Chocolate Dump Cake

This cake is soft, gooey and absolutely delicious, which is surprising, considering its list of basic ingredients.

This recipe was used often during wartime when supplies were limited, which is why it doesn’t include milk or eggs. Despite that, it’s easy to make and always turns out great.

Chocolate Dump Cake

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp white sugar
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup cold water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. In an 8x8x2 inch baking pan, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix it well, so there aren’t any streaks of cocoa or flour.
3. Make 3 small holes in the dry mixture.
   • Pour the oil into one hole.
   • Pour the vinegar into the second.
   • Pour the vanilla into the third.
4. Pour the cold water over everything and carefully stir in the pan until smooth.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack.
7. Slice and serve straight from the pan.

Here’s what the cake looks like, straight out of the oven. We eat it just like this, about half of the time — yummy chocolate cake, without the extra sweetness from icing.

Recipe Notes

• Set the oven temperature 25°F lower, if you’re using a glass baking dish
• We like to make this cake in a glass baking dish, so we can (carefully) check the bottom, to see if the dry  ingredients are mixed well.
• To finish mixing the dry ingredients, we use something with a flat edge, like a pancake flipper.  Drag across the bottom of the baking dish, and carefully flip the mixture over.
• Before baking, wipe around the inside, with a damp paper towel, to remove any cake batter splashes. This makes the cake pan easier to clean later!
• This cake also goes great with toppings like icing, sprinkles, or candles if you’re celebrating a special occasion.
  • In the photo below, we’ve decorated the cake for a Christmas in July party. It looked great on our Dollar Tree red table cloth, with green polka dot napkins!

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