Valentine's Day

Crazy No Egg Chocolate/Mocha Cake

by:
February  3, 2016
5
1 Ratings
Photo by Regine
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 35 minutes
  • Serves about 9-12
Author Notes

This is a very popular cake also called "Depression Era" cake because it contains no eggs and no dairies like milk and butter, hence cheap on the wallet. The cake is delicious, moist and light (although not as light as a cakemix) despite it being eggless. Original recipe asks for ingredients to be mixed right in the same pan that you will use to bake cake, but I prefer to mix it in a separate bowl. Recipe is adapted from chocolatechocolateandmore.com.
Turn it into a mocha cake by replacing both the water in cake and cream/milk in frosting with coffee. You can also skip the frosting and serve cake as is or with a dusting of powdered sugar. —Regine

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar (white, apple, or rice...)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water or strong coffee
  • for the frosting - 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (or 3 tbsp cocoa plus 1 tbsp expresso powder)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream or regular milk or coffee
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch square baking pan. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda, and stir unti all is well incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, vinegar, zest (if using), oil, and water or coffee, and mix until all is well combined and there are no lumps. You can choose to start mixing by hand and then continue with an electrical cake mixer. Pour batter into the pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. At 30 minutes, you can check to see if a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before putting frosting on top. This cake is not unmolded but you can do so if you prefer.
  2. For frosting, melt the butter in a small saucepan (or in the microwave). Add cocoa powder (and expresso powder if using) and mix until it forms a paste. In bowl of electric mixer, add the powdered sugar, cream/milk/coffee, vanilla and the paste. Mix first by hands and then continue to mix in electric mixer for about 5 minutes until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Spread on top of the cake. You can, however, choose not to use any frosting.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Regine
    Regine
  • Bhavna N
    Bhavna N

4 Reviews

Regine June 26, 2020
Dear Bhavna, I added the missing ingredients. Thanks for letting me know. I am also happy you like this cake. I never thought to eat it cold but I will try next time. So you refrigerate it?
 
Bhavna N. June 26, 2020
Hello Regine, yes just put it in the refrigerator. I left the frosting a little liquid-y, didn't make it creamy. It seeped in and was delish! Thank you for sharing the recipe:)
 
Regine June 26, 2020
I will try same thing. 😎
 
Bhavna N. June 26, 2020
This has become my go-to cake recipe! So decadent and tastes the best when cold. Yes, cold! While the recipe has missed mentioning some of the ingredients listed in the method, it was pretty simple to gauge.