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. ;)
My go to cake. great for weeknights, or when you want something easy to share with friends. I skip the icing and serve it with fruit or jam and whipped cream/cool whip – so delicious!
Delicious! So moist and such chocolate flavor! I am going to experiment the next time I make this by adding a layer of melted peanut butter on top of the cake and then the icing. Chocolate and peanut butter- how can you go wrong?
Full transparency: I have not used Beth’s recipe. BUT this is identical to the recipe passed down to me from my grandma. Easy and delicious! My grandma passed when I was really young, so it makes me feel very connected to her.
That makes me so happy to hear. :)
This cake and icing are awesome! I added the icing when the cake was still warm to get a gooey effect. Soooooo good!
Can this be made as a white or vanilla cake
There are probably versions of that out there, but I haven’t made one, unfortunately! :)
Awesome recipe…I substituted all purpose flour for spelt flour and used half a cup of agave and half cup of turbinado sugar which gave it a slight crunch. I also added a bit of cardamom to make it interesting. This will replace my brownie recipe.
My mom called this “wacky cake”, it was THE birthday cake recipe she used when we were kids. It is THE ONLY chocolate cake I will it, all the other chocolate cakes I’ve had are either too chocolatey (I know, I know) or are too sugary with zero flavor and often times very dry. I think my moms recipe called for a bit more oil, very moist, not too sweet and nice rich chocolate flavor
My Gram made this “Wacky Cake” all the time when I was growing up. Instead of icing, though, she would take a chocolate Hershey bar, break it up into squares and put them on the still warm cake. It only took a minute or two for the squares to melt and then she used a knife to spread the “icing” around on top!
Hi Phyllis, I just wanted to say thanks for sharing the great tip to ice this cake! One of my kids only recently grew out of a dairy intolerance, and inspired by your Gram’s method, we would sprinkle dairy free chocolate chips on top of the cake and spread when soft for the icing. Now that she seems to be ok with dairy, I am looking forward to trying the actual Hershey bar method. Thanks, Beth and Phyllis!
This is my second time making this amazing cake. Still so impressed by how easy, quick, and good it is. It’s Friday and I was in the mood to do something fun. I wanted something sweet but didn’t have the usual baking stuff. I thought, what can I make with flour and sugar? I didn’t thin about this cake immediately, but I was so happy when I did. Even better, I had all the ingredients. Definitely give this cake a try!
Can I put in a cupcake pan to bring to work or a party.
Looks so good.
I haven’t done this but I believe there have been comments from others who have had good results doing that.
Yummy and easy to follow recipe. I have been making your chocolate cake recipe since I came across your website last year. Today I added fresh blueberries and used a loaf pan to bake the cake. Came out beautiful and not overly sweet which works well for my toddler. No glaze needed. Thank you!
I love this chocolate cake recipe, but I had never made the icing until yesterday. Mine was a little thick, but it was user error. I think added too much powdered sugar. It was perfect for spreading on top of the cake! Lots of compliments! The kids ate the leftover icing with saltine crackers.
Can I substitute regular flour for gluten free flour??
I’m sorry, I haven’t tried gluten-free flour with this recipe, so I’m not sure how that will turn out.
I’m going to try it with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour. I will report back!
I have used GF flour with no issues! I have a friend with celiac and I have an egg allergy. This cake is heavrnly and seriously hits that chocolate craving!
I’ve made it with gf all purpose flour. It works fine. I haven’t made it with regular flour, but usually gf cakes are a little denser than regular cakes.
I was going to try this with gf flour, and I am hoping you might share a little more information. Did you use Bob’s all purpose gf flour blend or another? Or was it a 1:1? Any help is appreciated!
I always use either Trader Joe’s all purpose GF flour or Pamela’s all purpose artisan blend gf flour when baking. TJ’s tends to make a slightly drier product, but both work well.
Made this cake yesterday for the first time, oh ! Boy , so delicious, moist and the frosting too so delicious.
Thank you, it’s really really good .
I just made this depression cake 🍰🎂 for a dessert wowww sooo easy and simply delicious. Love it!!! ☺️