If you’re anything like me, there are just some days where you NEED chocolate cake and you need it as soon as possible. The solution? The easiest chocolate cake you’ll ever need. It’s extremely pantry friendly, and mixes up easily by hand with minimal dishes (you could actually mix it in the pan you intend to bake it in if you really don’t want an extra dish to clean!) It’s so moist, it doesn’t even need frosting, but if you can’t do without, the one I used is just two ingredients.
It may look like a lot of ingredients in the photo, but let’s break it down. Espresso powder is totally optional. I know a lot of people may not have that on hand. Everything else is a pantry staple. Notice what’s missing? You don’t even need eggs or butter! The recipe uses a cup of liquid. I used coffee, because I happened to have some left over from our morning pot. You could use milk (I recommend this if you’re not going to use a frosting! It adds an extra richness) or if you want to get crazy, you can even try some red wine! If you don’t have any of that, regular water works fine, too!
Whisk together the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients, mix all together and pour it into a lightly greased 8″ square pan or 9″ round pan. No special instructions. Just mix.
So simple.
In about 30 minutes, you will have cake. You can eat it still warm straight out of the pan. If you have some patience, you can wait for it to cool and add frosting. I melted chocolate chips into heavy cream and poured that on top.
It was perfect. Moist, chocolaty, totally satisfying. It checks all the cake-craving boxes. My husband took a bite and told me it tasted just like the cake his grandmother used to make for birthdays. I took the somewhat sad look in his eyes as he took the next bite as a compliment. There’s a heavy nostalgia element to food in general, and it makes me very happy when I can bring back memories with my baking.
Chocolate lovers and late-night sweets cravers, you need this recipe in your life! Want to make it even easier? Mix up the dry ingredients, store them in an airtight container or jar, and when the craving hits, all you have to do is mix in the wet ingredients and bake. I bet you won’t even have to run to the store to make this for dessert tonight!
Cake Pan Chocolate Cake
Simple and Easy, this Chocolate Cake recipe can be made from ingredients you always have in your pantry and will be ready to eat in under and hour! Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 (120g) cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup (198g) Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Espresso Powder (optional)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar
- 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Brewed Coffee (or Milk or Water)
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8″ cake pan (or 9″ round pan) with cooking spray
- Step 2 Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl and add to dry ingredients, stirring until combined
- Step 3 Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
- Step 4 Serve cake warm and unfrosted, or allow to cool completely before frosting. For a quick frosting, heat 1/2 cup heavy cream with 1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring in between until mixture is smooth
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