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 was delicious! Thank you!
We made this tonight for tomorrow I didn’t think ahead for an Easter dessert but this is perfect! The kids helped and could even safely lick the bowl. Thanks Beth! Happy Easter everyone! 🐰
Very similar to the cake my grandma would always make us. We never wanted store bought cakes because grandma’s cake was always better. Her recipe called for sour cream to keep it from drying out. Thanks!!
Can I use agave syrup in place of the granulated sugar?? 🤞🏻
Yes you can!
I haven’t made this cake yet (it’s on my list to try, though!) but I’m wondering if replacing the water with coffee would enhance the chocolate flavour?
Oh most definitely!
I usually replace the water with a cup of cold, double-strength coffee. It’s delicious.
Looks good and Bob has had a hankering for chocolate! Thanks Beth!
Can’t wait to try this! I only have unsweetened cocoa powder though. Can I use that for the frosting portion too or will it not turn out sweet enough?
Does sweetened cocoa powder even exist? Haha. In the step-by-step photos, they specify unsweetened cocoa powder 👍🏻
Unsweetened cocoa powder is what the frosting calls for, and it’s really sweet because of all the powdered sugar.
Would coconut oil work in place of the neutral cooking oil? It will impart some coconut-y flavor to it, but I think it might also lend a slight bit of the fatty consistency you typically get from butter too. Also it happens to be what I have on hand at the moment besides olive oil lol.
@jake I made this last night, and as soon as I was done I said: next time use coconut. I think it would be great with coconut oil.
I’ve made this with melted coconut oil! And olive oil (see Smitten Kitchen’s Olive Oil Chocolate Cake) but it’s definitely better with the coconut.
Yes that would be just fine. It’s what I used this weekend and it came out great!
What fun! And so inexpensive, too!
I love Wacky cake! I originally ran across the recipe in an American Heart Association cookbook. It’s super simple. I will say that if you want to get the whole cake out of the pan, it helps to use parchment on the bottom. I made this for a neighbor’s birthday last week. He’s in his 80s and has become lactose intolerant. It was a big hit! I just dusted it with powdered sugar. This is a good recipe for time like these when some ingredients are scarce.
Just made the cake, it tastes amazing! Been looking around for a good vegan dessert recipe :D
Has anyone had success using a GF flour? Thanks!
I just made this cake with GF flour and it turned out great!
I made a similar cake with Bob’s 1-to-1 (blue bag) and it was soooo dense! BUT I think my baking soda is expired, so that could have lent to that disaster. I’m getting some Better Batter this week so I’ll have to try again (when I can get some new baking soda!)
I love Love LOVE this cake! It’s my go to recipe because it’s so easy and so fast to make. Sometimes instead of water I will use either leftover coffee, instant coffee or instant espresso to add more flavour. I’ve seen online different variations of this cake that is not chocolate. I wonder if they’re good? Anyway, thanks so much! :)
Do you think I could sub GF flour? Thank you for this recipe. I’m glad I have all the ingredients on hand. I guess that’s the point. :)
So easy to make. My kids loved it and said it was the best cake they have ever had!!!