Chocolate Cake

For this week's potluck we had "island" themed food - I just can't give up Hawaii yet. I experimented with some pineapple and macadamia rice. Others brought some BBQ chicken, some pineapple/coconut cod, spam musabi, hawaiian sweet bread and pina coladas. It was ALL delicious.


For dessert I made my favorite chocolate cake, and added some mac nuts to "island" it up a bit. I'm pretty sure I originally got this recipe from my friend Jean - baker extraordinaire - who I think got it from Moosewood. It's delicious and moist, with a crispy top, and comes in handy when you have vegans around. You could top it with just about any kind of icing, fruit, or whatever.

Six-minute (Vegan) Chocolate Cake
In one bowl mix:
1 and 1/2 cup white flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking soda

In smaller bowl mix:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (Canola, or olive works too)
1 cup cold water (or coffee, which makes it richer)
2 tsp. vanilla
Add to dry and mix.

Then add 2 Tblsp vinegar. Stir quickly and dump into 9x12-ish baking pan.

Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

The nuts were a nice touch - I'd recommend adding some if you need some crunch. I've tried these as cupcakes too, and they turn out well.