AdamFrom The New York Times
Adapted from Cafe Beaujolais by Margaret Fox and John S. Bear
serves 6 to 8
1 ? cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa [I used Double-Dutch Dark]
1 t. baking soda
1 cup sugar
? t. salt
5 T. corn oil [I used canola]
1 ? t. vanilla
1 T. cider vinegar
Confectioners? sugar.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vanilla and vinegar with 1 cup cold water. Whisk in the dry ingredients, blending until completely lump-free. Pour into a greased 9-inch round cake pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed gently. Cool before removing from the pan and dusting with confectioners? sugar, or frosting if desired.
Alternate mixing instructions:
Mix the dry ingredients right in the baking pan (ungreased); shake the pan to level them and make three holes in it. You put the vinegar in one hole, the oil in another and the vanilla in the third hole. Then pour the water over and mix with a fork.