The Sunday Panics.
Do you get the Sunday Panics? Let me describe the symptoms and you can tell me whether or not I’m a strangebird, or if you relate. The Sunday Panics are most often characterized by: afternoon over-caffeination, tremendous amounts of NOT quality time spent on Twitter, a kitchen full of dirty dishes, a lengthy and daunting weekly to-do list, a fair amount of brain worry, possible nail biting, an intense desire for take-out Chinese food, and low motivation coupled with nagging laziness guilt.
Do you ever get the Sunday Panics?
Yea…. me neither. Of course not.
…except I totally do.
I’ve developed a cure for the Sunday Panics.
Movement! Up. Up. UP!! In the kitchen. Make a super easy cake. Definitely do the dishes. Make the to-do list for the week, then set it aside to rest until Monday morning. Write some greeting cards for friends. Call your mama. Enjoy cake during a several hour marathon of Grey’s Anatomy or Downton Abbey. When all else fails… try bourbon in the shower and an early bedtime. Give those Sunday Panics the boot!
This chocolate cake is a total godsend.
It’s designed to be made with ingredients you already have in your kitchen. The Sunday Panics aren’t easy to combat… and a trip to the store is not going to calm our nerves.
If you have cocoa powder and vegetable oil… this cake is yours!
I added dark chocolate chunks and cocoa nibs because they were lingering in my pantry. Lingering like chocolate always lingers.
Want to know a trick? Grease a bundt pan with vegetable shortening and… instead of dusting it with flour, try cocoa powder!
When the cake comes out of the pan, there will be no white flour powder! Just chocolate. Just cake.
This is our everyday chocolate cake.
It’s always super comforting when we can turn what’s in our pantry into a warm, moist, flavorful chocolate treat without softening butter, cracking eggs, or running to the store.
This cake is a tool. It combats the impulsive sweet tooth, the accidental grumpies, and the Sunday Panic. Consider yourself armed.
ps. Real Life.
Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake
makes 1 9-inch chocolate bundt cake
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm coffee
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
small handful of chocolate chunks and/or cocoa nibs (optional)
Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch bundt pan with vegetable shortening and dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together coffee, oil, and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks and cocoa nibs, if using.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be relatively thick. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
Cake will last, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
Gabriela (@cluelesspixie)
I’ve just tried this, and it worked out great. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Cookouvagia
Hello Joy!
This cake looks amazing,but i have a question..
Could i substitute the sugar for honey?
I’m not a fan of sugar at all!
Thank you!
joythebaker
Adding honey will change the moisture of the cake and make the cake more dense. I have not tested this recipe with honey, so I would recommend finding a chocolate cake with honey instead.
Shellipp
Sadly, a total failure.
the batter was too firm to mix, it burned before it had a chance to rise, it was not fun trying to get the baking pan clean. Oh my, so much for my high hopes.
Victoria
I don’t have a bundt pan – do you think I could make this in a regular cake pan?
joythebaker
Yes, but I would split it between two to three pans
Charly
This cake is becoming a yearly tradition :)
Alyssa
Can we substitute the coffee with anything? I absolutely hate coffee, and don’t have any in my home, haha.
joythebaker
I’m not sure, I haven’t tested it without coffee.
Mari
I have to leave a comment…
This is such a thing, why so brown and mysterious…
So moist and beautiful…. so delicious coffee-chocolate flavored!??
yum in Essex!
I love this recipe and i always do it when i feel like chocolate cake. Thanks for sharing such a amazing thing! Xx
skat
I love your cake recipe, but also your recipe for the “Sunday Panics”. Excellent! I get the SPs when I have to make a dinner for two vegans (me and my husband) and my senior carnivore mom who lives with us.
Susan
Just made this and it came together exactly as you said. Amazing recipe, thanks.
olivia
I made this for my mom’s birthday. I turned it into a layer cake, though– doubled the recipe and put it into two round pans, and baked for 35 minutes. They came out very brownie-like; this is an extremely dense cake recipe. I would actually just use it as a brownie recipe; it didn’t quite have the crumb I would expect for a cake. That being said, it was very delicious!
Nikky
How About measurements of coffee
Jenna
Make this cake! I made it for the first time a few weeks ago and have made it 4 times in less than a month!
isha
hi joy!! can you please add more eggless cake recipes..other than chocolate..this one is awesome..but since i bake from home..ppl want to order eggless cakes too..but i have nothing much to offer..need help!!! and this choc cake came out awesome..thanks!!!
joythebaker
I’ll have to start brainstorming and see what I can do!