We have had several diaries lately about cake - the making and eating thereof - and several comment strings in assorted other places. I'm not all that fond of cake, as compared to other deserts (oatmeal chocolate chip walnut cookies - the true food of the gods); but I do enjoy the occasional piece, and contributed my own share to the discussion.
One of the results was that I had a request to find and post a recipe I described as buried on my dining table. In my outside life, my mother asked me to transcribe and send to her the snacking cake recipe I have been talking about, since she has frequent need to feed vegans for assorted reasons.
And now, over the little orange decorative feature.
I found the recipe that was buried on the dining table:
Honey Mango Upside-down Cake
Noted as being developed by a chef in Miami named Michelle Bernstein, specifically for a newspaper story on Rosh Hashana.
Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 ripe, but still rather firm mangoes, peeled and sliced into thick pieces
Cake:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9-inch cake pan. Cut a circle of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan, lay the parchment in the pan and grease it.
For the topping, melt the butter over medium heat, add the brown sugar and still till melted together. Turn off heat and add honey. Stir till blended and, while still warm, pour into prepared pan. Top the caramel mixture with the mango, slightly overlapping pieces.
For the cake, combine oil, brown sugar, honey and eggs in a large bowl; mix until combined. Mix the flour and other dry ingredients in a second bowl; combine the sour cream zest and vanilla in a third bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternating with the sour cream mixture, 1/3 at a time. Mix thoroughly, as quickly as possible.
Pour the cake batter over the prepared mango topping and bake for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes back clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack till just warm to the touch. Turn out onto a serving plate while still warm.
And here is the recipe developed by Gold Medal Flour over 30 years ago. It is quick, easy and relatively cheap, besides being delicious in its several variations and vegan in all of them as far as I can tell.
Chocolate Snack Cake
1 2/3 cup flour 1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cocoa 1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly; add wet ingredients and beat well, till completely blended.
Bake at 350F in ungreased 8 x 8 x 2 square pan for 35-40 minutes, till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
Variations:
1. Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2. Use 1/2 tsp peppermint extract instead of vanilla
3. Add 1 1/2 tsp sweet spices
Chocolate Cherry Snack Cake
1 2/3 cup flour 1 4 oz jar maraschino cherries
1 cup brown sugar, packed water
1/4 cup cocoa 1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup chopped almonds
Drain cherries, reserving syrup. Chop cherries fine, add enough water to syrup to make 1 cup liquid. Mix dry ingredients, add cherries and wet ingredients as above. Bake as directed above.
Applesauce Snack Cake
1 2/3 cup flour 1/2 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp baking soda 1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sweet spice
Mix and bake as directed above.
Chocolate Chip Snack Cake
1 2/3 cup flour 1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped walnuts 1 tsp vinegar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Mix and bake as above.
Maple Nut Snack Cake
1 2/3 cup flour 1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped nuts 1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp maple extract
1/2 tsp salt
Mix and bake as above.
Oatmeal Molasses Snack Cake
1 2/3 cup flour 1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup quick oats 2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp sweet spice 1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Mix and bake as above.
Old-Fashioned Spice-Walnut Snack Cake
1 2/3 cup flour 1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1 tsp vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sweet spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Mix and bake as above.
Variation:
Keep vanilla and leave out spices
Pumpkin Snack Cake
1 2/3 cup flour 1/2 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp baking soda 1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sweet spice 1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix and bake as directed above.
The original recipe calls for allspice everywhere that I said sweet spice. Use what you have that will taste good.
The original recipe also says you can mix it up in the pan, rather than using a bowl.