This is a fabulous chocolate cake, incredibly moist and flavourful, but incredibly easy to make at the same time. You need one bowl and a whisk and that's it. Everything is mixed in one large bowl (or in the baking tin, if you prefer) and then baked. One other thing I love about this cake is that it uses basic ingredients that you're likely to have in your pantry.
The cake is frosted with a lovely homemade vanilla cookie frosting, one of my favourites. Smooth and rich, but also with a tiny bit of crunch from the cookie crumbs. Feel free to use chocolate cookie crumbs if you wish, it will give the frosting even more of a speckled look. All in all, whether you're baking for someone who can't have eggs or you just don't have any eggs on hand, this cake is perfect and it works every time.
Ingredients
For the cake
250 grams plain flour
200 grams sugar
50 grams vanilla cookie crumbs
30 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
100 ml oil
400 grams vanilla yoghurt
100 ml whole milk
For the vanilla-cookie buttercream
150 grams butter, softened
50 grams instant vanilla pudding powder
50 grams icing sugar
50 grams vanilla cookie crumbs
2 tablespoons double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Preparation
Place the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar and cookie crumbs in a large bowl and whisk it thoroughly, to mix everything well and deal with any clumps in the cocoa. Make a well in the centre of the bowl and pour in the oil and yoghurt and mix very well. The batter will be very thick and sticky, but don't be tempted to add additional yoghurt or oil. Grease and flour a baking tin (18x30 cm), pour in the batter and bake in a preheated oven, at 190˚C (375˚F) for about 20 minutes. Check for doneness around 18 minutes (or even before that), to avoid overbaking the cake. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer it gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
When the cake is cool to the touch, transfer it to a cake plate and gently brush the milk over the surface of the cake, being careful not to spill it down the sides. Place the softened butter in a large bowl and, using an electric mixer, beat it for about 3 minutes on medium speed, or until very smooth and lighter in colour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat 2 more minutes. Add the vanilla pudding powder and cookie crumbs and incorporate really well, on high, then slowly add the icing sugar in a few batches. Finally, add the double cream and vanilla, and blend well. Spread or pipe the frosting over the cooled cake and serve chilled. Yields 12 servings.