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Prep time
10 minutes
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Cook time
35 minutes
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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
Ingredients
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1 1/2 cups
all purpose flour
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1/4 cup
unsweetened cocoa powder
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1 cup
sugar
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1 teaspoon
baking soda
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1 tablespoon
vinegar (white, apple, or rice...)
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1 1/2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
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1/3 cup
vegetable oil
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1 cup
water or strong coffee
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for the frosting - 1/4 cups
unsweetened cocoa powder (or 3 tbsp cocoa plus 1 tbsp expresso powder)
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1 cup
powdered sugar
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3-4 tablespoons
heavy cream or regular milk or coffee
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1/4 teaspoon
vanilla extract
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2 tablespoons
unsalted butter
Directions
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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.
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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.
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