by This a quick chocolate cake that tastes a bit like a brownie. This cake has been around since the Great Depression in the 1930’s. It’s vegan… egg free and dairy free.
The original recipe called for 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, but I think you can never have too much chocolate, so I like to double the cocoa powder in mine. I also cut the sugar down in mine because we like our desserts a little less sweet. If you like sweeter cakes then use a 1 full cup of sugar in the cake.
The original Depression cake was not made with frosting, but it’s a nice addition to add some type of frosting. The frosting I used was just chocolate chips melted with some non-dairy milk and spread over the top. But you could also make a traditional chocolate frosting to spread over the top using butter, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar.
Tonight I also made a cherry compote to spoon over the top… it was delicious with the chocolate cake. Very decadent and quite yummy!
Chocolate Pan Cake (Depression Cake)
Ingredients
- 1½ Cup All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ Cup Sugar (add an additional ¼ cup if you want it sweeter)
- ½ Cup unsweetened cocoa
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon Vinegar, cider or white
- ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 Cup Cold Water
Icing Group
- 1 ½ Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- ⅓ Cup non-dairy milk (i.e. almond, coconut, etc)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C). Lightly grease an 8" square (20x20x5 cm) or 9" (23 cm) round pan (the pan needs to be at least 2" (5 cm) deep)
- In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix the vanilla, vinegar, vegetable oil and water. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
- The cake is very good without frosting, but you can also add a frosting if you want.
- To add frosting: Once the cake has cooled, heat the chocolate chips with the non-dairy milk until the chips melt. Stir until smooth, and pour/spread over the cake.
- Store cake, well covered, in the refrigerator for several days; freeze for longer storage.
