This is my wife’s chocolate cake recipe. She got it from More Food That Really Schmecks by Edna Staebler, but its undergone some changes since.
The main advantages of this cake are that its yummy, moist and made in a single pan. It doesn’t need eggs or a greased pan either. It doesn’t even need icing, although it doesn’t hurt.
Ingredients
| • | 1 ½ | cup | hard whole-wheat flour |
| • | ¾ | cup | sugar |
| • | ¼ | cup | cocoa |
| • | 1 ¼ | teaspoon | baking soda |
| • | ½ | teaspoon | salt |
| • | 1 | teaspoon | vanilla |
| • | 1 | teaspoon | vinegar |
| • | ½ | cup | melted butter |
| • | 1 | cup | lukewarm buttermilk or sour milk1 |
| • | 1 | cup | chopped walnuts (optional) |
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
- If you’re going to use fake buttermilk, get it ready now. You may need to put it in the microwave for 45 seconds or so, to get it lukewarm.
- Melt the butter.
- Mix all the dry ingredients (except walnuts) together with a fork or your fingers in an 8″×8″ or 9″×9″ ungreased baking pan. Make sure the colour is uniform when you’re done, and all lumps have been crushed.
- Roughly level the contents.
- Make two indentations at opposite ends of the pan.
- Pour the vanilla in one indentation and the vinegar in the other.
- Pour the melted butter in the middle.
- Pour the lukewarm buttermilk (or substitute) over everything.
- If you’re adding walnuts, mix them in now.
- Stir until it is smooth and no flour shows. Make sure the edges and corners are thoroughly mixed.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out dry.
- Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting.
1 If you can’t get buttermilk, you can use 1/3 cup buttermilk powder in ¾ cup water. Another option is to put 1 tablespoon of vinegar in a one-cup measure and fill to the 1 cup mark with milk. Stir it, and let it sit for 5 minutes before using. (↑)