Wednesday Night Chocolate Cake

Last week Susie, very correctly I might add, said that cake is a good way to say "hey, I like you." Cakes can be big or small, with lots of layers or just a few, and made with all manner of frosting, filling or ganache, but anyway you slice them, a cake will instantly let someone know that they are important.

Cake doesn't always need to be a big event or a big celebration though. Cake can also be a simple, quiet celebration, a good way to say "hey, I like me."

I am a firm believer in treating yourself, but I also believe that treating yourself doesn't have to involve a ton of dishes, hours of labor, and epic baking battles. I love a good challenge, but on a Wednesday night after a long day at work that was maybe a bit of a bummer, forty-five minutes is all I need to bring it back together.

Think of this cake as a meditation on dessert, an exercise in simplicity and subtlety. One bowl, one pan, and dessert can be an everyday affair, or maybe just a way to congratulate yourself on making it through the week.


Wednesday Night Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

1 cup sugar
3/4 + 1/8 cups all-purpose flour, plus some for pan
3/8 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus some for pan
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

1) Heat oven to 350°F. Grease one 9-inch round baking pan with oil, sprinkle in some flour and shake around to coat. Discard excess flour. (or make it really easy and spray with cooking spray with flour).

2) Stir together dry ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt) in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil and vanilla); beat with a whisk or wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.

3) Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Serve with fresh berries, a spoonful of jam, a dusting of powdered sugar, and/or a tall, ice cold glass of milk.