King Arthur Flour's Original Cake Pan Cake

I have always wanted to make this funny sounding recipe.

You assemble all the ingredients in a cake pan. No bowls to clean and you use what you have on hand.

The original recipe is also known as a "depression cake", made during the depression era, using no eggs, just water and cocoa and some coffee if you were lucky.

I have seen it made all different ways, one blogger using beer and cinnamon, someone else using orange juice and zest, another using chocolate chips and making a white icing.

The King Arthur Flour site suggests all different liquids and mix-ins, so be daring.

I went all out.
I used buttermilk (cause I had it!) instead of the water, and cider vinegar, again, because I didn't have regular white vinegar.
I also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. So many changes, but the cake came out delicious!

I will post the original recipe with my changes in parentheses.

It is supposed to be eaten warm from the pan (my kind of cake!), preferably with a tall glass of milk.
It was even better the day after baking.

King Arthur Flour's Original Cake Pan Cake: (adapted from the KAF website)

1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) cocoa (I used Hershey's brand)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1 tsp cinnamon (my addition)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) vinegar (I only had cider vinegar)
1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) vegetable oil (I used a mild olive oil, of course)
1 cup (8 ounces) cold water (original recipe), coffee (next inspiration), milk (later inspiration), or 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup rum (latest inspiration) (or buttermilk, which is what I used!)

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Measure all the dry ingredients into an 8" or 9" round or square cake pan; if you use an 8" pan, make sure it's at least 2" deep. Blend the ingredients together thoroughly with a fork or whisk and scoop out three holes, or indentations.

Pour the vanilla into the first hole, the vinegar into the second, and the oil into the third.

Take the cup of cold liquid (water, coffee, milk, etc.) and pour it directly over everything in the pan. Note: If you've used espresso powder, adding coffee will make this a mocha cake. Stir all the ingredients together with your fork until they are well blended.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve right from the pan; warm from the oven.

Easy and delicious! Hard to believe something so simple could be this delicious.

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