Updated: Super Simple One-Bowl Cake

Years ago I posted a recipe for my basic cake, and it's one of the most popular of all my posts. I've been baking a version of this cake for decades, almost half a century actually, soon after we got our first oven. I got the basic idea from a cookbook. Now all my cookbooks have been given away or trashed, so when I need one of my recipes, I check my blog.

This basic cake has morphed into all sorts of cakes. I've even used it as a base for ice cream cake. There was a time I made a lot of marble cakes, and when the kids were little I'd make it very low and later on pour jello to harden on it as a treat. Another version of it had cut up leftover apples baked into it. When the kids couldn't be relied on to finish their apples, I'd collect the leftovers in the fridge. 

In recent years I save mushy bananas in the freezer to be mashed into the cake batter, which also gets a generous dose of chocolate chips. After all these decades I must confess that I eyeball the liquids. The only ingredients I'm really careful about are the relative amounts of flour, sugar, eggs and baking powder. Water and oil are approximated, since I know how the batter should mix. I add enough until I'm satisfied.

I bake about a month's worth of cakes and freeze them. Today six cups of flour made five cakes in loaf/Englishcake pans. 

You may have wondered about the color of the cake. It's not white. I use extra fine 70% whole-wheat flour and dark brown sugar. 

Here's the basic recipe for a small cake copied straight from that original blog post. You can double, triple etc. Just make sure your bowl is large enough. If you're using whole wheat flour, you may need a bit extra liquid. I add an extra egg every three cups of flour. And nowadays I use canola oil, since we never find soy in the local store. And in my modern oven I have to know the temperature, 160 Centigrade.  

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 t baking powder
1/6 cup oil (soy)
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 t vanilla

mix dry ingredients
add oil and water
mix
add eggs
mix
pour in pan
bake medium heat
until pops up when gently pressed in center of cake

Enjoyed Israeli Election Day, Grandkids, Baking etc.

photo by Yisrael Medad, yes, my husband

Yesterday there were elections here in Israel for the third time in less than a year. Of course I voted. I even managed to color-coordinate my outfit to blue and white, almost matching the election paraphernalia at the polling station. It's a good thing that denim is blue.

The weather was still pretty wintery, though my friend and I took a nice morning walk. Due to cold, damp winds, I decided not to do laundry, but I was busy with lots of other "domestic" activities.

For me the highlight of Election Day is that some of our kids still come to Shiloh to vote. I set up a table with all sorts of arts & crafts activities for the two cutest and most creative pre-school girls. They each left with a bag of pipe-cleaners, with which they could create even in the car.



Yesterday we dined on my version of "orange" lentil vegetable soup, freshly made. It includes two types of lentils, orange and brown. Besides onions the vegetables are all orange, carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. The only additional ingredients, besides water and some vegetable oil, are dehydrated dill, coarse salt and pepper. It was very easy to make; I just used one pot.



Besides voting and soup-making I baked. Between Purim and the next few Shabbatot, we're going to have to finish all this before Pesach. I used my standard recently tweaked challah recipe, which is very easy. I don't have a mixer. It was all hand-kneaded.

The cakes and cupcakes were a version of my standard basic simple one-bowl cake recipe, which I've been baking for almost half a century. This time I added mashed bananas and chocolate chips. Of course, I have almost always baked with brown sugar and whole wheat flour, nowadays 70% extra fine. And as I had mentioned earlier, I don't have a mixer. This was all mixed by hand with a large spoon, and the bananas were mashed with a simple low-tech potato masher.

Suddenly Cupcakes

Suddenly I got a hankering to make cupcakes. I hadn't made any for decades. In those days I needed a special cupcake tin and little paper things to keep them from sticking. When I "purged," threw things out before the crew came to renovate my kitchen, those old pans were sent off.

Don't worry, I didn't get upset that they're gone when I decided to make cupcakes.  Now it's much easier to make them. You can buy self standing disposable aluminum or paper mini-tins.

Theses disposable baking "tins" are the perfect size for cupcakes and not very expensive. I used the aluminum ones, which have been waiting patiently in the closet for years next to the paper cupcake tins. I placed a bunch on a large baking tray and poured in the cake batter.  

"What batter?" You're probably wondering.

I used my super easy TNT one-bowl cake recipe. I've been making it for almost half a century, and nowadays I barely measure. I added chocolate chips to the batter and decorated them with colored sprinkles. Honestly, you can't get easier than that!

Maybe I'll bring some to THE GAME for the kids and grandkids. Yaala Big Blue!

Why Do I Still Make Those Irresistible 1, 2, 3 Cookies?

The other night I made two batches of my 1, 2, 3 cookies, oatmeal and chocolate chips. I used to make them a couple a times a month. That's when my kids were young and living at home. I'd keep them fresh in metal cookie tins. And yes, they do stay fresh and delicious for a few weeks, if nobody eats them. That's because they only have three basic ingredients:

• 1 part (by weight) sugar
• 2 parts margarine
• 3 parts flour

And you can then add cinnamon, vanilla or chocolate chips or nuts or seed or whatever...

• Just melt the margarine
• mix all the ingredients
• spread on the baking pan lined with baking paper
• bake in medium oven, like for a cake until slightly brown
• take out, cut and cool, and you're in for a treat

The oatmeal version takes a bit more skill, since you need less oats than flour or it's too dry. I combine some oats and flour (and also some cinnamon) and just can't tell you exactly how much. Al I can say is that it always is delicious. 

Oh, and I use fine whole wheat flour and dark brown sugar, so how can it be bad? And when in doubt, a bit more sugar... 

And to answer my question. Why do I make them when they always tempt me to eat them? Irresistible is an under-exaggeration.  My kids still love them, so I make the cookies for special family occasions. 

Cooking Up a Storm, Healthy Traditional Jewish Food

I haven't posted recipes for quite a while. Every time I cook it seems like I'm making some new version of old favorites. So, in some ways my food is all the same, but in many ways it's different.

This year's tzimmes has most of the usual ingredients, but is lighter than many:

Tzimmis ingredients, all cut, before adding water, to almost cover.

Relative quantities aren't that important:

• prunes
• raisins
• carrots
• sweet potatoes
• apple
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• fresh ginger root
• dark brown sugar
• water to almost cover

Cook it all on low flame in covered pot until soft. Yes, that's it.

With my very flexible and simple basic cake, I made an Apple-Fig Upsidedown Cake for Rosh Hashanah! Here's the simple one-bowl recipe. 

This is the basis for all sorts of cakes, including chocolate, apple, chocolate chip, etc. It can be multiplied, and I never make it with less than 3 cups of flour. Of course, it can be frozen and iced. I make it with whole wheat cake flour and brown sugar.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 t baking powder
1/6 cup oil (soy)
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 t vanilla
mix dry ingredients
add oil and water
mix
add eggs
mix
pour in pan
bake medium heat* 
until pops up when gently pressed in center of cake

This time I added cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter instead of vanilla.

On the bottom of the cake pan I put sliced apples and fig "jam." Then I poured on the batter and baked. It was a great success.

I also made Apple Cake with the same batter. I diced up some apple and placed the pieces in the cakepan. Then I poured in the batter and mixed.

They all baked up beautifully. It's very easy! I froze the apple cake and two little ones I made with the batter for later eating.

Cooking does not have to be difficult and stressful. I find that having simple basic recipes that can be varied is the best way to cook and enjoy myself. I can be creative and not get all hysterical and OCD over finding exactly the "right" ingredients. I base my cooking on what I have and what is easily available and reasonably priced. 

*My oven does not have regular temperatures, and I just "know" where the dial should be. For baking a cake I set the dial at just after 5 o'clock, if that helps you.  If the top seems cooked, while the batter is still watery, lower the heat.

Not Exactly The Recipe, But...

There are many good cooks who stick with making "food" and stay away from the "more exact science" of cakes, cookies and breads.  I, too, used to think that cakes, cookies and breads were like chemistry formulas.  If you changed one of the ingredients or quantities you'd be stuck with an inedible disaster. But I have discovered more and more that it's not true.

One of my favorite cookie recipe, OK the truth is that it's my favorite cookie recipe is for the 1, 2, 3 cookies.  One of my sons would do almost anything for them.  The key to making them is to have a kitchen scale and to weigh each of the three basic ingredients to make sure that

• for every 100 grams of sugar, or 4 oz you have
• twice as much of melted no salt baking margarine
• three times as much flour

You can add cinnamon, chopped nuts or a squirt of vanilla plus chocolate chips for flavor.

• Mix all the ingredients, doubled, tripled etc.
• spread packed on a lined baking pan and bake in medium heat
• cut immediately after taking out of the oven

Well, I had decided to surprise my kids by making them for Purim.  At the last minute I rushed into the supermarket and bought a package of margarine.  Oops! I only bought one, totally forgetting that I always triple the recipe.  And to complicate things further, I couldn't find my kitchen scale.

I was stuck, but I'm too stubborn and determined and risk-taking creative to let that minor/major problem to stop me when I'm trying to make my grown up kids happy.  To get 900 grams of flour I just poured from a 1 kilo (which is 1,000 grams) bag and left a bit in the bag.  I then poured what seemed to be less than a half of a bag of brown sugar, since 333 grams is a bit less than 500 grams.  I added a couple of eggs and enough oil until I got the right consistency.  And I added lots of cinnamon.

Then I baked it as usual.  Sorry, but I don't have a picture.  And the final result was that they didn't even notice the difference.  It tasted exactly like they remembered.  If I hadn't told them that I had made a change, nobody would have known.