Wacky chocolate cake
A moist, deep chocolate snack cake made with oil, vinegar and water instead of eggs and butter, so it happens to be vegan.
- 60 min total
- 10 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 9
- About $0.22 a serving
- 240 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 9 servings.
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Each serving has about 240 calories, 3 g protein, 39 g carbs and 9 g fat, and costs about $0.22 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 350°F. an 8-inch square pan and with , leaving the paper hanging over two sides.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Grease. Greasing means rubbing a thin layer of butter or oil over the inside of a pan so food doesn’t stick. Get into the corners, where batter likes to cling.
How you’ll know: The pan looks evenly shiny all over, with no dry patches and nothing pooling in the bottom.
Line a pan. Lining a pan means covering the bottom, and often the sides, with parchment paper or foil before the food goes in. Leave the paper hanging over two sides, and you can lift bars or brownies out in one piece to cut them neatly.
How you’ll know: The paper lies flat against the bottom, with flaps sticking up on two sides like handles.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
the flour, then it with the sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until no lumps of cocoa are left.
Spoon and level. Spoon and level is how to measure flour: spoon it lightly into the measuring cup, then sweep the extra off the top with the back of a knife. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour and makes bakes dry and heavy.
How you’ll know: The flour sits flat and even with the rim, and you never pressed it down or tapped the cup.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Pour in the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla and just until smooth, with no dry flour left.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: It fizzes a little when the vinegar meets the baking soda. That’s what makes it rise, so get it into the oven soon.Food safety: Don’t eat raw dough or batter, not even a lick of the spoon. Raw flour can carry E. coli and raw eggs can carry salmonella until they’re cooked. The one exception is dough with no eggs, made with flour heated to 165°F.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a in the middle comes out clean.
Toothpick test. The toothpick test tells you whether a cake or brownie is baked through: poke a toothpick into the middle and pull it out. Wet batter on it means it needs more time.
How you’ll know: For cakes it comes out clean or with a crumb or two; for fudgy brownies, a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. A thin knife works too.
Timer: 30 min
Cool for 20 minutes, then lift the cake out by the paper.
Cool on a rack. Cooling on a rack means setting a hot pan or fresh cookies on a wire grid, so air moves underneath and the bottom doesn’t steam and turn soggy. No rack? The cool grates of your stovetop work the same way.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan feels barely warm when you touch it, and bars cut cleanly instead of crumbling.
Timer: 20 min
with powdered sugar if you like, and cut into 9 squares.
Dust. Dusting means sprinkling a fine, even layer of powdered sugar or cocoa over the top. Shake it through a small strainer, tapping the side, so it falls like snow instead of in clumps.
How you’ll know: The top looks evenly frosted, like a light snowfall, with no thick piles.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop picks a dessert for treat night, puts what you need on the week’s grocery list, and walks you through each step.
