Lazy Man's Chocolate Cake

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp whole-wheat pastry flour (regular whole-wheat flour works too)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup hot strong black coffee

To keep the fat content of this recipe in check I make my own buttermilk by combining skim milk and lemon juice, but you can substitute with reduced-fat buttermilk.

I tell everyone the cooking time is 30-35 minutes to account for variances in ovens, however, I always find that my cake is done with 28 minutes.

Another trick I have found with baked goods is to take them out of the oven just before they're done. Since they continue cooking for a few minutes after you take them out of the oven I find that by removing them early you'll have a moister final product.

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with a circle of wax paper.

Poor out 1 cup of skim milk and add 1 tbsp lemon juice. Stir and set aside.

Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Add milk and lemon juice mixture, brown sugar, egg, oil, and vanilla. Beat with mixer on medium speed for 2min. Add hot coffee and beat to blend (the batter will be pretty thick). Pour the batter into the pan.

Bake the cake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan on wire racj for 10 min, remove from the pan, peel off the wax paper and let cool completely.

To serve either dust with powdered sugar or make a quick chocolate ganache using bittersweet chocolate, heavy cream and instant coffee.

Serving Size: Makes 12 servings