Chocolate cake in one, two, three

If you are reading this recipe right now, consider yourself very lucky. You probably haven't encountered such a simple recipe before. The thing is, everyone who has tried this cake of mine rolled their eyes and said — "Oh God, how delicious, but I could never make this myself."

And the most important thing — the layers in this recipe turn out to be ridiculously tasty, with a rich chocolate flavor (and indeed chocolate) and moderate moisture. Since I happened to make this cake three times in three days, I had time to appreciate all its strong points. So, when the layer is ready and cooled — just wrap it in plastic wrap. After a couple of hours, you will have the softest, springy, and moist layer you've ever seen. I simply cut pieces off it and ate them as a standalone dessert, without any soaking or creams needed. And in this form, it can last 3-4 days, getting even better.

The ingredients are quite surprising; there's nothing that you wouldn't normally have in your refrigerator or pantry.

From this amount of ingredients, you can get 1 thick layer of 20 cm (the height will be about 4-5 cm) or two of the same size of 16 cm. The batter literally doubles in volume!

As I mentioned, there are no techniques involved here; the only condition is — add the vinegar at the very end. Let's go. Combine flour (250 g), baking soda (1.5 tsp), salt (1 tsp), sugar (300 g), and cocoa (55 g).

Mix with a whisk lightly, just to pretend we are serious cooks and that the recipe requires skills ;)

Next, add two eggs, soft butter (60 g), olive oil (60 ml), vanilla extract (a couple of teaspoons), milk (280 ml), and wine vinegar (1 tbsp). You can use any other vinegar that you use in salad dressings, just make sure it's not super strong (use up to 6%).

Now all we need to do is mix all the ingredients well with a mixer. At first, there will be lumps, swirls of oily spots, but after 3-4 minutes, the mixture will become smooth, uniform, and glossy.

As I already wrote, we make it in a form from 16 to 20 cm. IMPORTANT! The batter will double in volume, so do not pour the batter more than halfway up the form. Grease the form with oil. I always put parchment at the bottom; this way, you won't have to struggle for long with getting the layer out.

Bake at 175 degrees for about 50-60 minutes. At first, the layer will rise actively, then it will settle down. A bump may appear on top, and it may even crack — don't be scared, this is good; we are getting a porous structure.
As usual, check with a wooden skewer. It should come out dry. So after about 40 minutes, start checking every 5 minutes.

The finished layer will almost immediately come out of the form. Carefully transfer it to a rack upside down. And remove the parchment.

You can believe that I only poured the batter into the form to a height of 2 cm, and it came out more than 4 cm?! And once again, make sure to keep the cooled layers in an airtight container (or wrap) for at least a couple of hours. If at first, you might think that the layers are a bit dry on the outside, later they will become just as moist and porous.

If the layers make it to the assembly of the cake, use any cream; I simply poured ganache on top.