Wednesday, June 18, 2014

easy bake cake

I like cake. It's not unusual for me to make one just to have with tea or for my husband's lunch bag. Something sweet, but not too sweet. Never with icing unless the grandchildren are perched on chairs with mixing spoons in their hands and icing sugar on their noses. For them, icing, but otherwise, our cakes are left au naturel.
One of my favorite cakes to make is so simple, and fast, and chocolatey that I feel inclined....nay, bound by duty to share it with you.

It has no eggs, nor milk, and doesn't even need a mixing bowl.
The cake is light and tender and chocolatey.

Sometimes I mix it in a bowl and sometimes I mix it right in the baking dish. When I do, I get a flash back to the Easy Bake Oven. I can still see those little tiny cake mix packets, and those little tiny cake tins. 'Just add water,' the packet said and so into the cake tin went the powder. Water was dutifully measured in with a little tiny cup and then was mixed with a little tiny spoon. Into the Easy Bake Oven it went, and emerged minutes later, cooked to perfection by a little tiny light bulb and of course, eaten by little tiny girls.

Well, here is a recipe that is a tribute to the Easy Bake days of yore.
I guess I'll call it Easy Bake Chocolate Cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Take a glass pie plate or small casserole dish or 8 or 9 inch cake tin..
It doesn't need to be greased.
Measure in one and a half cups of flour.
And three quarters of a cup of sugar or a smidge more if you have a sweet tooth.
And three or four tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, depending on how chocolatey you want it.  Baking cocoa powder.
And one teaspoon of baking soda.
Stir this around to blend.
Now make three wells in the dry ingredients.
Into one, add three tablespoons of oil.
Into the second one add one tablespoon of vinegar.(you need an acid to activate the baking soda)
Into the third, add a splash of vanilla. About a teaspoon or so.
Then pour one cup of water over the works and stir until everything is moistened and mixed thoroughly.
Bake for 30 minutes, more or less.
I did add an egg once because my grandson loves to crack eggs and it turned out fine.
I have added a dixie cup of applesauce and that didn't seem to cause a problem either.

This is such a lovely cake. Truly an easy bake cake.

3 comments:

  1. Glenda, I am excited to try this! I love cake, too, but whenever we have occasion for cake, like birthdays, I always give the person their choice--and they usually choose cheesecake--so I never get just plain cake. :-( It's too much trouble to make cake for myself...until now. Only one pan to wash! I'm like you in that I don't need/want the icing. As a child I always just poured my milk onto my cake. I do like whipped cream, however....on just about anything.

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  2. I forgot to mention in my excitement....I had an Easy Bake Oven, too. Weren't they fun!

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  3. Oh goodness, yes, cream is wonderful and would be grand on this cake. I feel dizzy just thinking about it.
    I hope you like the cake. It is such a treasure to have a quick cake in your arsenal.
    I envy you your Eaay Bake Oven. A little girl down the street had one and I stood in awe as she mixed and baked.
    There is just something about little cakes. Do you suppose that is partly why cupcakes have caught on?

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