Chocolate Cake

No Eggs, All Flavor

A little kitchen chemistry, a rich coffee-and-cocoa flavor, and room to make it your own.

From Elena’s Kitchen

I always thought baking was chemistry! Mix a few ingredients and—voilà!—you have a cake. In this recipe, we’re going to do a little basic chemistry, especially with the reaction between vinegar and baking soda.

The vinegar is an acid, and baking soda is a base. When they meet, they react and release tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. Those little bubbles help the cake rise and give it a lighter texture. Pretty neat for something happening in a mixing bowl!

And because good food should fit real life, you can adjust the sugar to suit your taste. I’ll share the amount I use, too!

FARMHOUSE BATCH

Makes: One single-layer fluted cake
Serves: 4–6

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups warm brewed coffee (not hot)
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• ⅔ cup olive oil

Make It Your Way: Adjust the Sugar

The original recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar. Prefer a less-sweet cake? You can reduce it. Elena’s personal preference is ¾ to 1 cup of sugar in the Farmhouse Batch.

• Original: 2 cups sugar
• Moderately reduced: 1½ cups sugar
• Elena’s preference: ¾–1 cup sugar

A Note From the Kitchen

Sugar does more than sweeten. It also helps create the cake’s moisture and tender texture, so reducing it can change the finished cake. Start with Elena’s preferred range if you enjoy a less-sweet dessert, and see which version your family likes.

Reducing added sugar does not make the cake sugar-free or carbohydrate-free. If you are keeping an eye on blood glucose or carbohydrate intake, serving size and total carbohydrates still matter.

How to Make It

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease and flour a fluted cake pan. Butter works well for greasing.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the warm brewed coffee, vinegar, vanilla, and olive oil.
5. Mix just until the batter is combined. The vinegar and baking soda will react, helping the cake rise.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared fluted pan.
7. Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes. Check that the cake is baked through before removing it from the oven.
8. Let the cake cool before turning it out of the pan.

FIREHOUSE BATCH

Makes: Two single-layer fluted cakes
Serves: Approximately 8–10

Making this for the crew? Double the Farmhouse Batch and divide the batter between two prepared fluted pans. Bake two separate cakes.

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 cups granulated sugar (or 3 cups for moderately reduced sugar, or 1½–2 cups to follow Elena’s preference)
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups warm brewed coffee (not hot)
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1⅓ cups olive oil

Preparation

Prepare and bake each cake as described in the Farmhouse Batch:

• Use a greased and floured fluted pan.
• Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes.
• Since ovens and pans can vary, check each cake for doneness before removing it.

ELENA’S KITCHEN NOTES

• Olive oil is Elena’s choice for the cake batter.
• Grease and flour the fluted pan; butter is a good option for greasing.
• The cake is lovely just as it is. Add a topping if you like, but Elena and her family enjoy it plain.
• Use warm coffee, not hot coffee, in the batter.

WHY WE LIKE IT

Coffee and chocolate are a delicious team. Coffee helps bring out the deeper, richer notes of cocoa, giving this simple cake a fuller chocolate flavor.

For an extra-rich coffee flavor, brew the coffee using All Clear coffee that has been ground very fine. Then measure the brewed coffee for the recipe. The goal is a bold, flavorful cup that adds depth to the chocolate—not loose grounds in the cake batter.

We also like that this recipe skips the eggs and keeps the ingredient list straightforward. With an adjustable amount of sugar and the option to enjoy it plain, it’s an easy homemade treat to make your own.

A LITTLE KITCHEN CHEMISTRY

The vinegar-and-baking-soda reaction is doing useful work here. When the acidic vinegar meets the baking soda, carbon dioxide gas forms. Those bubbles expand in the batter as the cake bakes, helping create a lighter crumb.

That’s the science behind the “voilà!”

ELENA’S FARMHOUSE TO FIREHOUSE

Good food. Smart choices. A little kitchen science.

From our kitchen table to yours, enjoy!

-Elena