This chocolate cake recipe was most definitely not mine. I found it through a tweet sent by Ruth Reichl, former editor of Gourmet magazine, who is always cooking and writing about food. The timing was perfect, because I needed easy dessert ideas for tiny living and travel and there it was. And besides, baking requires measuring, which I don’t do, so I seek outside advice.

As it turns out, this simple chocolate cake recipe, called A Cake with a Pedigree: Fast, Easy, Low Fat, wasn’t exactly hers either: She was the fifth in a line of other cooks and writers to have modified it. I have modified it, too, but I am not famous nor influential, so I’ll keep my name off of the list of co-creators. I also did not choose this because it is low in fat. I did choose it because its ingredients list is basic and always on hand in the travel trailer, and it is most definitely takes very little time to make.

Ruth says, “It’s not the most spectacular chocolate cake I’ve ever baked, but it certainly is the easiest.” I think that this is all true. I tend to like a more moist cake, so my only addition to this recipe is that I add a tablespoon of Nutella and a tablespoon of honey to it, because I also always have these two items in my food stash (Luna’s adores Nutella).

Furthermore, I use the batter for various dessert forms. Sometimes I use it all to make a cake, which I bake in a spring form pan lined with parchment paper, dividing it after it has cooled and saving some for later, which helps for surprise dessert. Sometimes I split the batter in half for madeleines and chocolate muffins. Any which way I use it, this chocolate cake recipe will work well for anyone needing a quick dessert, and it works really well in a camper stove where tricky baking is often part of the program. Sprinkled with a bit of powdered sugar and you have something delicious and sweet to serve. I hope you give it a try.