FASTEST CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

This cake recipe by Alice Medrich is, literally the fastest cake that can be whipped up in a very short time. I was searching for chocolate cakes which had very basic ingredients and just baking soda.I wanted a cake recipe which did not ask for baking chocolate because this was something I did not carry in my pantry. Hit upon this one and baking cakes have been different ever since. Previously , for me baking required a lot more planning ,the biggest chore being powdering sugar. And here, in this recipe ,you just need to throw in the granulated sugar. How easy can that get. This recipe changed my way of baking. Here's the recipe.I have tweaked it a bit. You don't even have to take out your cake mixer. Can use a wooden ladle to mix , instead.


RECIPE

1.  1 cup all-purpose flour    
2. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutchprocessed)    
3. 1/2 tsp. baking soda     
4. 1/2 tsp. table salt  
5. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and warm     
6. 1-1/4 cup packed brown sugar or 1 cup and 2 Tbsp.  granulated sugar    
7. 2 large eggs    
8. 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (optional)
9. 1/2 cup hot water 
10. 8 inch cake pan lined at the bottom with parchment paper

These are the make ahead steps that I do:

• I make cakes early in the morning. So the night before,(1) I line the cake pan with parchment paper,(2) whisk all the dry ingredients in a bowl and keep it closed,(3) take out my handheld mixer, pin in the whisks and keep aside. So the next day morning I just have to mix in everything and bake the cake. Planning ahead ,be it a simple task , makes it really easy and it does not feel like a chore at all.

• So this is cake pan lined and  the dry ingredients whisked together.

Now to prepare the batter:

• Pre-heat the oven at 350 degree F for 15 minutes.

• The recipe calls for melted and warm butter. I tweaked it a little bit. I take out the butter ( 1 stick) and put it into a bowl and melt it at power 2 for 2 minutes in the microwave. It won't be melted completely but almost 3/4 of it and that will do.
  

  

  
  

  

• Take 1/2 cup water in a saucepan  and put it on the stove to boil. Proceed with the other steps , but just keep a watch on the saucepan. As soon as the water boils ,turn it off.

•  Take out the bowl with the melted butter, throw in the sugar and beat on high speed                      

                                          

   

                                          

• Break the two eggs and throw it in . Beat it till light and fluffy , on high speed for about 1 minute.
                               

     

• Put in the dry ingredients, without turning on the beater, using the whisks, just swirl the whisks around so that the flour becomes slightly wet. This will avoid flyaway when the mixer is turned on. Now starting from lowest speed increasing to the highest , until everything is just incorporated.
  

         

            

• Pour in the hot water in one go and mix just until incorporated.
  

• Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake at 350℉ for 35 minutes, start checking at 33 minutes. Insert a toothpick or a long bamboo skewer at the center for doneness. The toothpick must come out clean or with crumbs, but not wet batter.

• When the cake is done and out of the oven , cover the top of the pan tightly with a small kitchen towel. This keeps the moisture in and lets the steam out. 
  
  
  
  

• The cake can be kept in the pan as long as you wanted or invert it onto a plate and peel off the parchment paper and keep it the crust side up in another plate.



        

 

Oil Cake Recipe

1.  1 cup all-purpose flour    
2. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutchprocessed)    
3. 1/2 tsp. baking soda
4. 1/4 tsp baking powder( for an extra lift)    
5. 3/4 plus 1/8  tsp. table salt    
6. 1/3 cup oil
7. 1-1/4 cup packed brown sugar or 1 cup and 2 Tbsp.  granulated sugar (if you don't have a very sweet tooth) 
8. 3 large eggs (extra egg to substitue for butter)    
9. 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (optional)
10. 1/2 cup hot water    
11. 8 inch cake pan lined at the bottom with parchment paper

• Mix all the dry ingredients(including sugar) together in a bowl. Put in the oil , eggs and beat until incorporated. Then pour in the hot water and mix until just incorporated.
• Bake as the above method.

NOTES

• The batter can be used to make  red velvet cake.
• Vanilla essence is completely optional. I don't put vanilla essence for cakes that call for atleast 1/4 cup of cocoa powder.
• If you don't have a very sweet tooth reduce the sugar by 2 Tbsp .
• I have baked this cake in the small round oven and also in the convection oven of the cooking range. In the small round oven , I keep a small aluminum glass in the middle . The cake is done in 22 minutes. The cake is soft inside and out but in the cooking range oven the cake is a little crusty on top , with or without the aluminum glass. But the taste is the same . That's when I realized that cakes baked in different ovens come out differently.
• The original recipe is here.
• I have made this cake with the whole wheat flour used to make chappathis. It's tasty too. I think the taste difference using whole wheat flour for chocolate cakes is not as obvious as when used in vanilla cakes.
• I have also baked the cake without pre-heating. Just prepare the batter and bake at 325 degree F , for 40 minutes , without preheating the oven. No change in taste or consistency whatsoever.

CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

• Line a muffin tray with muffin liners.
• The same batter can be used for chocolate muffins. For chocolate chips muffins, add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in the batter finally and pour into the muffin tray. Bake it at 350 degree F for  20 to 22 minutes, start checking  at 20 . Make 12 medium-big muffins.

                                      

• Every time  I make the chocolate chip muffins , I can help but break it open and take a photo. I love how the color comes out with a subtle reddish hue.

Tried to make DIY muffin cups using squares of parchment paper .Just place the square paper in the cupcake dent and make the shape by press a glass or anything that can be pressed into the dent along with the paper.