I decided to honor my roots by cooking a tried and true recipe called Depression Cake or as Mom and I call it- SCIENCE CAKE!!!!
Before I get into that, let me give you a brief insight into my life.
I am a science nerd. I love to find out how things work, why, what makes them tick?
These 3 shows right here were my jam! They appealed to my inquisitive nature and helped to develop a healthy hunger for learning.
My Grandpa Spranger always encouraged us to explore our world. He would often smuggle gifts into the trunk of the car when we were leaving for home after a visit. Sometimes he was caught and the "gift" was returned promptly. Other times he got away with it- a chemistry set, dissection kit, and a portable pond were just a few of the truly memorable ones. The fun part was we lived 6 hours away, you couldn't exactly just walk it back over. :)
I loved to scoop up tadpole eggs in the pond by our house and watch them grow, then we'd release the them once they got big enough to not be eaten by fishies.
Even in middle school, I fully enjoyed dissecting owl pellets and identifying what they had for supper. (Easiest A of my life!) Later, when my lab partner fainted over African Frog dissection, I gladly did the entire project. The smell of formaldehyde isn't for everyone...
Anyway, you get the picture, me and science are besties!
Food is no different. I like to know why and how things work the way they do. I came across this cake that has no eggs, no butter, and gets mixed in the pan it bakes in.
Ok, I don't see how this works... then I get to the leavening agent: baking soda and.....VINEGAR. What?! Oh, I'm in now. I've made the volcano that erupts with this combination. I gotta see how this works!
This cake is delicious as soon as it cools, but I found the crumb was better on day 2. It seemed to hold better as it sat. I did read that you can omit the cocoa powder and make a white cake, and now I wonder if I could replace the cocoa with jam and make a peanut butter and jelly cake!
I was pleasantly surprised at how beautifully this cake rose, and DIDN'T explode in my oven. You can't taste the vinegar, which was an admitted concern of mine. Just creamy, chocolate goodness.
Here's to some tasty science and an inexpensive treat!
Science Cake!
Aka Depression Cake
Makes an 8x8 pan
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Sift flour, sugar, salt, soda, and cocoa together into an 8x8 inch ungreased cake pan. Make three depressions. Pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour water over all, and stir well with fork
Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.Once cooled, frost with your favorite frosting.
Peanut Butter Frosting (It's one of my favs with chocolate cake!)
Makes enough for an 8x8 cake including the sides
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powder sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 TBS almond milk or milk
Using a mixer, cream together the butter and peanut butter.
Slowly add the powdered sugar. It will be thick!
Once the butters and sugar are well mixed, add vanilla, salt, and 1 TBS milk and mix with the mixer until light and fluffy. If needed, add another TBS of milk to get the desired consistency.
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