Description
This is a casual, tasty, moist cake meant to be mixed, baked, and served right in the pan. All you need is a fork and a hot oven.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar*
1/4 cup (30 g) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable oil or melted butter
1 tablespoon (15 ml) white vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 mL) vanilla
1 cup (235 ml) room temperature strong black coffee or water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a clean, un-greased 8-inch (20 cm) square metal baking pan. Combine with a fork until the cocoa is evenly distributed and there are no lumps.
Quickly add the oil or melted butter, vinegar, and vanilla to the flour mixture. The cake might fizz a bit as vinegar and baking soda react. Do NOT STIR yet.
Pour the coffee or water over the entire surface of the cake and mix well with the fork until there are no lumps, about 2 minutes. Be sure to get into the corners of the pan.
Place the pan in the preheated oven and reduce heat to 300°F (150°C). Bake 30 minutes or a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, you can ice the cake right in the pan, if you choose.
Notes
* This cake is not very sweet. I like it that way because I top it with lots of icing. If you skip the icing, you can increase the sugar to 1 1/2 cups. I’ve seen versions with 2 cups, but have never tested the recipe with that much granulated sugar.
Keywords: chocolate, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan, easy, pantry items