563 water recipes

Rich chocolate cake made with a full cup of cocoa bloomed in boiling water, plus a strawberry shortcake variation with whipped cream and drizzled melted chocolate.

Incredibly delicious! This is my signature dish when I have company to come over, and it wows the crowd every singe time.

Lickety-Split Cocoa Cake: a one-bowl, eggless, dairy-free chocolate cake mixed with water, oil, and a splash of vinegar. The original Depression-era "crazy cake" that bakes up tender every time.

Hot fudge sundae cake that bakes its own chocolate sauce underneath the cake layer. Pour hot water over the batter before baking, and the oven creates a fudgy pudding sauce beneath a light chocolate cake.

Cauliflower with beef Sichuan style: marinated round steak stir-fried with cauliflower, carrots, and dried mushrooms in a peppercorn-spiced sauce. Classic Sichuan balance of heat and depth.

A self-saucing brownie pudding cake that creates its own hot chocolate sauce as it bakes. Cocoa batter topped with brown sugar and hot water transforms into cake on top, gooey pudding underneath. Serve warm with ice cream.

Chicken base is basically dehydrated, powdered chicken stock. If you can't find it in the supermarket, grind chicken bouillon cubes. For the asparagus, cut about two inches off the stem end. You don't need to peel it. To blanch spinach, simply drop it in boiling salted water for one minute and then immediately submerge it in ice water to stop the cooking and retain the color. The spinach will provide the soup with a vibrant green hue.

Creamy potato chard soup pureed smooth with thyme, dill, and parsley. A naturally vegan, dairy-free soup where the potatoes create all the creaminess without cream.

Old-school chocolate layer cake with a tender, fudgy crumb thanks to the boiling water trick. Unsweetened chocolate, cake flour, and triple-sifted dry goods build classic bakery-style layers.

San Juan County fry bread made with flour, baking powder, salt, and water. Kneaded until elastic, hand-stretched, and fried golden. Serve with stew, honey, or jam.

Rich baked chocolate pudding pie with 18 egg yolks, two types of chocolate, heavy cream, and dried currants. A custard-style filling baked in a water bath.

Eggplant and pasta shells in a tomato-wine sauce with mushrooms, green pepper, red onion, and oregano. An oil-free vegetarian pasta sauteed in water and vinegar.

Garden dill pickles with garlic, mustard seed, and a salty vinegar brine. Easy water-bath canning recipe that turns a glut of summer cucumbers into pantry pickles.

Fettuccine with broccoli, carrots, and Canadian bacon in a light Dijon-Parmesan cream sauce. A lower-calorie weeknight pasta with vegetables cooked right in the pasta water.

A milk-based sourdough starter jump-started with yeast: flour, water and yeast left to ferment, then enriched with milk, sugar and flour. Keep it in the fridge and feed it after each use for ongoing baking.

Classic leek and potato soup from Marguerite Patten, simmered in stock and blended smooth with yogurt or cream. Includes curried, watercress, and chilled vichyssoise variations.