Ever since Jonathan’s first birthday, I’ve been on a hunt for a good allergy friendly cake recipe. I’ve tried A LOT – including a couple that include a can of pop. However, there’s always been something missing, it isn’t very fluffy, the cake is dense or Jonathan doesn’t sleep well afterwards making us wonder if he has an upset stomach (as is the case sadly with the super easy can of pop cake).
A couple weeks ago I came across this recipe by King Arthur’s Flour for their Original Cake Pan Cake. It didn’t include milk or eggs and was super easy to make. I even had all the ingredients in the pantry except for the cocoa. After picking up some cocoa I made this cake for a birthday and it was heavenly. I didn’t even get a full picture of the cake it was devoured so quickly!
The recipe calls for a cake that is made in an 8″ square or 9″ round pan. You can also double the recipe and put it in a 9″x13″ rectangular pan. They say it’s too soft to be made into a layer cake, but I really don’t agree with this at all. I found the cake to be decently dense and I think it would stand up just fine as a layer cake. I plan on trying this for Jonathan’s birthday in a couple weeks, so we’ll see how it goes. I might have a different opinion after I try it. HA!
I read in the comments of other people also making cupcakes out of batter and plan on trying that this weekend. We have a small birthday party to go to and I’m going to make a special cupcake for Jonathan to take.
The recipe includes an icing recipe that is more like a glaze and calls for half-and-half. You can easily replace with your favorite allergy friendly milk or water. I went this easy route and used this white frosting from Pillsbury. Topped with some allergy friendly chocolate chips and we were ready to go. Easy AND it looked pretty. Win-win.
Since this chocolate cake recipe was so well received, I immediately wondered if they had a vanilla version – they do! I plan on making the vanilla version sometime soon in hopes that it is just as good as the original chocolate version. While not quite as easy as a box mix, I’d say it tastes better and the time difference is pretty negligible. We may have just found our go to cake recipes – finally!!
King Arthur’s Original Cake Pan Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp espresso powder optional
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp vinegar cider or white
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup cold water
Icing
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8" square or 9" round pan that's at least 2" deep.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the vanilla, vinegar, vegetable oil, and water in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients, stirring until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Serve the cake right from the pan; warm from the oven, it's wonderful with a big glass of milk.
Tips
- Want to make this cake into cupcakes? Portion the batter into a standard (12-cup) muffin pan lined with lightly greased papers; you'll use a scant 1/4 cup batter (about 58g) in each. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (22 minutes if you're baking with Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour) in a preheated 375°F oven, until a toothpick inserted into one of the center cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Frost with the frosting in step #5 above, if desired.
