One-Bowl Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (Weeknight)
A moist, tender chocolate snack cake mixed in one bowl in 10 minutes, with mayonnaise standing in for both the eggs and the oil, ready to eat in about 45 minutes with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Mayonnaise is made of oil, egg yolks and an acid, so it can do the job of the eggs and oil in a cake batter, and King Arthur Baking says you can't taste it in the finished cake. The chocolate mayonnaise cake is an old American favorite. It is widely said to have spread through a 1937 recipe booklet from the mayonnaise maker Hellmann's, and many websites call it a Great Depression or wartime cake made when eggs and butter were scarce; both points come to us only through secondary articles, so we treat them as stories (see Rules and Step 3). This is the weeknight cake in the hub: one bowl, no mixer, no eggs to crack.
🇺🇸 This one is American
A moist, tender chocolate snack cake mixed in one bowl in 10 minutes, with mayonnaise standing in for both the eggs and the oil, ready to eat in about 45 minutes with a dusting of powdered sugar.
🇦🇹 The original
Vienna's original is a dense chocolate sponge spread with apricot jam under a hard, glossy chocolate glaze, served with unsweetened whipped cream. See the Sachertorte (Viennese Chocolate Apricot Torte) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Mayonnaise does two jobs
It brings the fat of oil and the egg of eggs in one emulsified spoonful, so the batter needs no creaming and no separate eggs.
Baking soda and the acid in mayonnaise
The vinegar or lemon juice in the mayonnaise reacts with the soda for a quick, even rise and a tender crumb.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, water and vanilla until the mayonnaise dissolves and the mixture is thin and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Step 3
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, espresso powder and salt into the bowl and whisk just until no dry streaks remain. The batter will be thick.
- Step 4
Spread it in the pan and bake about 30 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Step 5
Cool 5 minutes on a rack, dust with powdered sugar and cut into 9 squares. Serve warm, or cool completely and frost if you have time.
One-Bowl Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (Weeknight)
Serves 9 · one 8-inch square cake · 45 min total
Cake
- 3/4 cup (170 g) mayonnaise (regular, not light)
- 3/4 cup (170 g) lukewarm water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (149 g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tsp (32 g) unsweetened cocoa
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 1/4 tsp table salt
To serve
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, water and vanilla until the mayonnaise dissolves and the mixture is thin and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, espresso powder and salt into the bowl and whisk just until no dry streaks remain. The batter will be thick.
- Spread it in the pan and bake about 30 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool 5 minutes on a rack, dust with powdered sugar and cut into 9 squares. Serve warm, or cool completely and frost if you have time.
Adapted from King Arthur Baking's "Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake". We make King Arthur's own half batch in an 8-inch square pan (its tip gives about 30 minutes), and serve it warm with powdered sugar instead of frosting so it is ready in about 45 minutes. King Arthur's cocoa is its Triple Cocoa Blend; we use any unsweetened cocoa. Serving count is ours. King Arthur Baking. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (1)
Tips
- Use full-fat mayonnaise; light mayo has less fat and more water.
- King Arthur says vegan mayonnaise works the same way, for an egg-free cake.
- Full batch: double everything and bake in a 9 x 13-inch pan for 30 to 35 minutes (King Arthur's original).
- Frosting later: King Arthur pairs it with its Super-Simple Chocolate Frosting (see our Devil's Food Cake recipe), not counted here.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- It was invented during the Great Depression. Disputed: often repeated, but a mayonnaise cake recipe is reported from 1927 and the Hellmann's version from 1937 (both from secondary sources only; see Step 3).
- Hellmann's made it famous. Folklore until checked: we found it only in secondary articles quoting a food historian.
- You can taste the mayonnaise. Documented as false by King Arthur Baking.
- It needs eggs. Documented as false: King Arthur's recipe has none.
Every other chocolate cake
Sachertorte (Viennese Chocolate Apricot Torte)
Vienna's famous chocolate torte: a light, dark chocolate sponge split and filled with apricot jam, brushed with more jam and covered in a glossy poured chocolate glaze, served with unsweetened whipped cream.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)
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