I was given this recipe to try, and boy am I glad I did! It fit in with my Pantry Staples concept. You probably have everything in here so no reason to leave home to buy anything. Flour, baking powder, water, olive oil, sugar and cocoa – or in my case I used Milo, that delightful malt flavored drink. You could use that or ovaltine, both would work. I also topped mine with sliced almonds. The original recipe called for a 7” spring-form pan but I used a series of small, cute loaf pans (I have these only because I am in the food business).

Now listen, if you don’t have these items in your pantry, before the next crisis happens, go out – by yourself i.e. practice #socialdistancing or #physicaldistancing – which by the way, I prefer much better, these things. Come home, wash your hands thoroughly with soap, don’t touch your face and depending on how crowded the store was, change your clothes. And you thought this was just a food website!! (Just kidding, this is just a food blog site, that’s all this is!).

So the small pans took 25 minutes, the medium pans took 35 minutes. Both yielded clean skewers when tested. The almonds made for a nice topping on the cake. I could have added chocolate chips into the batter, but decided to keep this simple – it is after all pantry items. Not only that, I wanted something simple – I may be baking a lot. Don’t forget with baking, you can always add flavoring ingredients, just don’t change the chemical balance of dry to wet ingredients and leaveners.

This is a mild tasting cake that is not too sweet, there is no mixer required, and you only dirty one bowl and a 2-cup measuring cup for the entire cake. What’s not to love? Stay safe folks. As always – enjoy!

380 ml water
80 ml extra-virgin or vegetable olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
370 g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
240 g sugar
4 tbsp cocoa powder – I used Milo, but Horlicks, Ovaltine etc. would also work
4 tbsp. (approx.) sliced almonds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350f, spray and line an 8” square tin or 4 medium loaf tins (5” x 3”) with parchment
In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix the oil, water and vanilla – set aside
In a medium size bowl sift or whisk the flour together with the baking powder
Add in the sugar and Milo powder and whisk thoroughly
Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and whisk until combined and smooth
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans and level the tops, sprinkle with almonds if using
Place the loaf pans onto a rimmed baking sheet and place in the middle rack of the oven
Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean
Remove from the oven and let cool before turning over
Take the cake out from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing it from the pan