Six-Minute Vegan Chocolate Cake

I spent a very lazy Sunday home with Ben yesterday. We watched all three Back to the Future movies (love them, except why won’t the Doc let Jennifer have any fun?!). We didn’t leave the house until 10 p.m. to make a grocery store run. And–first thing in the morning, when Ben was still asleep–I made a quick, easy, delicious vegan chocolate cake that we happily munched on all day.

There’s not much left.

I am not vegan, though my favorite cupcake from Cupcake Royale is their vegan double chocolate. This recipe, from the Moosewood cookbook, doesn’t even advertise itself as vegan. Instead, I was drawn in by the six-minute part, as the authors of the cookbook were before me.

From the cookbook: “We first spotted this recipe in 1976 in House & Garden magazine, attracted, obviously, by the title… It is an economical, low-cholesterol, delicious dark cake that goes into the oven in 6 minutes with no mixing bowl to clean, because the batter is mixed directly in the baking pan.

“Cake per 2-inch piece: 237 calories, 3.3g protein, 15.4g fat, 27.3g carbs, 100mg sodium, 1mg cholesterol”

I only noticed this cake’s vegan status after baking–“Wait, what about the butter and eggs?”–and then amended the title. See for yourself:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• dashes of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup brewed coffee
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbs vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, sugar, and spices in your ungreased baking pan. I added one dash of nutmeg and twice as much cinnamon and ginger, all approximated. (These spices were my addition to this recipe.)

In a separate container, mix oil, coffee, and vanilla. Pour the liquid into the baking pan and combine with a small whisk. When the batter is smooth, add vinegar (I used apple cider) and stir quickly.

From the cookbook: “There will be pale swirls in the batter where the baking soda and the vinegar are reacting. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter.”

Bake for 25-30 minutes; Mine came out a little undercooked, but then I thought, “What the hey, there are no animal products in here!” Let cool, top with confectioners’ sugar, enjoy your fudgy gooey cake. Perfect for a lazy Sunday, or any day.