This chocolate crazy cake is a delicious and moist homemade chocolate cake that has also been called wacky cake or Depression cake.
It takes no time to whip up this homemade chocolate cake because it’s made with pantry staples and doesn’t contain any milk, eggs, or butter.
Depression cake, also known as “war cake” or “victory cake,” is a type of cake that originated during the Great Depression era in the 1930s.
The cake was created as a way to make a cake without using expensive ingredients like butter, milk, and eggs, which were scarce and expensive at the time.
Also, make sure to check out how to make chocolate cake mix and yellow cake mix from scratch.
This Chocolate Crazy Cake Recipe Is…
- Made from Scratch
- Doesn’t contain eggs, milk or butter.
- Made with pantry staple ingredients.
- Frosted with chocolate frosting, but can be left off if you need.
- Light, moist, and delicious chocolate flavor.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour
- Sugar
- Cocoa Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Vinegar
- Vanilla Extract
- Vegetable Oil
- Water
- Chocolate Frosting
How To Make Crazy Cake
The full measurements for the ingredients are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
This is a visual walkthrough on how to make this chocolate cake.
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3: Create a large well in the center of the mixture and two small wells next to it. This will keep the wet ingredients separate until mixed together.
Step 4: Add the white vinegar to one of the small wells and the vanilla extract to the other. Pour the vegetable oil into the large well.
Step 5: Pour the water into the mixing bowl and immediately stir to combine all of the ingredients together.
Step 6: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 7: Allow the cake to cool completely to room temperature before frosting with your choice of frosting.
Wacky cake is another name for Depression cake, which was created during the Great Depression era when ingredients such as eggs, butter, and milk were scarce and expensive. It is believed that the name “wacky cake” came from the fact that the cake was made using non-traditional ingredients and methods, such as using vinegar and baking soda to make the cake rise, and mixing the ingredients directly in the baking pan rather than using a mixing bowl.
If you use a gluten-free flour blend it should work, but to be honest I have not tried it with a gluten-free flour. Just know the texture or end result can vary a bit, but you are welcome to try it if you want.
Variations and Tips For Success
You can use a whisk to mix up the cake, or if you have a hand mixer go ahead and use that to speed up the prep.
Preheat the oven for at least 5-10 minutes before you place the cake in to bake. That way the oven is evenly warmed.
Store bought frosting is optional. You can dust with powdered sugar or top with fresh fruit for an alternative.
Any flavor of frosting can be used if you would like something besides chocolate.
Allow the cake to cool completely before you go to frost the cake.
How to Store Cake
Refrigerate your cake for 4-5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
This is going to keep the cake the freshest it can be.
You can also allow it to warm up at room temperature before serving if you don’t want to serve it cold.
How to Freeze Cake
You can also freeze this chocolate crazy cake for 3-4 months in a freezer container.
Then thaw in the fridge overnight before you eat.
Or if you want a quick thaw allow it to thaw at room temperature for an hour before serving.
More Cake Recipes
If you liked this easy homemade cake, you’ll love these ones too:
- S’mores Cake Recipe – This is the best smores dessert, with the perfect combination of ooey, gooey chocolatey goodness.
- Homemade Zucchini Cake – This Homemade Zucchini Cake with homemade cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans are a delicious way to enjoy zucchini.
- Pineapple Cake – This cake is not only easy to make it is SO inexpensive too since there are only two ingredients.
- Apple Dump Cake – This homemade apple cake is traditionally called a Swedish Apple Pie.
- Strawberry Icebox Cake – This is a super easy recipe with just a few ingredients.
- Honey Cake – It’s amazing how perfectly the honey combines with the rest of the ingredients to make a delicious mouth-watering flavor.
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake – This Homemade Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake is so easy to make from scratch, which makes it one of the top pumpkin cake recipes!
- Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake – This old-fashioned recipe is really easy to convert into a super simple Instant Pot Cake recipe, saving you time without sacrificing the flavor and goodness of an old-fashioned cake recipe.
Crazy Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- Chocolate frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish by spraying with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Make a large well in the center of the mixture and two small wells next to the large well. This is to keep the wet ingredients separate until all mixed together.
- In one small well add the vinegar, in another small well add the vanilla, and in the large well add the vegetable oil.
- Pour the water into the mixing bowl and immediately stir to combine all of the ingredients together.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake completely to room temperature then frost with the frosting of your choice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated with ingredients and serving size and may not be accurate. Please always double check with your own nutritional apps as well.
