My cousin did the mistake of asking me to bake a cake for her. I agreed to bake one, making a casual remark that I had to cook dinner too. She immediately volunteered to help with the dinner and yeah – there I was, sifting the flour, while she was sweating in front of the stove. May be I should have mentioned about sweeping and moping too.

So here is an easy cake adapted from ‘Family Baking Book’ by America’s Test Kitchen, made under an hour, in exchange for an excellent dinner.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour : 1 1/2 cups
Cocoa Powder        : 1/2 cup
Boiling Water          : 3/4 cup
Sugar                          : 1 cup
Baking Powder       : 1/2 tsp
Baking soda. : 1/2 tsp
Instant Coffee         : 1/2-1 tsp
Veg Oil                       : 1/3 cup
Vanilla essence. : 1 tsp
Egg                              :1

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line an 8″ square baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the cocoa powder and boiling water. Once its cool, add the oil and egg to it and whisk thoroughly.
3. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and coffee powder in a big bowl. Add the cocoa -oil mixture to this and mix until smooth and lump-free.
4. Transfer to the baking pan, bake for about 30-35 min, till a skewer comes free when inserted into the center of the cake. Cool the cake and decorate with chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze (From Hershey’s)

Butter                      : 2 tbsp
Cocoa                      : 2 tbsp
Water                      : 2 tbsp
Powdered Sugar : 1 cup
Vanilla Extract    : 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Melt butter in a pan over low heat. Add cocoa and water and cook till smooth and slightly thick. Don’t let it come to a boil.
2. Take off the heat and add the sugar, vanilla extract and mix until smooth and shiny.
3. Spoon over the cooled cake and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note:

Linked to Aipi’s and Priya’s Bookmarked Recipes – Tuesdays, Hearth and Soul Hop.