Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Pan Cake. Not Pancake.

Ever heard of one-bowl chocolate cake? Of course you have. It's a simple recipe that can be mixed up in one bowl. But have you ever heard of a one-pan cake? Me neither! This recipe comes from King Arthur Flour and all the ingredients are mixed right into the very pan you bake it in. It sounded too good to be true so I tried it out, and it worked!

I took step by step photos of this one so you could see just how simple it really is. You mix it, bake it and serve it from straight from the same pan. Since it doesn't call for greasing the pan, you need to serve it from the pan, but if you want, you can mix it up in a bowl, then pour it into a greased pan for a nicer presentation. The hard working people at KAF made two cakes to show the difference, check it out here. This cake is great though because there aren't many dishes to clean up, nor do you need a bowl to make it.

Not only is this recipe unique and different, but it's vegan too. According to KAF, it's cholesterol free and if you use canola oil, then it's relatively low in saturated fat as well. It's tasty too and stays moist for days. I served this with Mexican style cinnamon chocolate ice cream, (which my momma loved and ate 3 bowls of in one night!) and some fudgy chocolate sauce from The Perfect Scoop. Simple and delicious and lusciously chocolatey!

Cake-Pan Cake from KAF

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  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup cold water, coffee, or milk

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

1. Measure all the dry ingredients into an 8" or 9" round or square cake pan. (If you use an 8-inch pan, make sure it's at least 2 inches deep, otherwise use a 9-inch pan.)

2. Blend the ingredients together thoroughly with a fork or whisk and scoop out three holes, or indentations.

3. Pour the vanilla into the first hole, the vinegar into the second, and the vegetable oil into the third.

4. Take the cup of cold liquid (water, coffee, milk, etc.) and pour it directly over everything in the pan. Note: If you've used espresso powder, adding coffee will make this a mocha cake.

5. Stir all the ingredients together with your fork or spatula until they are well blended.

6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve right from the pan; warm from the oven.

Yield: 8-12 servings.

Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream adapted from Perfect Scoop

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  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 6 Tablespoons unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 Tablespoons Brandy

Whisk together the cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, then whisk until it is completely melted. Stir in the milk, vanilla, salt cinnamon, and Brandy. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend for 30 seconds, until very smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes 1 quart.

NOTE: Ice cream is very rich and thick. You can opt to use half-n-half in place of the cream or add more milk for an icier texture.

Chocolate Sauce from Perfect Scoop

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  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 6 Tablespoons unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges.

Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minutes, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using.

Use as a topping or swirl into any flavor ice cream.

Makes 1 cup.

Store for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

32 comments:

Ruth Hiebert said...

I guess I will have to try this one.Easy is a good thing and if it also tastes good that is perfect.
Blessings,Ruth

tamilyn said...

Yummy!

E. said...

what a convenient recipe! We just need to be extra careful when mixing the batter right? Otherwise the cake pan might get scratched. Thanks for sharing this. :)

Alil Country Sugar said...

All the ingredients match my mom's chocolate cake, and I swore I would never give out the recipe. OOPS, kind of gave it away didn't I?
Looks great and very easy.

Monica H said...

Esther- I used a silicone spatula and not a fork to mix the ingredients so I didn't scratch my pan. Worked perfectly.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Oooh, that photo of the fudgy sauce dripping down the ice cream scoop has me wanting to reach out and take a swipe at it! That is a terrific shot!
~ingrid

Unknown said...

Mmmm. I'm deffinately going to have to try this sometime. The cake and the chocolate sauce look devine! <3

Sue said...

I think I could lick the computer screen, the picture looks so good! I'm saving this one, I love easy! The ice cream sounds wonderful...not nearly as easy, but so yummy!

Julie said...

I'm a sucker for easy clean up. And cake. It's a win/win I'd say :)

Laura said...

Oh Dump Cake gotta love it!

Hennifer said...

Um... Oh my god I need that ice cream!!!

Made your pumpkin pancakes last night. Yummy!

Katie said...

Wow that looks gorgeous and so fudgy. Love how there is no bowl to clean up.

♥peachkins♥ said...

love the ice cream recipe!





The Peach Kitchen
peach and things
blowing peachkisses

cybil said...

looks certainly delicious!!

Holly said...

Mmmmyummy! Love chocolate cake and this looks incredibly easy and nice short cleanup to boot-awesome!!!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Well now, that's pretty nifty. I would probably make a mess stirring everything together in that small pan, but it might be fun trying. The fudge sauce and ice cream sound wonderful!

:)
ButterYum

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

PS - I love David Lebovitz's recipes!!!

Cassie said...

YUM to all three of these recipes! I love the idea of a cake that you make and bake all in the same pan. So simple, and it looks delicious too!

Anonymous said...

Mmm great recipe! One pan-cake seems perfect for me! Thanks.

Michel-lee said...

How simple that was. I would have made more of a mess though LOL. I get so messy when I bake.

Unknown said...

My family makes that cake too and we call it "Wacky Cake." I love it though.

Maria said...

Love how easy this cake is!

Anonymous said...

That looks great! so decadent! chocolate on chocolate on chocolate! perfection :)

-Amalia http://www.buttersweetmelody.wordpress.com

Unknown said...

Oh WOW! Looks so good & easy! Will have to give it a try soon!

oneordinaryday said...

Now that's what a snack cake is all about. The ice cream is the perfect finishing touch, Monica, and even though it's freezing out, I'd still love a big bowl of it.

Unknown said...

This is awesome! I will definitely be trying this cake. And that ice cream looks and sounds delicious! But I'm so cold right now that I don't want to go near ice cream. ;-(

Anonymous said...

Wow, I had no idea! This is great and most definitely a time saver! Thank you for this recipe and photo step-by-step process! I just love looking at those...as well as before and after photos.

From the Kitchen said...

A triple chocolate dessert plate and easy cleanup. What more could one want?

Now I'm off to check out your turkey pesto meatballs. How did I miss them?

Hope you are having a fun week before Christmas.

Best,
Bonnie

Natasha @ Saved by the Egg Timer said...

Ok, I love the idea of less dishes! I also have been looking for a mexican hot chocolate ice cream recipe! Perfect, I cannot wait to try that.

Avril said...

You go girl!!! - my mouth is watering over the thought/idea of all these yummy treats put together on one plate.....goodness it looks d'lish!!! :-)

Kerstin said...

What a cool concept - yay for less dishes! I can't believe there are no eggs either, interesting!

Anonymous said...

it is a excellent idea !

I am going to try your receipe this WE

A french lady

My blog is http://it-cake.blogspot.com/

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