Pass the Plate

This cake defies all expectation of what a chocolate cake should contain: milk, eggs and baking powder are all absent. I think this recipe might just work by magic.

My skepticism was quickly replaced by approval when I tried this cake. You can’t tell that it’s been made with an unconventional set of ingredients. And it’s ridiculously easy to make: just measure your ingredients and combine them directly in the baking pan! Talk about a selling point: it saves me time doing dishes!

Bonus: no eggs means you can lick the batter off the bowl!

Ingredients

• Flour 1½ cups 375 ml
• White granulated sugar 1 cup 250 ml
• Cocoa powder 3 tbsp 45 ml
• Baking soda 1 tsp 5 ml
• Salt ½ tsp 3 ml
• Oil ¹⁄₃ cup 85 ml
• Vanilla extract 1 tsp 5 ml
• White vinegar 1 tbsp 15 ml
• Cold water 1 cup 250 ml

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C.
2. In a 8″ / 20 cm square baking pan, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water.
4. Whisk until well combined.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with no more than a few crumbs on it.
6. Let cool completely before frosting and/or decorating.

You can easily make this in a different sized mold or as cupcakes. See this handy link for guidelines on baking times.

Now since this called a “busy-day” cake and frosting is a lot of bother to make, I like using the pre-made stuff from the store. You can obviously use whatever home-made frosting you like best. This cake is fluffy and moist and delicious even without frosting. It also works very well with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.