"Just the One" Chocolate Cake

For those occasions when you are pressed for time, energy, or both, and you just need to whip up a no-frills, no-fuss chocolate cake, there's this little workhorse.

All you need is one mixing bowl, one whisk, and one pan to get this little confection on the road and into the oven.  The result is a single-layer cake with a moist, slightly springy texture.  I threw together a rapid dulce de leche glaze to drizzle onto it at the end, but the focus of this recipe is the cake itself.  

Yield:  a single-layer cake (9 in. diameter)

Recipe (Brands Tested):

• 264 g (just under 2 cups) all-purpose flour (Harina Buena y Barata Harina de trigo fortificada para todo uso Especial Para Panadería y Pastelería)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (La Universal 100% Polvo de Cacao)
• 1 tsp. baking soda (isly tan simple Bicarbonato)
• 1 tsp. table salt (Cris-Sal Sal de Mesa)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar MINUS 1 tablespoon (Supermaxi brand)
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar MINUS 1 tablespoon (San Carlos Azúcar Morena)
• 1/2 cup olive oil (Bertolli Aceite de Oliva Virgen Extra)
• 1 1/2 cups coffee (Vélez Café Fino Ecuatoriano Yumbo Tostado Medio) 
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (Condimensa Vinagre de Manzana)

Executive chef supervises from her usual spot.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan (I just use spray oil).

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Add brown sugar and olive oil, then whisk again.

Add coffee and vinegar, then whisk until the mixture is smooth.  

Pour batter into the prepared pan.  (There might be some bubbles, and that's fine.)

Bake for 35 minutes, until the top springs back lightly when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the middle has just a few sticky crumbs.  There should be no wet or raw batter clinging to the tester.

 

Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes, and then run a knife around the edges and tap it lightly to ensure it's loosened enough to slide out.   

Flip the cake onto a wire rack to complete the cooling process.

Ignore the hand print -- that's easy to cover up with frosting or glaze!

I went with a quick-and-easy dulce de leche glaze to frost this cake.  It consisted of:

• 125 g dulce de leche (Dulacs Manjar Tradicional)
• 1/2 tbsp. dark rum (Ron Zacapa Centenario 23)
• 1 oz. water  

Throw those components together into a microwave-safe bowl, heat briefly, and stir to combine.

Drizzle glaze onto the fully cooled cake, divvy up, and enjoy!

Once again, no empirical studies have been conducted on storage and staying power -- this cake did not make it through the night due to consumption patterns in the test kitchen!