A good foundation

I promised you an actual recipe last time so a recipe we will have. I sat and pondered this a bit, in-between the bouts of erf (been sick the last day or so), and tried to reduce from the billions of recipes which one would be good to put up. I want a recipe that is tasty, but easy. I wanted something the majority of folks could enjoy, but nothing too fancy. Well, that just screams cake!

Now, which cake?? Chocolate of course, those who don't like chocolate simply need seek a good therapist >:P. I didn't want a complex cake, so I went with my no egg cake. "No eggs? Are you nuts?" Well no, but I have seen variations of this recipe over the years and once in a while, well, ya just run out of eggs. The more I made it the more I came to feel it was a foundation cake. Something that is a good base, edible all on its own, but is also great for building on.

As a general whole, this cake tends to be a tich on the dry side, but I think that's ok. A little frosting and you're good to go. We make it as a not-so-rich snack cake. Everyone enjoys a nice decadent cake once in a while, but part of what makes a special cake special, is that you only get it once in a while. You can make cupcakes with it and add a nice cream filling. Top it with many and varied frosting and icings. Perforate prodigiously (thank you AB) with skewers or a fork, and top with a nice hot pudding or stove top custard. Bake it in a bundt pan, after it cools cut the top 3rd off, scoop out a nice trough in the bottom 2/3 and fill (cherry filling, whipped cream, cream filling, pudding, orange cream etc etc), place the top back on and drizzle with vanilla glaze. As you can see, the possibilities are many!

Another reason we like this cake is that its relatively easy and fool proof. As long as you just get in and get it done, you're golden (or chocolate in this case). Also, its a honest to goodness chocolate cake that is vegetarian friendly. Now don't get me wrong, I like my meat and there will be meat talk a-plenty in here. But I do have vegetarian friends and do at least try to think of them on occasion. I made this cake for a Christmas party last year with them and you would have thought Glen had never had cake before! So, lets have the recipe!

Chocolate Snack Cake - 350°F (175°C) Grease & Flour (9x13 or 2 9" rounds)

3c Flour
2c Sugar
2tsp Baking Soda
6tbl Cocoa Powder
1c Vegetable Oil
2tbl Vinegar
2c Cold Coffee

Sift together flour, sugar, soda & cocoa. Add oil, vinegar and coffee and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan(s). Bake for 40-45 (9x13) or 20-25 (9" rounds). If using metal or opaque pans turn oven down to 325° when you put the pans in the oven. The usual cake rules apply, cake is done if a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Now, with all that, lets talk a few tweaks. If the amount of sugar scares you, welcome to the club. I usually cut it by 1/2c but the more sugar you cut the dryer the cake is. You can substitute 1/2 of brown sugar for 1/2 of the white, it helps a bit on the hydration. As for the liquid, I prefer coffee as it blends flavours well with the chocolate. You can use water if you prefer, or if dairy isn't an issue you can use 1c milk 1c water (or coffee). The milk tends to make the cake a bit more dense, which I find makes filling a cake a tad more difficult.

I hope you find this useful, please feel free to ask if theres any questions!