IT WITH THE BUTTER.
- For the best crumble topping, sprinkle the oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. evenly across the top of the batter before baking. As the coffee cake bakes, the butter around the edges of the skillet helps create crisp golden pockets and buttery caramelized edges.The topping lightly melts into the cake while still adding texture and warm cinnamon flavor to every bite.
- To serve, dust with powdered sugar. This coffee cake is best if eaten immediately, but can be stored at room temperature for about a day.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Tips for the Best Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake
Use Room Temperature Ingredients for the Best Texture
Room temperature sourdough discard mixes more smoothly into the batter and helps create a softer, more even crumb. If the discard is extremely cold, the melted butter can firm up too quickly in the batter.
If I forget to pull the discard out ahead of time, I usually let it sit on the counter for 20–30 minutes before mixing.
Don’t Worry if the Batter Seems Thick
This coffee cake batter is thicker than a typical cake batter, especially if your sourdough discard is on the thicker side. A thick batter helps support the buttery crumble topping and creates that soft, tender texture once baked.
Resist the urge to thin it out with extra liquid unless the batter seems unusually dry.
How to Keep the Crumble Topping Crisp
For the best crumb topping, make sure the butter is evenly worked into the dry ingredients before sprinkling it over the cake batter. The topping should resemble damp sand with some larger buttery crumbs throughout.
As the cake bakes, the cinnamon crumble melts slightly into the top while still creating crisp golden pockets around the edges of the pan.
Avoid Overbaking for a Moist Crumb
The easiest way to dry out coffee cake is overbaking it. Start checking the center of the cake a few minutes early since ovens can vary quite a bit.
The cake is done when the center is just set and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs instead of wet batter.
This sourdough discard coffee cake stays especially soft and moist the next morning when stored in an airtight container.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. This recipe works with either active sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard. Active starter may give the cake a slightly lighter texture, but both versions bake beautifully.
No. The sourdough flavor is very mild in this recipe. The discard adds depth of flavor and helps create a tender, moist crumb without making the cake taste strongly sour.
Yes. Store the cooled coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2–3 days. The texture actually stays surprisingly soft and moist the next morning.
This batter is naturally thicker than many cake batters, especially if your sourdough discard is cold or very mature. A thicker batter helps support the crumble topping and gives the finished cake a soft, tender texture.
Yes. Once fully cooled, wrap individual slices or the whole cake tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature before serving.
Final Thoughts
If you have extra sourdough starter sitting in the fridge, this sourdough discard coffee cake is one of the most delicious ways to use it up. It’s simple, cozy, buttery, and just sweet enough to feel special without being overly rich.
The tender crumb, cinnamon crumble topping, and crispy buttery edges make this one of those recipes people keep sneaking bites of straight from the pan. Around here, it rarely lasts until the next morning.
Whether you make it for a slow weekend breakfast, a holiday brunch, afternoon coffee with a friend, or just because your starter jar is overflowing again, I hope this recipe becomes one of your favorite sourdough discard recipes too.
And if you make it, I’d truly love to hear how it turned out for you. Leave a comment below or tag me on social media so I can see your version!
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I can’t believe this recipe doesn’t have dozens of five star ratings - wow. It’s so ridiculously good (and easy!)
I’ll admit that I stumbled across it because I scrolled past half a dozen recipes that involved creaming butter and baking for an hour and… that was too many steps and extra ingredients for this morning.
THANK YOU for this recipe, and thanks for your video! Glad to know I’m not the only one with burnt crispies on my cast irons, and glad to know I’m not the only one who couples feeding my starter with using up discard!
I added about 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries after transferring the batter to the pan - highly recommend. I also added one tbs of brown sugar to the batter, and only a scant sprinkle of it on the top, and I think it turned out heavenly. To the extent that it came out of the oven 5 minutes ago and the hubs and I are fighting each other’s forks to snag the last bites! Ha!
If you’re considering making this - DO IT!!!
The blueberries would be such a good addition to this coffee cake! I love this idea! I'm always on the hunt for sourdough discard recipes, too. It feels so much better to make something with it than to toss it in the compost. THANK YOU!!!!!
Just made this. VERY easy and relatively quick. In the skillet it cooked quickly but never got “crispy” around the edges until after the oven. It just got a ton of bubbles turned round holes from the baking powder. Luckily at the end, putting powdered sugar on top helped to hide that it’s appearance was… weird. A very thin, crater-y thing. That said: with all the butter and sugar, you can’t go wrong. It was tasty and my 9 year old is chomping it down and gives it the thumbs up. Easy use of discard and quick to make, makes it a recipe that we will repeat.
It's almost like a funnel cake that isn't fried, if that makes sense. Very airy and light. My kids really like to eat it with syrup like a pancake. An easy way to make a quick breakfast with discard! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
I was expecting this to include coffee in the Ingredients 🙂
It's always strange when a 'coffee cake' doesn't actually have coffee, isn't it? I wonder if it's because it's a cake that is eaten for breakfast with coffee? I'm not really sure!
That could be it, Meg - something to eat with our coffee! Great recipe, I actually added a little brewed coffee to the batter 🙂
Oops I forgot to leave my review, I adore this recipe! I just add a tablespoon of strong brewed coffee to the starter and a pinch of salt. I serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt....so good. Thank you, I love that there are no additional flours to add in this recipe!
Absolutely amazing, super quick and easy to just throw together while making breakfast! Buttery and fluffy. I personally would add another tablespoon or more of sugar but that’s just my sweet tooth talkin’
Hi Tiffany! Thanks for the review! I am also a bit of a sweet tooth... I like to eat it with a generous drizzle of maple syrup! Hope you have a wonderful day!
I tried this recipe because it looked like a true sourdough 'discard' recipe. It seems that most discard recipes use discard as a partial replacement for the flour and liquid, this one highlights the discard. To save time this morning (not having to warm up refrigerated discard), I gave my starter a little extra feeding last night. This is a great use of discard and delicious as written. It was early and I didn't think to mix the topping together prior to sprinkling on the cake and it still had a great texture. I'm thinking of sauteing up some apple slices the day before to press into the top with some pecans may be in our future.
Thanks for a great recipe.
Sorry, forgot to add the 5 Star rating 🙂
This is such a brilliant recipe. Most sourdough discard recipes have way too much additional flour in them, this one is relatively simple and so flavorful. I brewed a strong coffee shot and added it to the sourdough discard while it was coming to room temperature. Great coffee flavor, would love to develop more variations on this. Thank you!
Thank you for your review, John! I think the addition of apples and pecans would be absolutely delicious. Excellent idea!
What size skillet did you use? Thank you!
I have both an eight inch and a ten inch. When I use the ten, the dough barely goes to the edges but it still works!
I see I will need to invest in a smaller pan to have for recipes like these! My 12” made a super yummy crunchy ‘pancake.’ Still so good! Thank you for this perfect way to scoop and bake some discard.
At first I wasn’t sure this would work … no additional flour? But gosh, this was super tasty! My husband said it was like a fry bread coffee cake, and we scarfed it right up. I made it in a 10 inch cast iron skillet, which had it flatter and crispy-edged. I can see how an 8 inch would have given it a bit more thickness. This whipped together so fast and used up a goodly amount of my starting-to-fall starter, which I had a bit too much of! Really perfect, thank you for sharing. And it was so cool to watch the dough/starter fluffing up in the bowl from the baking powder!
This was so easy and delicious! We will be making this often!
This coffee cake is sooooo delicious! I can not believe how easy it was to make also!
Excellent straight forward recipe!!! Much appreciated!!! Always looking for easy GF recipes using sourdough discard.:)
Hi, can you use a regular baking pan or Dutch oven instead of the cast iron?
Thank you!
Yes! Absolutely. The crust might not get quite that 'butter fried' texture without the cast iron, but melt the butter in your pan and swirl it around the bottom and edges to grease the pan. Then pour your batter in and increase the baking time by a few minutes. It should look lightly browned and slightly crispy when it's done.
Enjoy!
Meg
Oh my goodness! This is so good, and so easy!
This cake is amazing! I can’t believe how easy and fast it is to make. I just started making my sourdough starter not even a month ago and been trying to find ways to use the discard because I hate waste it (even if it means throw it out on my compost). This is going to be a staple dessert in our house. My husband absolutely loved it too. Thank you!
YAY!!!! I am SO GLAD you liked it! I agree, it feels so good to find easy ways to use up discard, especially when the family loves it! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!!
- Meg
Thank you! This is amazing. I added finely chopped apples and blueberries. I also doubled the recipe for my 12” cast iron skillet and it worked perfectly. So delicious. I also love that it’s vegan if you just used vegan butter. Thanks again.
I love the idea of adding small apple pieces! Thank you for that suggestion! YUM! I'm so happy to hear this recipe was a success for you. Thank you SO much for sharing!!
-Meg
I had made my sour dough starter, took about 2 weeks(talk about patience!) I stumbled on this recipe and decided to give it a try since I also needed to season my cast iron. IT CAME OUT SO DELICIOUS!! It was such an easy recipe. We'll definitely be making this again! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I feel like waiting on a sourdough starter to mature is like watching a pot boil. It feels like it takes f o r e v e r! I'm so excited for you to begin your sourdough journey! When people say it's addictive, they aren't kidding. I predict a lot of yummy recipes in your future! Congrats! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review on this sourdough discard coffee cake recipe. It really means a lot to me to hear your feedback.
-Meg
More like a crisp fat pancake than a coffee cake. I used a 12 inch cast iron skillet so that might be why. I will try an 8-10 inch next time as recommended:)
Hi Norman! For best results in your 12 inch cast iron skillet you will need to double the batter recipe. There's not enough mass in the original recipe to spread to the edges and still be dense enough to have a pleasing texture. And it would probably over bake, too, since it spread so thin. I definitely can see how it turned into a pancake for you. I hope you decide to give it another try with a smaller pan some day. On the bright side, this comment might just save someone from having the same experience! Thanks for sharing!
- Meg
Should the butter be softened or melted when mixed into the discard? Seems strange to put it in cold since it won’t mix in. I did do it that way and it was good but I wondered if it should be better even.
Hi Jessica,
This was a VERY helpful comment. Thank you! I added 'softened butter' to the recipe per your suggestion. Have a great day!
Meg
Bookmarking this for later, but instead of separately heating the cast iron skillet, can get it up to temp by putting in the oven before turning it on. It will gradually heat up as the oven does, so saves needing to heat multiple elements:)
That is an excellent tip! Thank you for sharing!
- Meg
Quick, yummy and a great use for discard! Love this recipe!