One Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

My youngest grandson has an allergy problem that has caused my daughter to change the way her family eats. A few months ago a friend gave her a recipe for a vegan chocolate cake. She loved the cake. I asked her to send the recipe to me and I must admit I was surprised at just how good it is. It's a one bowl wonder and very easy to do. There are many versions of this cake in cyberspace. Unfortunately, none of them credit the original source. I've done some searching and as far as I can tell the recipe is a variation of a cake that first appeared in the Moosewood cookbook. Oops, time for an update. Thanks to one of our readers, I can now tell you that this should be called a Wacky Cake. It was developed for the bare bones kitchens of the depression or WWII - sources are not in agreement as to which. A big thanks to laurelvb for letting us know. Hopefully, we're inching closer to the original creator of the Wacky Cake. I've made the cake twice. Once exactly as it was written and the second time with a few variations of my own. It's a nice cake! Even our little guy likes it and that really delights us because, as you can see, he didn't care at all for his first birthday cake. It's nice to know that he'll be able to celebrate his second birthday with a cake and a big smile. My changes to the recipe are small. I decided to add espresso powder and almond extract to heighten the flavor of the cake. The cake has a nice crumb and is remarkably moist. It keeps well.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon espresso powder or crystals
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups cold water
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan. Set aside.
2) Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, salt and espresso in a large bowl. Add vanilla and almond extract to water in a two cup measure. Combine with oil and vinegar and gradually add liquid to dry ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan.
3) Bake in center of oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar just before serving. Yield: 12 to 16 pieces.