Grandma's Picnic Chocolate Cake

This is the kind of chocolate cake that gets passed down on a stained recipe card. One layer, one pan, no frosting required. Just a tender, fudgy square of cake flour and cocoa that you cut right out of the pan and eat with your hands at a picnic table.

Buttermilk is the ingredient that makes this cake special. Its acidity reacts with the baking soda for a great rise, and it adds a subtle tang that keeps the chocolate flavor from tasting flat. The crumb stays moist for days because of it, which is exactly what you want from a cake that’s going to sit in a picnic basket.

Cake flour instead of all-purpose gives this a softer, more velvety texture. It has less protein, which means less gluten development, which means a tender crumb that breaks apart easily instead of bouncing back like a sponge.

Cream the shortening and sugar well before anything else goes in. That step traps air into the fat and creates the foundation for the cake’s structure. Then alternate the dry ingredients and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour so the batter stays stable and doesn’t curdle.

Kitchen Tips

• Don’t overmix once you start adding the flour and buttermilk; mix just until combined for the lightest texture
• Let the cake cool completely in the pan before covering for transport; warm cake trapped under plastic gets soggy
• Sift the cocoa with the flour to break up any lumps; cocoa clumps more than flour does
• This cake is rich enough to eat plain, but a simple dusting of powdered sugar looks pretty

Variations

• Frosted version: Top with a simple chocolate buttercream or cream cheese frosting for a dressed-up version
• Mocha: Dissolve a tablespoon of instant coffee in the buttermilk for a deeper, more complex chocolate flavor
• Buttermilk substitute: No buttermilk? Add a tablespoon of white vinegar to regular milk and let it sit 5 minutes