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“Mix In The Pan” Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake is really, really good! It is so good it would be worth making even if this were a complicated recipe, but this is one of those quick and easy cakes where you just put all the ingredients in a square pan and stir just enough to thoroughly blend everything together. This recipe makes a dark chocolate cake with a wonderful texture and flavor, and it’s as easy as a cake mix to put together. Baking cakes can’t get much easier or quicker than this!

Quick and easy mix-in-the-pan chocolate cake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 cup cold water

This cake is so quick and easy to make because it can be mixed right in the 8-inch square pan. Do NOT grease the pan. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt with a whisk until well blended. Pour the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and cold water (all at once) on top of the dry ingredients. Stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended together but do not over-mix. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Delicious!

Comments

Comment by Ginny:

Now, that’s my kind of recipe. Thanks!

Comment by mar:

This sounds like my kind of cake, will bake it tomorrow!
thanks :)

Comment by Kathleen:

Wow! What a great idea! Once we’ve recovered from the birthday sweets (pie and brownies and frozen yogurt) around here, I think I’ll try it.

Comment by Beki (pamperingbeki):

Mmmmm, simplicity at it’s best!

Comment by Laura:

I made this cake last night and both my hubby and I loved it. It was so easy and very tasty. We had it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top yum. Thanks for posting the recipe.

Comment by mom2fur:

I’ve made this cake and it’s really good! In fact, it’s so easy it’s the kind of thing you can experiment with! Maybe almond extract instead of vanilla?

Comment by Shirley:

Isn’t this an amazing recipe? I don’t remember where I got it, but I’ve been making this cake for years, and we love it. Thanks for the comments!

Comment by Betsy:

Try cold coffee for the water to make a MOCHA cake!

Comment by Heather:

I have made this recipe several times! We love it… I just didn’t know you could mix it right in the baking pan…. wow, what a time saver (and mess saver) that will be! I will try it again soon… straight in the pan!
Heather

Comment by Victoria:

This sounds very interesting. I will try it soon.

Comment by Julie:

Wow! Honestly it is the best cake I’ve ever made from scratch. I’ll never buy a mix again.

Comment by Gretchen:

I tried this and I loved, loved, loved it. It wasn’t quite as sweet as cake mixes, but it was so incredibly moist. It was too easy and so yummy!

Comment by Lani:

Way back when, I made this type cake in Home Eco, it was called Crazy cake! and as a topping we put Hershey bars on top while it was still warm so they melted, I think we did it plain (no cocoa) I’m going to have to look to see if I have that recipe somewhere???? Oh and remember the snacking cake mix came w/own pan mix and bake in oven?? choco chip and banana nut where favorites.

Comment by Ginger:

I made this as a trial for a little girl’s first birthday so her mother could be sure it would not hurt her. She just loved it and suffered no troubles. So I will be making this so that she can enjoy her first birthday with all the mess, good tastes and fun of any other child. What a gift that you provided this recipe. Thank you!

Comment by Shirley:

Hi Ginger,

Thank YOU for the very nice comment and for taking the time to tell me this wonderful story. I’m so happy the cake will help this little girl celebrate her birthday. I think people who can eat anything they want don’t realize just how exciting the discovery of something like this cake can be for family members who have a long list of things they can’t eat. This cake has been special for my family… I’m glad you and this little girl will be enjoying it too.

Comment by Karen:

It is very nice to have these options for kids who may be allergic to eggs and/or dairy. I have made it for years – it was a recipe my mother made, plus I’m vegan so it’s my default chocolate cake. Last year I used it for cupcakes so kids could decorate them at my son’s party. I was so happy that one boy with a dairy allergy could join in. His mother always had to bring him a substitute dessert, but he could eat these just like everyone else (all the icings, etc. were also dairy and egg free, so he could decorate as well).

Comment by VHANN:

this chocolate cake looks good i wanna try this recipe this coming week….what frosting is best for this cake?….can i have the recipe for the frosting??please……….im a frustrated baker and im dying to learn how to bake……..thank god i found this site!i found you!……thank you very much!

Comment by Shirley:

Hi Vhann… We never put frosting on this cake, because we don’t like frosting that much, but if you like frosting, a butter cream frosting would be good. That’s just a combination of powdered sugar, butter, a tiny bit of milk, and vanilla. You can find an easy recipe right on the package of powdered sugar or at any recipe site… just look for “butter cream frosting.” A cream cheese frosting would be good too.

Comment by Paula:

I made this chocolate cake this evening and it was INHALED! My 4 my boys loved it. We also unanimously agreed that it did not need frosting. I do believe we will never purchase another store bought cake mix again. Thank you for sharing thing!

Comment by Sarah:

no eggs… I will be trying this recipe out and quite possibly even today…

Comment by Kendra:

We made this cake last night for New Years Eve and it is awesome. No more boxed cake mix for our family. My DH is a picky eater and he loved this cake! So simple, easy and fun to make. Thank You so much for a great recipe!!

Comment by Wendy:

My 10 year old daughter made this for us tonight with no help at all. It was the first recipe she’s ever made with absolutely no help and it was delicious.

Comment by Jane:

This cake is delicious and so easy! I love it as much as I love the applesauce spice cake. (And I never used to bake…)

Comment by Julie:

I commented before, but wanted to add, my 7 year old wanted THIS cake for her birthday party. I made a 2 layer with cream cheese frosting. It was a hit! i typically use cake flour when I make it, but I have done it with whole wheat and it was still scrumptious!

Comment by Shirley:

Hi Julie! That’s a great story… thanks for sharing it! And happy birthday to your daughter…

Comment by roy:

We have been making this cake for years. It is called vinegar cake and was made in the depression. Great site , here almost every day.

Comment by sharon arora:

“Mix in the Pan Chocolate Cake”

I want to try to make this cake for my 3 year old who has a severe dairy allergy and egg allergy for his birthday it looks absolutely yummy. As I am not overly confident about cake making I wonder if you could just confirm what flour it is presumably self raising, is it vanilla essence and what vinegar do I use. Please could you confirm. Thank you.

Sharon

Comment by Shirley:

No, you do not want to use self-rising flour. The kind of flour you want to use will be labeled “all-purpose” (self-rising flour has added salt and baking powder).

The vanilla is just vanilla extract. I prefer the pure vanilla extract, but the imitation is OK too.

The vinegar is plain cider vinegar.

Just be sure to keep all your measurements accurate, follow the instructions, and the cake will be wonderful! And happy birthday to your 3-year-old!

Comment by martha:

Shirley, thank you for posting this easy cake recipe. My Mother always made this as birthday cakes for our family (double the recipe, and cook in a 9 x 13 pan). We loved it so much! We called it “purple cake”, because the cake was so chocolate-y that the light hitting on it made it look purple!). If I frost it, I make a homemeade mocha frosting. It can also be used for “Surprise” cupcakes—homemade yankee Doodles. Just bake as cupcakes, cool, and cut a cone shape out of the center of each cupcake. Fill hollow with homemade whipped cream, cut the sharp point off of the cones you’ve saved, and replace the top. Then frost with your choice of frosting. Yummmmm. Thank you!

Comment by Shirley:

Martha, those surprise cupcakes sound delicious! Thanks for sharing this idea.

Comment by Gavriela:

It seems awesome! I just wonder…can I microwave it? for how long? I canĀ“t wait to try this recipe!

Comment by Shirley:

I have no idea… I don’t “do” microwaves… but I wouldn’t recommend it. This recipe is so amazing the way it is, I wouldn’t want to fool with it.

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