We had visitors this weekend and I used it as an excuse to make this cake (sorry - no photos before we ate every last bit). Delicious and super easy.
This remains one of my favorite recipes ever, and there are versions of it in more than one of my Moosewood Cookbooks. The cake is great just plain, but it's downright decadent when topped with the raspberry chocolate ganache. It would, of course, also be good topped with whipped cream, ice cream or sliced fruit. The 6 minutes in the title are pretty close to what it takes to whip this together. It's vegan, too.
Serves 8
8-inch square cake pan
Cake Ingredients
1 ½ cups unbleached white flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup cold water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Raspberry Chocolate Glaze
½ pound 70% dark ghirardelli chocolate chips
about 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam or preserves
Preheat the oven to 375ยบ.
Spray an 8-in. square baking pan with cooking oil. Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and sugar (it's mostly the cocoa and baking soda that need sifting). Pour in the oil, water, and vanilla and mix with a whisk until smooth. Add the vinegar and stir quickly. There will be pale swirls in the batter as the baking soda and vinegar react. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter. Pour into the baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and set aside to cool. I serve it right out of the pan. If you wanted to serve it out of the pan, you'd need to use parchment paper to line the pan.
To make the glaze, I dump the chocolate chips and raspberry jam in a small glass bowl and microwave 30 seconds then stir, repeating until the chips have all melted. Sometimes I also put a layer of raspberry jam on the cake before I put on the ganache and sometimes I also decorate the top with fresh raspberries.
I can vouch for its deliciousness! I'm assuming the glaze should be microwaved for 30 seconds, not minutes?
ReplyDeleteWhoops! You're right. I changed the post.
ReplyDeleteSounds yummy-- and six minutes is great.
ReplyDeleteJust added this to the menu for next week:)
ReplyDeleteI bought some raspberries today. Your post reminded me of how yummy this cake is with fresh raspberries on top of the chocolate ganache...
ReplyDeleteYou're just so talented and brave with food. Have you always been this way? Were you ever scared of cooking like me? Aaron had to teach me how to boil noodles... You are amazing, Valerie. When is your cookbook coming out?
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine you scared of cooking, Stephanie. You are always doing all sorts of adventurous things with food - take that lavender cake you made for book group as an example. You seem to be unafraid to tackle things, cooking or otherwise. To answer your question, though, I don't remember being scared of cooking. My mom gave me a pretty good grounding in basic skills. I've had my share of flops, to be sure, but generally I find that following recipes works!
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