I’ve said time and time again that I am not a baker. I have the hardest time sticking to a recipe and precision is a foreign concept to me when it comes to measuring things out. I do better with desserts that you can’t screw up if you really try – i.e. these cookies OR this dessert.
When I found this chocolate cake recipe, it seemed easy enough and had the word ‘Amazon’ in the title. Based on these two things alone I figured that I might have just found it; a cake that wouldn’t become my nemesis.
Naturally, I couldn’t help but mess with the recipe. Greg and I have been very into cooking with beer this past year – it just adds some great flavor nuances. Greg’s Beer Bread is one of our most popular posts and his Pumpkin Sage Chili takes advantage of a pumpkin beer to take it to another level entirely. One thing led to another and I basically ended up adding more chocolate, chocolate extract and a dark porter to the original recipe.
The result? a rich, dark and chocolate laden cake that is dense without being overbearing and (for my dairy allergy prone husband), surprisingly vegan. All told, I whipped up this cake in under 15 minutes with things that I just had hanging out in my pantry.
So, my baking requirement checklist here for something I’ll make again and again?
- Chocolatey – a given
- Easy – requiring less than 20 minutes of actively doing anything on my part
- No fancy ingredients or equipment needed – I have exactly 10″ x 26″ of actual counter space and next to no storage, so no space for a stand mixer even
This hit ALL the bullet points. PLUS with baking time, I was able to make it all in under an hour.
A quick note on the porter I used. Home base for us is Utah – as famous for hosting the Olympics as it is for its colorful past. It is also becoming know for its great microbreweries. One of them, Wasatch makes no bones about calling out Utah history with their Polygamy Porter. It is a great dark beer with chocolate notes (plus I had one in my fridge when I went to make this recipe), so into the cake it went. If you are not a beer lover, you could sub coffee or water for the liquid.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened Cocoa
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 5 tablespoons neutral Canola Oil
- 1 cup dark Porter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Chocolate Extract (you can substitute vanilla extract)
- 1 White Vinegar
- Confectioners' Sugar (optional, for dusting)
Method
- Heat the oven to 350° F.
- Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Sift everything together - or if you are like me, just stir it around in the bowl, getting it on the counter, floor and apron.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the beer, oil, chocolate extract, and vinegar.
- Whisk together the wet and dry mixtures. It will be surprisingly thick, but keep at it until there are no lumps. While you are at it, mix again.
- Pour into a greased 9-inch round cake pan - I used a springform pan.
- Ms. Fox suggests dropping the pan from 6 inches onto the floor several times to pop any air bubbles - which I did to the terror of my cat.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed gently. Cool before removing from the pan and dusting with confectioners' sugar, or frosting if desired.
Lydia, chocolate & beer peddler
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