This chocolate cake recipe came from the back of a King Arthur flour bag, many, many years ago now. I originally made it for my friend Jenee in 1996. I topped it with raspberry sauce then. It was written as a “mix in the pan” cake, but I have found it turns out better if you mix it in a bowl and then pour it into in a lined and greased non-stick pan. It is very similar to a recipe my good friend Ana brought to Fresh Fields for vegan cupcakes when she started at the now-defunct Fairfax store when it first opened. She moved to the Tysons store & we met there…She got me started on emmet swimming & later baked my wedding cake (the best cake I’ve ever had).
This cake is suspected to be of WW II vintage. It takes a cup of sugar for a layer, which is pretty standard for a cake & that would have taken a chunk out of your ration points, but it doesn’t use any butter or eggs. It is pretty good when it’s first baked, but it tastes better the second day if you cover it and set it aside, if you can stand to do that.
I’d recommend lining the bottom of the cake pan with waxed paper and greasing the sides, in order to make removing the cake easier.
The Easiest Cake You’ll Ever Bake
Preheat the oven to 350.
Combine in a bowl and mix thoroughly:
1 1/2 c. flour (I use King Arthur White Whole Wheat and no one is ever the wiser.)
1 c. sugar
3 T. cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
Make 3 indentations in the dry ingredients with a fork. Into the first, pour:
6 T. vegetable oil
Into the second:
1 T. vinegar
Into the third:
1 t. vanilla
Then, over all ingredients, pour:
1 c. cold water or strong cold coffee
Whisk together quickly until just combined. Pour into a 9-in. round cake pan, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
You can also make cupcakes with this batter. Use cupcake papers and a standard cupcake tin and put about 1/4 c. batter in each. You’ll have about three cupcakes’ worth of batter left over – you can put papers in glass or ceramic ramekins and bake the remaining batter that way. Bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes.
It can be frosted with this vegan chocolate frosting.
Hi,
I’m a total novice at baking! Can I substitute baking soda with baking powder instead?
Thanks
Bindu
Bindu, sorry to come in almost 24 hours later, here! No, in fact, baking soda and baking powder are not interchangable. You can make baking powder if you have baking soda and some other ingredients, but if you need baking soda, using the same amount of baking powder will not work, as the batter will not have the necessary power to rise. Check out this page for an explanation. http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm
Hi Jocelyn,
I had ‘Google-d’ it and, incidentally, gotto read the same site you have provided. Anyways, I couldn’t wait to bake it so I used baking powder! It turned out well !! I’ll try it the next time with baking soda and I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks!
Hi Jocelyn,
The cake turned out much better with baking soda. I would like it a little sweeter though. Probably 1/2 a cup more.. Could you tell me how I should alter your recipe if I need to add more sugar?
Thanks in advance!
Bindu