Wacky Cake!

I am late, sorely late in fact. What for, you ask?  Well..in wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year!! Better late than never, though..that's one of my guiding principles and so here's wishing you and your family a very happy, prosperous and successful New Year. I hope that this new year heralds the beginning of a year where you are swamped with love, friendship, peace, knowledge and contentment and where sickness, unhappiness, loneliness and discontentment stay far away !          

Now that that's out of the way, let me share a recipe for Wacky Chocolate Cake. When I was  (googling all over the internet) researching this recipe, I found that this is also known as the Depression Era cake. The main reason is because this recipe calls for no eggs, no butter, no milk. Absolutely no rich ingredients at all and since people during that time had a scarcity for these items, some intrepid homemaker must have come up with this simple, one-pan recipe to be able to (ahem..) have her cake and eat it too! 

You read that right, you can mix this cake batter up in the same pan that you bake it in. No mess, no fuss and a simple yet satisfying cake in the end. Without further ado, here's the recipe.

                      

The recipe was adapted from sweetlittlebluebird

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C flour (I used a combination of unbleached all purpose and whole wheat pastry)

3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 C sugar 

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp Ener-G egg replacer(optional)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar  (can use white vinegar too)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp instant coffee granules (optional)

5 Tbs oil of choice (I used olive)

1 C water

Method:

1. Grease an 8 X 8 pan. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.

2. Mix the flours, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, egg replacer (if using), salt and the coffee granules in the pan. Whisk it thoroughly so that there are no pockets of cocoa left.

3. Make a well in the center, or three different wells and pour in the vinegar, oil and vanilla in the three different holes. Pour the water all over and gently stir the batter until it is well mixed.

4. I found that I had to mix in the corners really diligently to prevent dry flour mix (yuck!) from remaining in said corners.

5. Once the batter is smooth, clean the edges and the sides of the pan, if necessary and then place the pan in the preheated oven in the center of the middle rack.

6. Bake for about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean(ish).

7. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then gently remove onto a wire rack.

8. If your kids dont come hurtling into the kitchen, clamoring for a piece of the cake, let it cool for some more time, before slicing into it.

9. I served it plain, but you could cover it with chocolate ganache or a simple frosting to make it more decadent. Its best if the cake is consumed within a day, because it wont remain moist that long. 

10. Its definitely not comparable to the rich, decadent, sigh inducing pastries and chocolate cakes, but for the time that it takes and the ingredients that it requires, its definitely a must make recipe. 

Notes:

1. The kids loved it as a snack and as a lunch box item. 

2. The next time I make this, I plan to use whole grain flour to make it healthier. I might even use simple chocolate ganache to top it!