Need a quick, no-frills chocolate cake recipe that delivers? Then you’ve got to try this moist chocolate cake recipe that’s sweetened entirely by brown sugar to enhance it with warm caramel flavor.
My husband loves inviting people over with zero notice. It’s a Costa Rican habit of his that’s not likely to change. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t drive me crazy sometimes!
The other day he invited spur-of-the-moment guests, and to show good Tico hospitality, I scurried to find a simple chocolate cake recipe that would fit the bill. My favorite chocolate mint brownie cheesecake was out of the question, and chocolate peanut butter cookie cups were too time consuming, so I landed on this rustic chocolate picnic cake.
It was perfect!
Rustic cakes are so humble, so homey, and ultimately a divinely comforting snack. Chocolate picnic cakes are a cinch to whip up in next to little time, fill your entire home with an unbeatable aroma, and are easy to serve on an actual picnic- just slice and serve. No messy frosting, no forks necessary.
Pass me another slice of chocolate cake, please! And pour me a peppermint mocha to go with it.
[Tweet “There’s no such thing as too much chocolate cake.”] 
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon baking cocoa
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 eggs
- 1¼ cups brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- pinch coffee grounds
- Butter a 8x4" loaf pan and "flour" with cocoa (let's keep this chocolate cake brown, shall we?!) In a small saucepan whisk together the cocoa and ½ cup water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add baking soda and coffee. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and oil in a large bowl until combined. Whisk in the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly whisk dry ingredients into wet. Gently stir in the cocoa mixture. Pour into the pan and tap to remove air bubbles. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the cake is risen and a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and unmold onto a serving dish. (Cake may be too moist and stick to a cooling rack.) Dust with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve with coffee or tea.
Dream in chocolate? You’ll love these tasty treats too!
Skinny {Secret-Ingredient} Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
this looks amazing, I think I’m gonna try it with gluten free flour blend
Sounds great! Be sure to let me know how it turns out with the GF flour, Christine. I’d love to know!
YUM! I haven’t seen a Picnic Cake in ages! Probably not since my Great Grams made hers! I can’t wait to try this at our Church Social! How perfect! Thanks so much for sharing!! Looks sooooo good!
Found you at Mom2Mom!
Aw, thanks, Lorey! Hope it’s a hit at your church social- gosh I miss those. Sounds like tons of fun.
you’re right – you can NEVER have too much chocolate cake 😀
Yummy! This looks delicious! And I love how fast it is to make!! Thanks for sharing! I’m definitely holding onto this one!
I like the fact that it makes a smaller cake. I have a chocolate lover at my house, I will certainly give it a try. Going to pin it too!
That’s a great point, Susan! I hadn’t thought about the size of the cake, but it is a whole lot better than baking a big and beautiful layer cake only to have to store it for days or worse yet, watch it go bad. You could definitely freeze leftovers of this cake too, since it’s not frosted.
Post second baby I’ve limited (to nearly nothing) carbs and sugar. So this is horribly mean 😉 It looks DELICIOUS. I’ll pin for later!
Gosh, that must be tough. I’ve got a super sweet tooth that always gets me into the kitchen and baking. It’s a disease, I tell you 😉 Thank you for pinning, Roxanne.
looks super easy and delicious. and everything should be in the pantry! thanks for sharing
Yep, I’m a fan of simple cakes where I don’t have to go grocery shopping to whip them up. We live in the mountains, so it’s sometimes a chore to get to the market in a pinch. Thanks for stopping by, Marie!
This looks delicious and simple! This is my first time visiting your blog and it’s beautiful with great graphics. I’ll be back. 🙂
I love this rustic cake idea! Also, flouring the pan with cocoa is genius! And I replace water in all my chocolate cakes with coffee to add a depth of flavor. Your pictures are amazing as well!
Oh my! That does look good. I’ll have to give that a try. Such simple ingredients that we are all likely to have on hand. thanks!
Ohh. that looks yummy! I’m pinning it for future reference. 🙂
I love a rustic loaf cake! Great choice to serve last-minute guests. Yum!
The cake looks divine. I’m a big baker myself so these pictures make me want to try this recipe.
yum! This sounds perfect – so quick and delicious!
The fun thing about this cake is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Even though the cake looks rustic, the flavor is completely gourmet! I also like to stir mini chocolate chips into the cake to give it a different texture.
Exactly! Slice and eat cakes like this just have such a cozy feeling to them. No fancy icing, sprinkles or do-dads. Just plain good-tasting cake!