Midnight Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a metal 8-inch-square or 8-inch-wide round cake pan, or a 9-inch-wide, 1 1/2- to 2-inch-deep heart-shaped pan. Line pan bottom with waxed paper cut to fit; oil paper. Dust pan with cocoa, shaking out excess. In a bowl, mix 2/3 C. cocoa and the flour, soda, and salt. In another bowl with a mixer, beat to blend sugar, 1/4 C. salad oil, egg whites, vanilla, and 1 C. water. Add flour mixture; stir to mix, then beat until batter is smooth. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake until cake begins to pull from pan sides and springs back when lightly pressed in center, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife between cake and pan rim, invert cake onto a rack, lift off pan, and gently pull off and discard waxed paper. Let cool about 1 hour. Invert a flat plate onto cake; holding rack and plate together, turn cake over onto plate. Spread cake with whipped frosting, swirling with a small spatula. Lightly dust with more cocoa.

Yield: 8 servings