Crazy Cake

"When I want chocolate cake, nine times out of ten, this is the cake I make. Whether eaten plain, or my favourite way, which is sandwiched with dulce de leche and topped with chocolate ganache, it's b..." See morerilliant! One little thing though: the directions are fine if you want to serve your cake in the pan, but if you want to unmould it for prettier presentation, your pan will need to be greased and floured, or brushed with bakers' secret (which is no secret: combine equal parts oil, shortening, and flour). This means you should mix the cake in a separate bowl, but hey, it's still really easy and cleanup is minimal. Now! For all you people nervous about the vinegar: there is a simple reason why it's there. For a cake to rise, you need an alkali, and an acid. When the alkali and the acid combine, they react with each other, giving off carbon dioxide, which is what makes the cake rise. All cakes other than yeast cakes are risen this way. The alkali/acid deal is present in baking powder (already mixed for you), and in recipes that call for baking soda (alkali) and, say, cream of tartar (acid). In this case, you have baking soda (alkali) and vinegar (acid). They react with each other and make the cake rise. You CANNOT taste the vinegar, so relax, make the cake, and enjoy!"

"YUM!! the first 4 time i make it i added chocolate chips YYUMMMMM it's the best chocolate cake i've ever tasted!!!!!! i usually make half the recipe to fit in a small round pan, i also tried making ..." See moreit white by added cornstarch instead of cocoa powder and adding a tsp. orange zest, it was a beautiful orange cake!! Thanks sooooo much for the recipe"

"I would give this recipe 10 stars if I could! My son was dignosed with an egg allergy about 6 months ago and I've been dreading his birthday ever since (it's this weekend)! I've been trying to get a d..." See moreecent egg free cake ever since. Last night in utter desperation I googled "egg free chocolate cake" (all my soon to be 3 year old wants for his birthday is an "chocolate Thomas (the Tank Engine) cake" - I found a 3-d train cake pan but every cake has flopped until today - until I tried the crazy cake - IT IS PERFECT - words cannot thank you enough! The only thing I would like to do now is try how to make the subsitition that amatullah suggested (cornstarch and orange zest instead of the cocoa) for an orange cake for my daughter's birthday - so if anyone knows how much cornstarch to use PRETTY PLEASE let me know!"