If you’re a fan of baking with fresh milled flour, a chocolate cake with fresh milled flour is such a treat! Using whole grains like soft white wheat berries to make a whole wheat chocolate cake recipe brings depth of flavor and added nutrients to your dessert. This guide will walk you through making a rich chocolate cake with fresh milled flour, perfect for special occasions like birthdays or a casual weekend indulgence.
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Why Use Fresh Milled Flour in Cakes?
Fresh milled flour, especially whole wheat pastry flour or soft white wheat flour, is perfect for cakes because it creates a moist cake with tender crumbs. Unlike traditional white flour, fresh-milled whole grain flour retains its natural oils and nutrients, resulting in a healthier chocolate cake that doesn’t compromise on flavor.
Ingredients for Success
Dry Ingredients
- Fresh milled flour: Whenever you are baking pastry such as cakes, cookies, scones, etc, you’ll get the best results using soft white wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour ground from soft white wheat berries. This wheat has a lighter flavor and a lower gluten content which results in a more tender crumb. However, I definitely believe in using what you’ve got! Most of the time, I bake exclusively with hard white wheat and have great results! Feel free to try this recipe with whatever you have on hand.
- Sugar: Pure cane sugar works great here, or regular old granulated white sugar.
- Dutch process cocoa powder: I don’t know much, but I know you must use Dutch processed cocoa when making a chocolate cake. This is non-negotiable. Regular cocoa is just too drying. You can find Ghirardelli brand Dutch process cocoa at your local grocery, or you can find it here.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
Wet Ingredients
- Hot water: Believe it or not, the best way to get a moist cake is to start with a wet batter. When we’re working with fresh milled flour, we have to make sure there’s plenty of liquid for the flour to absorb.
- Hot coffee: This can be subbed with additional water, but it brings out the deep chocolate flavors nicely.
- Sour Cream: Again, great for getting a moist cake!
- Avocado, olive, or melted coconut oil: You can use melted butter, but it has a tendency to dry cakes out.
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
Baking a Chocolate Cake with Fresh Milled Flour
1. Prepare the Pans
Grease and line the bottom of three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. I do this by cutting out three parchment circles. (They don’t have to be perfect.) The last thing you want is to bake three beautiful cake layers and lose one to the pan!
2. Mill the Flour
Measure out 360 grams of wheat berries and mill them on the finest setting with your grain mill. If you start with 360 grams of wheat berries, you will end up with 360 grams of flour. Isn’t that kind of amazing?! If you don’t have a kitchen scale, (You should get one immediately 🙂 then you will need about 1.5 cups of wheat berries to make 3 cups of flour. Store any extra in an airtight container for your next bake.
3. Combine Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour mixture (fresh milled flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) to ensure even distribution.
4. Mix Wet Ingredients
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the sugar, eggs, oil, hot coffee, water and vanilla at medium speed until smooth.
5. Create the Batter
Spoon in the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and start to mix at low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium for 30 seconds then turn off the mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix again for 30 seconds. You don’t want to overmix, or you’ll end up with a dry cake.
6. Pour and Bake
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Pour batter into each pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. The batter should be very wet. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350°F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool and Frost
- Once baked, allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Wrap the cooled layers in plastic wrap and pop in the freezer for 15 minutes for the best results. This step makes frosting easier.
Decorating Your Chocolate Cake
For frosting, choose your favorite frosting, like chocolate frosting, cream cheese frosting, or even whipped cream for a light and airy finish. Frost the cake layers, adding a thin layer of frosting between each to hold them together.
Pro Tips for Success
- Cake Freezes Beautifully: If you want to make your cake ahead, you can freeze the layers individually or freeze the cake completely stacked and iced. To thaw, leave the cake at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight.
- Next Time: Experiment with different wheat flours like einkorn flour or other ancient grains to further enhance the flavor.
- Storage: Store leftover cake in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days.
Why Fresh Milled Flour Makes the Best Cakes
Using freshly milled flour not only improves the chocolate flavor of your cake but also preserves the key nutrients found in whole grains. Pair this cake with a dollop of whipped cream, and you’ll have one of the best cakes you’ve ever made.
Whether you’re a first-time home baker or an experienced pro, this recipe will make your next layer cake a standout. We would love to know how your bake goes!
Happy baking!
More Whole Wheat Recipes with Fresh Milled Flour
Best Chocolate Cake with Fresh Milled Flour
Ingredients
- 178 grams Dutch Process Cocoa 1 3/4 cup
- 480 grams Fresh Milled Flour 4 cups, preferably soft white wheat
- 700 grams Sugar 3 1/2 cups
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 4 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 cups Warm water
- 1 cup Hot coffee
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- 1 cup Avocado oil can use olive oil or coconut oil
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 6 Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine warm water, sugar, sour cream, oil, vanilla and eggs in a bowl or stand mixer (with the beater attachment).
- In a separate, medium sized bowl add your flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well combined.
- Spoon your dry ingredients into the mixer bowl and mix on medium low speed for 30 seconds. Stop, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula, and mix 30 more seconds.
- Grease and parchment three eight-inch cake pans.
- Using a measuring cup, evenly distribute your cake batter.
- Bake layers in the oven for 30 minutes. To determine if the cakes are done, lightly touch the center of each layer and press down gently. The moist cake layers should spring back. If they do not, add five minutes of baking time and recheck.
- Allow your cakes to cool 10 minutes in the pans. When you’re ready to take them our, simply run a butter knife around the inside edge of the pan and invert the cake onto your hand.
- Finish cooling the cakes on a wire rack, then ice as desired!
