Depression as in The Great Depression, not depression as in “this cake will cure your depression.” 😅Since a lot of us are experiencing ingredient shortages right now, I thought there was no better time to post this Chocolate Depression Cake (also known as Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake), which was also born out of a time when ingredients were in limited supply—The Great Depression. This unique cake is rich and chocolatey without using any eggs, milk, or butter. A cake without butter?? So “wacky,” I know.
How Do You Make Cake Without Eggs or Butter?
Butter usually serves to keep cake soft and tender by coating the flour molecules in fat and preventing them from developing a tough gluten matrix. In this recipe, butter is replaced with the cooking oil of your choice, which can achieve the safe effect, but with slightly less richness.
Eggs usually help leaven cakes by creating steam that puffs up the batter, then giving structure to the risen cake as the proteins firm up. In this cake, the eggs are replaced with a combination of vinegar and baking soda, which foams up quickly, making the cake light and fluffy. It’s almost like a giant version of my Chocolate Mug Cake, if you’ve ever tried that. Anne Byrn’s 1917 Apple Sauce Cake also uses a similar no-egg, no-butter style batter.
Is This the Best Chocolate Cake?
Haha, let’s be real, this cake doesn’t have butter. So while it’s probably not the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had, it’s a damn fine treat when your cabinets are bare. Not to mention it’s incredibly easy. Anyone can make this cake, and with very little cooking equipment or ingredients. For those two reasons alone, this is a good recipe to keep tucked in your back pocket (or your browser’s bookmarks). Also, it just happens to be vegan!
How to Serve Depression Cake
I made a super simple dairy-free chocolate icing to top my cake, but be aware that this type of dairy-free icing is super sweet because there is no fat to kind of mellow out the sweetness. If you’re not into super sweet icings, I suggest skipping the icing and just dusting your cake with powdered sugar after it cools (if you do it while the cake is still hot the powdered sugar will dissolve). Or, if you do have butter on hand, you can go with a more traditional chocolate buttercream frosting. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of an icing free slice of this cake would also be divine.
Chocolate Depression Cake (No Eggs, Butter, or Milk)
Servings 9 1 slice eachIngredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour ($0.23)
- 1 cup granulated sugar ($0.80)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 tsp baking soda ($0.02)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ($0.21)
- 1/3 cup cooking oil* ($0.21)
- 1 Tbsp vinegar** ($0.06)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.30)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
Chocolate Icing
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar ($0.10)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder ($0.16)
- 3 Tbsp water ($0.00)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.30)
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder until well combined.
- Add 1 cup water to a liquid measuring cup, then add the vanilla extract and vinegar to the water.
- Add the oil to the bowl of dry ingredients, followed by the water mixture. Stir until the chocolate cake batter is mostly smooth. Make sure no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the cake batter into an 8×8" or 9×9" baking dish. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the cake for 35 minutes.
Chocolate Icing
- If using the chocolate icing, let the cake cool for at least an hour after baking before adding the icing.
- Wait until the cake is cool, then prepare the icing. Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract to a bowl. Begin adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it forms a thick but pourable icing (about 3 Tbsp total). If you let the icing sit, it may begin to dry, but you can add a splash more water to make it moist again.
- Pour the icing over the cooled cake and spread until the cake is evenly covered. Slice the cake into 9 pieces and serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Chocolate Cake with No Butter, No Eggs, and No Milk – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl combine 1.5 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Stir these ingredients together until they’re well combined.
Measure 1 cup water in a liquid measuring cup, then add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 Tbsp vinegar (any light vinegar, like white vinegar, rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar). Add ⅓ cup cooking oil and the water mixture to the dry ingredients.
Stir until a thick cake batter forms. A few lumps are okay, but make sure no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
Pour the cake batter into an 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish.
Bake the cake in the fully preheated 350ºF oven for 35 minutes. If you plan to make the chocolate icing, cool the cake for at least an hour before making and adding the icing.
To make the icing, simply add 1.5 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa, and 1 tsp vanilla extract to a bowl. Starting with one tablespoon water, stir in water until it forms a thick icing (about 3 Tbsp total). The powdered sugar only needs a very small amount of liquid to melt into a thick icing. If you let the icing sit for a bit, it can dry out, but can be moistened again by stirring in another splash of water.
Pour the prepared icing over the baked and cooled cake, then spread into an even layer. Cut the cake into nine equal pieces, then serve!
It’s also really good with a glass of milk or scoop of ice cream. ;)
This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe. It is always so moist!
I love this recipe, thank you for the reminder! The recipe I use has the option of subbing out the 1 C. Water for 1 C. of cold (or cool) coffee. It gives the cake a rich mocha flavor.
Saw this posted on insta and knew I had to give it a shot today. Just made this in a round cake pan, and it’s perfect! All ingredients I had on hand, and my vegan roommate can eat it. I didn’t change a thing except maybe added a tad more water to my glaze, which made it super shiny and reflective. Will definitely make again.
I learned how to make this cake in 8th grade Home Economics class–we were taught to mix it right in the baking pan! I even won a 4-H ribbon with it. My kids have loved making it for years.
You’re an angel. I’ve been craving sweets today, and I’m down to dried out gummy worms and leftover hot cocoa mix from Christmas. Didn’t want to make a run to the store since it’s not really “essential,” but I think I have just enough on hand to actually make this. Chocolate cake sounds amazing right now!
Greatest ideas Beth! Made this tonite. So yummy!
Thanks for all you do. You have given me the confidence to cook that I never had!!
This is so cool! I would love to see more historical recipes. I’m sure you’re familiar with the YouTube channel Great Depression Cooking with Clara (who unfortunately passed a few years ago). I hope the entire Budget Bytes team is staying safe and healthy!
I love this recipe SO MUCH! This was my grandmother’s “go to” cake for any occasion. If you had a birthday, this is the cake you got :) I still have her hand-written recipe card, which is exactly the recipe as you have listed :) 💙💚 She called it “Cake Pan Cake” because she mixed all the ingredients right in the 8×8 pan!
Hi there!
Can you use Almond flour too?
We haven’t tested it with almond flour but you can certainly give it a try. If you’re trying for gluten free, I’d choose a gluten free 1:1 blend instead.
OMG this is the exact same recipe (I have saved it!) from when I was 10 years old in 4-H Cooking class! We actually mixed the ingredients in the pan itself, and we learned about the Great Depression. It is on my menu for tonight!! Thank you for Resurrecting the recipe!
I love making this cake, and then once people rave about it, tell them, “Oh, by the way, that’s a VEGAN cake” hahaha
I love this cake. I was introduced to it many years ago as wacky cake and it was made right in the baking dish! It was the first cake I ever baked from scratch and it never failed. It’s easy and quick and hits the spot when you want a fast chocolate cake! Thanks for posting Beth!!!
Looks amazing! Would I be able to substitute the sugar for either honey or maple syrup. Or will it not rise the same way?
Since honey and maple syrup are both liquids, swapping them for the granulated sugar might throw off the dry/liquid ratio in this recipe. I haven’t tested it to know how much it will affect the end product, though!
Looks great – I’ve been making this exact type of cake for years for vegan friends. It also makes awesome cupcakes with a bit of chocolate pushed into the middle!
Made this cake today. Cake was dense but very soft and the icing provided the perfect amount of sweetness. Great recipe! Thanks for sharing.
What if I don’t have powdered sugar?
You can make powdered sugar from granulated sugar if you have a good blender! Here is a tutorial from another blogger: https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/how-to-make-powdered-sugar/
I used to make wacky cake all the time as a kid, it was that easy. I love it. Total nostalgia comfort food. No if only I could find some flour to make it!