I love making snacking cake because it's the easiest kind of baking. There's no layering, no muffin tins to mess with, no rolling pin business. Even the parchment paper stays in the cupboard. There's just a simple batter to prepare and pour into a greased nine-by-nine pan.
This moist, rich cake - made with both cocoa powder and chocolate chips - was made for my oldest son. His start at kindergarten hasn't gone so smoothly. It seems he's missing Mommy and his little brother as he adjusts to the new routine. I figured a little cozy mid-week together time over some chocolatey cake and cold glasses of milk might bring him some comfort and remind him that there can still be lots of family time in his weekdays.
Here's how I made it:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
While my oven preheated to 350 degrees (F), I started my batter by creaming the butter and sugar (I used my stand mixer, but a hand mixer works great too). I added the oil, milk and eggs and beat until smooth. In a separate mixing bowl, I whisked together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. The dry mixture was added gradually to the wet mixture and beaten until smooth. The chocolate chips were stirred in last. The batter was poured into a greased 9 x 9 baking pan (I like ceramic) and baked until a toothpick inserted into the centre came out clean, which took 30 minutes in my oven.
We enjoyed this warm, about 20 minutes after it came out of the oven. Heavenly. The chocolate chips were gooey and the cake moist and decadent. I even got to hear all about the parking garage toy at school. See? Kindergarten isn't all bad.
Do you have a favourite snacking cake? Leave a comment and share/link your fave snacking cake recipes!