Mighty Chocolate Cake Recipe

Who doesn’t love a tasty chocolate cake? Whether you are looking to satisfy a craving or please a crowd of guests, chocolate cake will get the job done.

This creation has basically everything you’re looking for in a chocolate cake: intense chocolate flavor, moist texture, and it’s ridiculously easy to make. Of all the chocolate cakes you’ve flirted with in the past, this is the one to take home to your parents.

This is also a versatile cake that can be made with many different frostings or variations. The absolute best part about this cake is that it can be made in one bowl. I lovingly refer to these kinds of cakes as “dump cakes” as in you dump all the ingredients into a bowl, give it a stir, and it’s ready to go!

Mighty Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ c all-purpose flour
• 2 c sugar
• 2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2/3 c vegetable oil
• 2 c warm water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan. In a large bowl measure out the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and stir with a whisk.

- Next stir in the wet ingredients; the oil, warm water, and vanilla.

- Lastly add the chocolate chips and vinegar to the batter and stir gently with a spoon (do not use the whisk for this step).

- Once the ingredients have all been incorporated pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

- Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours before frosting.

Now for a fun fact; if you use a vegan sugar such as the Whole Foods 365 brand, or Domino’s, you just made yourself a vegan chocolate cake! It’s time to dispel the myth that vegan baking doesn’t yield tasty results. I’m a fan of butter as much as the next baker, but delectable desserts can be made without.

Frosting:

This cake is pretty tasty on it’s own, but for those of you who can’t bear the thought of a naked cake here are a few suggestions for frosting:

For me, I have always been a fan of the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, and luckily peanut butter frosting is actually pretty easy to make. So to make yourself a Mighty Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake follow the directions for making the above directions for the cake.

- For frosting select your favorite vanilla buttercream recipe or you can buy some from the store (it’s ok, I won’t tell anyone).

- Next combine the buttercream with creamy peanut butter using a one-to-one ratio. Add a splash of milk and mix together using a hand mixer.

Not feeling the peanut butter and chocolate combination? How about a Mighty Mint Chocolate Cake? For this variation, bake the cake as directed above substituting chopped up Andes mint thins rather than chocolate chips. For the frosting mix a few drops of mint extract into your buttercream and a drop of green food coloring.

For the coffee enthusiasts:

- For this cake follow the directions above except instead of using 2 cups of warm water substitute 2 cups of strong coffee.

- For the frosting, rather than using vanilla buttercream select a cream cheese frosting. Add 1 tablespoon of instant coffee that has been dissolved in 1 teaspoon of water and 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder.