high-bar baking

Sometimes you just want cake.

No-holds-barred, let-me-at-it cake. Don’t-make-me-sacrifice-any-firstborns-to-get-it (sorry, Claire, we do love you) cake. 

This type of cake, if you’re curious, must be chocolate. There’s no two ways about it. The only cake that scratches the primal cake itch in just the right way comes from the tree of the knowledge of chocolate.

So that’s what I did. 

King Arthur has a recipe called Cake Pan Cake that fits the description. The frosting is optional, and the recipe even encourages you to eat it warm from the pan. Twist my arm, folks. Twist my arm.

The ingredient list did confuse me. I wasn’t that surprised there was no butter; some of the best (but not THE best) chocolate cakes are oil-only. You really need the moisture, and chocolate can carry the day on flavour. What got me was the eggs. Or rather, the lack of eggs. I kept scanning the list, up and down, trying to find them. With the wet? The dry? How many did I need?

And how could the answer be… none?

I’m here to tell you that it worked, and that you would never notice. Put me down for a surprised but pleased all-around skeptic of the accidentally vegan. 

But it’s still weird. What’s up with this Depression-era cake? No butter, no eggs, no fabric for dresses, better find some chicken feed sacks? Why is that the recipe King Arthur touts left and right? Totally wild. 

So if you’ve had a crazy mess of a week, maybe it’s just the thing to hit the spot. Depression era cake serving its purpose once again.