Six Minute Vegan Chocolate Cake (V*) with Chocolate-Raspberry Sauce (V*)

This is an awesome chocolate cake recipe that takes very little prep time (theoretically 6 min, usually more like 10-15 min) and produces very little mess. Great as an afterthought for a pika dinner. This is taken pretty directly from "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home", but the raspberry sauce is my own creation.

Serves: 1 pika

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 4 1/2 c unbleached white flour
• 1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 T baking soda
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 3 c sugar
• 1 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 3 c cold water or brewed coffee
• 2 T pure vanilla extract
• 6 T vinegar

Sauce:

• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 1/2 c sugar
• 3 T corn starch
• Frozen raspberries (the more the better! Other berries will do, but raspberries are the best!)
  

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar into one of those giant 16" round baking pans (ungreased).

In a liquid measuring cup, mix together the oil, water or coffee, and vanilla.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or a small whisk until smooth (don't overwhip it, or it'll get tough).

Add the vinegar and stir quickly.
There will be pale swirls in the batter where the baking soda and vinegar are reacting.
Stir just until the vinegar in evenly distributed throughout the batter, but not too long, or you'll lose the rising effect of the reaction (don't stir for more than 30 sec)

Immediately bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Make the raspberry sauce while the cake bakes:

Fill a large pot partway full of water, and put it on the heat

Float a smaller pot in the water.

Pour the baking cocoa, sugar, and corn starch into the inner pot, then add water until it is a somewhat runny sauce (remember that it will get about twice as thick when it cools).

Alternately add water and starch until you have the consistency you want.

Throw in the raspberries.

When the cake is done, set it aside to cool a bit.

Serve with the sauce!