Easy Quick Light Chocolate Cakes
This is the simplest easiest chocolate cake recipe which makes a very light crumb cake, cheap too as it only uses cocoa powder and vegetable oil and those two ingredients are why the cake is so light.
It’s sweet enough for the kids, both the 5 year old and 17 year old have made their way through a few of these already. It’s a good recipe to have handy as it’s made with storecupboard ingredients, perfect for a last minute cake knock-up.
This cake relies on the baking powder and equally important the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) for the rise since the cake is only mixed and the eggs are not whisked they’re here as a binder. The bicarbonate of soda reacts with the acidity in the cocoa and muscovado sugar for the lift and obviously the baking powder (double action) has most of its effect with the heat when baking.
How to make the cakes
Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together.
Mix them really well, you can do this with your hand.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork for 10-15 seconds to loosen them well.
To the eggs add the vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well together, a balloon whisk for 30 seconds should do it.
If you pour the mixture into a large jug it makes pouring into the cases easier. One of the reasons I like using cases to make cakes is not having to line tins.
Fill the cases two thirds of the way up.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 17-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Can be eaten naked or decorated with chocolate icing. Recipe for icing here.
Easy Quick Light Chocolate Cakes (dairy-free)
This recipe made 10 large muffin size case cakes.
- 150g plain flour
- 30g cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) * see note below
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (don’t skip it it really needs it)
- 175g light muscovado sugar (see note* below if using brown sugar or white sugar)
- 115g vegetable oil
- 80g milk or dairy-free milk (rice/soya/coconut/oat)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, beaten for 10-15 seconds with a fork to loosen them
Pre-heat oven to 170˚C fan
Add all of the dry ingredients together; flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb soda, salt, sugar.
Add the oil, milk, vanilla and eggs extract together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together well. Pour into cases and bake for 17-20 minutes. Put the cakes on wire rack to cool
Note* If swapping muscovado sugar for brown sugar or white sugar leave out the bicarbonate of soda and use 2 teaspoons of baking powder instead.
If using white sugar the cake will be drier, and bake quicker. There will have to be some adjustment like swapping 30g of flour for ground almonds or swapping milk for cream, see my post on Muscovado Sugar (unrefined brown sugar) and what a difference it makes.