ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup warm water
method:
preheat oven to 350F, and grease a 9" baking pan.
combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
combine wet ingredients, except water. mix in dry ingredients, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, then stir in warm water.
bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
or for cupcakes, bake for 20 minutes. makes about 30 giant cupcakes.
like i said, bang for its buck. no ridiculously expensive melting chocolate, or cream, or fancy egg separation requirements, it uses cooking oil instead of butter for goodness sakes. which means you don't have to cream the butter, making for a faster process, ie. shorter waiting time for a mouthful of cake. heck, the recipe is so simple that you don't even really need an electric mixer, just a wooden spoon will do. saves on washing up.
you're probably finding adding water to the batter a little weird. yes, it will look more like chocolate soup than batter, but DO IT. it's key to making this recipe moist. the original recipe called for a full cup, but i fear that that may dilute the batter too much and it won't dry out in time, let alone bake fully. that said, i wouldn't go add water to all other cake recipes if i were you. i think the water works here because the ingredients are so simple. other recipes with more complex chemistry may just collapse with the addition of more liquid.
the original recipe also called for *2 cups* of sugar. i've learned that using 1/2 to 2/3 the amount of sugar called for in most american dessert recipes makes the end product more palatable to the rest of us. 1 cup was just right for this cake. it was sweet, but you could still taste the cocoa. each bite left you craving for more, which perhaps is a little dangerous for a dessert, but you have to do it justice; you wouldn't make a sub-standard cake on purpose would you? i wouldn't go a teaspoon over 1 1/3 cup of sugar for this one.
my proof of success? when the boyfriend (who isn't a fan of chocolate) gets seconds.
yes, eat with strawberries. they're good for you.
another day i'll tell you about the tung lok chicken recipe that we tried tonight. go try this recipe first, and you'll trust me on the next one.
