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The King Arthur Flour Company marks its 225th anniversary this year. And in honor of that milestone, we decided to feature one particular recipe from our enormous, historic archive; one recipe that we feel embodies both the essence of American baking, and the spirit of King Arthur Flour. We're proud to share our 225th Anniversary Recipe of the Centuries: Cake Pan Cake.
Chocolate cake.
Unless you're one of the small minority of Americans who doesn't care for chocolate, you've probably enjoyed a slice of chocolate cake at some point in your life.
Let's start with birthdays. Do you have a faded, deckle-edge paper photo of you as a toddler, chocolate cake smeared all over your face? Or a digital image of same – featuring your own 2-year-old? Chocolate birthday cake is a tradition started early and returned to often.
And then there's the wedding – how many of you insisted on at least one layer of chocolate among the towering tiers of fondant-coated, buttercream-bedecked vanilla?
Maybe at some point you ventured into more complicated chocolate cakes. Sacher torte. Flourless fudge cake.
Or Chef Susan Reid's wondrous Chocolate Stout Cake. If I had my way, when you looked up "DA BOMB" in your urban slang dictionary, you'd see a picture of this cake.
So, fact established: chocolate cake is a big part of American life. But why does this particular chocolate cake recipe – King Arthur Flour's Original Cake Pan Cake – earn our accolades as Recipe of the Centuries?
Born during World War II, with food rationing in effect, Cake Pan Cake uses neither eggs nor milk nor butter. Yet darned if it isn't the moistest, richest, deepest/darkest chocolate cake you'll ever taste.
In fact, kids can have fun by mixing the whole thing together right in a cake pan – no bowl to wash! Though personally, I enjoy stirring up the batter for Cake Pan Cake in my mom's 1950s-vintage green Pyrex bowl.
Everyone in the dietary melting pot can eat Cake Pan Cake. Vegans, those avoiding eggs or dairy, and those with nut allergies can enjoy it without remorse or trepidation. (As can those eating gluten-free – try our Gluten-Free Cake Pan Cake).
Historic, approachable, inclusive: sounds like the newly formed America George Washington presided over back in 1790 – the year Sands, Taylor and Wood (later known as the King Arthur Flour Company) was founded.
History, approachability, inclusivity – we here at employee-owned King Arthur Flour value those characteristics. We're a historic company, but we don't feel (or act) old; we relish the technology that lets us connect with you every day, in so many ways. (Have you seen our Instagram feed or Facebook page lately?)
We want you to feel comfortable coming to us for help, for flour, for inspiration and recipes and cake pans. And we want to serve all of our bakers out there, from the 10-year-old proudly baking her first birthday cake to the retired engineer trying to nail down the exact hydration for the perfect baguette.
Simple. Accessible. Luscious.
Chocolate!
For everything you embody, Cake Pan Cake, we crown you our 225th Anniversary Recipe of the Centuries.
A great big thank you to all of you out there who regularly invite us into your kitchen to share the pure joy of baking. Here's to the next 225 years!
Celebrate with us by reading more historic posts from our 225th anniversary celebration!
September 2, 2023 at 5:54pm
The cake is delicious, but.... I have made it twice and both times the center of the cake failed to rise (or maybe it fell? I didn't watch while it was baking). I weighed all the ingredients except the ones measured by the spoonful. This time I was out of all-purpose flour, so I substituted mostly cake flour with a little bread flour, and used cold milk. The recipe is almost identical to my mother's that I have made successfully since I was a child (just a little more cocoa and milk instead of water). My mother's version always comes out with a high domed center. I find it difficult to get the bottom and corners incorporated well with the traditional stir in the pan method so I was eager to try KA's modern method. This time I was very careful to make sure I did not over mix the batter. Hope you can solve my problem,
September 3, 2023 at 9:39am
In reply to The cake is delicious, but… by Fran (not verified)
Hi Fran, that's a tricky one! It could be that because your mother's recipe calls for milk and a bit more cocoa the batter is a bit thicker and less likely to fall in the center. It's also possible that you combination of cake flour and bread flour ended up being a little lower in protein than our Unbleached All-Purpose flour, which would have also contributed to a more liquidy batter. Oven temperature may also be playing a part, so you might want to get an inexpensive oven thermometer and preheat the oven for a full 30 minutes. This way you can check to be sure your oven temperature is reading accurately, and adjust the setting, if necessary. Since your mom's recipe seems to work so well for you, perhaps it's worth sticking with; I don't think adding our mixing method to your mother's recipe will adversely affect the results.
February 5, 2023 at 11:20pm
This is my go-to cake for company and chocolate-lovers! So quick and easy and always delicious. I'm going to try it with brown sugar next time, as one of the comments inquired about.
January 28, 2023 at 6:57pm
My cake’s texture turned out really good, but it has a weird taste/smell..not sure if its baking soda smell? I followed the recipe dont know where went wrong. My baking soda isn’t expired either since I use it in waffles all the time. I want to fix the taste so much cuz it really is a super easy cake lol
February 4, 2023 at 11:22am
In reply to My cake’s texture turned out… by Lexi (not verified)
Hi Lexi, we're not sure why your Cake Pan Cake had a weird taste/smell. Sometimes if you over bake a cake it can have an eggy aroma. Another possibility is if the oil you added was on the old side, it might have introduced a rancid flavor/aroma to the baked cake. It might also be worth trying fresh baking soda, since under active baking soda might not have neutralized the acidity of the vinegar completely.
July 24, 2022 at 5:34pm
I love the idea that this is a vegan cake that I can make for both vegan and nonvegan friends and not worry about who can and cannot eat it. It's been a favorite in my family for years. known only as "Mom's Chocolate cake". Its nice to know it's history. Congratulations on your 225 birthday. That's a remarkable long time for a business to endure in today's world.
May 17, 2022 at 1:58pm
We had this cake for dessert with our noon meal today. Perfect ending to a great meal. No icing on outs today, but with a light airy icing it could be moments of heaven.
We are wondering if there is a similar version for a white or yellow cake? This is a small household and don’t care to freeze cake ahead.
May 19, 2022 at 2:38pm
In reply to We had this cake for dessert… by Carla J (not verified)
Hi Carla, we have this recipe you may like. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/vanilla-cake-pan-cake-recipe Happy Baking!
April 29, 2022 at 5:03pm
Hello! I have made this recipe successfully in the past, and was wondering about a couple of additions/substitutions that I could make to this delicious recipe. First of all, I really want to make this cake, but all I have on hand is brown sugar. Can I make it with the brown sugar, or will that hurt the consistency? Also, I was wondering if I could add one egg to the recipe as well. I love this recipe, but have found it to be very slightly crumbly and thought maybe an egg would help that. Would that be ok to add one? I love baking all of your recipes and reading your blogs. Thank you so much!
April 30, 2022 at 9:52am
In reply to Hello! I have made this… by Ana (not verified)
Hi Ana, it should work fine to substitute brown sugar for the white sugar called for in this recipe, and this may even give you the moister texture you're looking for. Since it can be hard to tell the effects of multiple substitutions, I would stick to just the brown sugar substitution this time and see how that works for you, and save the egg substitution for another baking adventure. Adding an egg may, indeed, give this cake a bit more structure, but may also extend the baking time slightly.
Pagination