Pantry Chocolate Cake (A.K.A. Wacky Cake)

Here's something for you while you're waiting for the results of the Whole Chicken Challenge!  I was watching a cooking show recently, and the host made a chocolate cake that only contains pantry ingredients--no butter, milk, or eggs.  She called it Busy-Day Chocolate Cake, but some people might recognize this recipe as Wacky Cake.  No one is sure when or where Wacky Cake originated, but it seems an awful lot like a depression-era or WWII-ration cake.  Another bonus: you can make it in the baking pan, saving you the work of doing a bunch of dishes!  Another bonus: it happens to be vegan, if you or someone you love are into that sort of thing.

Considering my patisserie-education background, I was slightly skeptical.  Dan was quite skeptical.  I figured "Okay...even if I hate it I only spent about $0.75 cents on the whole thing.  What have I got to lose?"  I made it last night and it's actually really good. It came out kind of crunchy on the top and edges and cakey everywhere else.  We ate it plain, but you could certainly top it with anything you like (powdered sugar, Swiss meringue, whipped cream, broiled marshmallows, canned frosting, jam, ganache.....).  You could probably even add chocolate chips or chopped nuts to the batter as well.  I wouldn't add more than about 1/2 cup of either though; it's kind of a small cake.

So without further ado, here is the recipe:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I'll admit that my tablespoons were slightly heaped)
1 tsp. baking soda
scant 1/2 tsp. table salt
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp white vinegar (I substituted cider vinegar, and it still turned out yummy)
1 cup cold water

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).  Measure all the dry ingredients into an 8" or 9" square baking pan.  Whisk them together to distribute the ingredients and break up any big lumps.  Note: My cocoa powder was really lumpy, so I sifted the ingredients into a large bowl and then added it to the baking pan.  Then I just wiped the bowl with a dry paper towel and put the bowl away.

2.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water.  Gently whisk to combine.  I would highly recommend getting into the edges and corners with a spoon to make sure all the dry ingredients are mixed in.  Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.  Let cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack (you won't be able to turn it out of the pan if you follow these directions).  Top with deliciousness and serve. 

You won't be disappointed!