Cheap Eats — Depression Era Wacky Cake
by Katy on March 22, 2024 · 57 comments
I was craving a sweet treat something awful last night, which only grew stronger as the hours passed. I scoured the cupboards and fridge for something anything to feed this desire and came up empty as stupid me never buys premade snacks or desserts.
Sure, I had a brownie mix in the cupboard, but that seemed like overkill as it’s just us empty nesters in the house these days. (9″ X 13″ pan of brownies for two people? That’s a dangerous game, friend-o!) But then I remembered depression era wacky cake, which makes a small cake requiring neither eggs nor butter. Add in that you mix the ingredients in a single 8″ X 8″ baking dish and a plan began to form.
There are many recipes online that differ a bit, but here’s what I made:
Depression Era Wacky Cake
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of water
Mix everything together in the pan (No mixing bowls to clean!) and bake at 350° F for 30 minutes. That’s it!
I didn’t sift a damned thing, I didn’t grease the pan and I didn’t make frosting; instead I chose to serve it warm with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Absolutely hit the spot and scratched that itch for a sweet treat!
P.S. It’s accidentally vegan.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 56 comments… read them below or add one }
I suppose I should add that I sprinkled some chocolate chips on top of the cake!
This is now tempting me, as I didn’t buy eggs today, (hoping for at least a little Easter sale next week), so I can’t do a cake or brownie mix. But this I could do….
DO IT!
I’m not sure if I should say I fell for peer pressure or took the encouragement of a trusted advisor. Anyway, my cake turned out very well, thank you!
I stuck to your recipe, with the addition of a shot of vanilla, though I did look online for ideas as well. Brown sugar instead of white, apple cider vinegar, and slightly different measurements were suggested. I think I had to stir longer for the square pan than I would have with a bowl.
Oops . . . I forgot to add vanilla to the recipe, which has now been edited back in.
Just don’t pop the bubbles. My BF did that one time (we were in junior high). Suffice it to say the end product did not turn out as well as previous times.
This cake is a BIG hit in my Family, we call it “Grandma’s Chocolate Cake” – because she always made it! It is THE BEST. (Our recipe calls for Olive Oil., because that’s how she made it)
Sounds yummy, but defeats the purpose of a frugal recipe.
I am a US History teacher and I do a little lesson on food in the Depression to show the students the difference between the more recent Great Recession ( 2008) and the Great Depression. Savory jello molds with organ meats and peanut butter and onion bake seem to strike the EEEEWH! chord with them. The only one they say they are willing to make is the Ritz Cracker Mock Apple Pie.
By the way, regarding brownie mix: A great way to satisfy cravings are 1 mx cake/brownie mix with one 15 oz can of drained cooked beans, pineapple with juice, or pumpkin. Mix it up and cook it at regular temp. It has added nutrition and is very tasty. Learned it in an old Weight Watcher’s meeting.
That’s very interesting, and I share you students’ aversion to savory jello molds.
The top shelf of my grandma’s fridge ALWAYS had a pan of head cheese on it. The thought of that quivering, gelatinous collection of chopped brain and heart bits can still bring on nightmares. My grandfather ate one slice of it every single night, before tucking into the main meal.
My MIL, in her declining years, used to ask for head cheese regularly when I went marketing for her. I could hardly stand to look at it, let alone buy it–and I certainly never ate any!
I work part time at a Polish deli and I can tell you we still sell quite a bit of headcheese especially to the elderly. I tried it at the owner’s son’s wedding and have to say it wasn’t bad. My Swedish grandmother made her own headcheese back in the day, mostly around Christmastime, but I remember her making it with veal. Again, can’t say it’s my favorite cold cut, but it wasn’t bad. The Polish headcheese I tried was made of chicken.
That is such a good cake and basically the only one I make. We usually eat it without powdered sugar but recently made a cupcake version and did use the sugar. There is a spice cake version which I keep meaning to try.
We’ve made every version except lemon….so far. The ‘snickerdoodle”{which is really cinnamon and brown sugar} is very good.
Spice cake sounds nummy! We put cinnamon and other spices in our chocolate concoctions regularly.
When I was 8 or 9 one of my mom’s friends invited me over to bake, and this was the first cake I ever made! Love it!
When I realized I had a bunch of allergies, this cake was the first recipe I adapted to be gluten-free. I substituted a gluten-free flour blend (add 3/4 t. xanthum gum if it’s a gum-free blend) for the regular flour and it worked like a charm. To bump it up a notch, I then started using cold coffee for the water. The coffee enhances the chocolate flavor. This is a family favorite! Since it’s also egg-free and dairy-free, it checks those allergen boxes as well.
If you search, you’ll find numerous variations for this depression-era cake. I’ve tried and liked spice, gingerbread, carrot, and apple cake versions.
I have added espresso powder to a number of chocolate things, but never this cake. Brilliant!
Hi Casey, do you mind sharing the apple cake version, please? Thank you.
Hi Farhana,
Here’s the recipe I used.
https://pin.it/4bGonK0sl
If the link doesn’t work, go to strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com and look for the recipe for apple crazy cake.
Thank you so very much, Casey.
Thanks for the reminder about this delicious cake. My recipe calls for the same ingredients but is called Crazy Chocolate Cake. I haven’t made it in years but my friend has a daughter who eats dairy free and vegan foods so this would be perfect to bring to their house.
Looks delicious! And a 9”x13” pan of brownies is absolutely an acceptable treat for two especially if enjoyed throughout the evening right from the pan!
@Amy Liz. OOOOO yes. However I live alone, so it really would be out of bounds. #2 son does love brownies, though, however he has learned he has to move fast and take big pieces if he is to get any at all. Usually I make a 8 X 8 or 9X9 pan so it doesn’t feel quite so over the top, but my ‘stop eating’ button is broken when it comes to Brownies…
That recipe (I use apple cider vinegar instead of white) has been my go-to chocolate cake recipe my entire adult life (63 now), and it was my mom’s during my childhood. It is the best!
We call this crazy cake in our neck of the woods. It’s quick and delicious and no eggs involved for those of us who are allergic to eggs.
Thank you, Katy! This is perfect for me to bring tonight: I’m going to a friend’s house and wanted to make a very small cake and I have no eggs, due to being a vegan! Thank you again!
Yay, happy to oblige!
As many have already mentioned, my mom used to make a version of this cake she called Wowee cake. With six people in the house growing up, it would be devoured in no time. she would dust the top with confectioner’s sugar.
And same about the aversion to savory jello molds and head cheese – food that jiggles is generally food Ihave no interest in eating (flan, custard and similar desserts excluded). I collect vintage cookbooks, and always have a chuckle at photos of jello molds with hot dog slices in them.
“Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise,” anyone? (As I recall, I’ve mentioned this peerless song before, but it’s worth another mention. Check it out on YouTube, especially as played by its composer, William Bolcom, and sung by Bolcom’s wife, Joan Morris.)
Barf!
To the jellos, not the wowee cake.
That’s also my reaction to hot dogs.
Vegan Vickey
The cake looks/sounds delicious but any amount of chocolate seems to interfere with my ability to get a good night’s sleep. I have tried eating it at all times of the day to no avail. I will look for recipes for the other varieties of Depression Era cakes. I love that it makes a small cake and the mixing within the baking pan results in no dirty mixing bowl.
I think there’s a carrot cake one, which I need to try.
I have made mug cakes in the past and they are quick and easy and yield a small amount of cake.
This is why after decades of frugality/tightwaddery I still just love these frugal things posts, no matter how tiny. I’ve made this cake before, years ago, but had forgotten about it. I’m going to make it again this weekend because I’ve been trying to use up some lard that has been taking up freezer space for, let’s just say way too long. During the depression they would have used melted solid cooking fats in place of oil.
Even without Aha! moments like this, it’s really wonderful to hear from a whole community that is travelling the same frugal path with all the varying degrees of success. I get something out of every single post, even if it’s only confirmation that this is the right path for me. Thank you, Katy!
PS: Regarding headcheese – I was much happier not knowing for sure what was suspended in that quivering mess.
I’d also forgotten about this cake, so I figured other people had as well. I too get so much camaraderie from readers!
Thank you for the inspiration: I made a lemon wacky cake today to use up the last awesome Trader Joe’s lemon. Did a lemon glaze and poked a few holes in the cake with a toothpick so it could soak in. It is so freaking good!
My go to in this situation is a brownie in a mug
I found a brownie in a mug recipe online that used pancake mix as the base and it was entirely too good, like I have no willpower and would have made one every day level of good. 😀
Pancake mix is something I keep on hand because my family is weird and prefers pancakes from a mix to homemade.
and it is times like these that I am grateful to not have a microwave….
My great aunt taught me to make this cake and she called it “Nothing Cake”. She favored peanut butter frosting, but we mostly just eat it plain. She was a wonderful home cook, mostly self taught after moving from the big city to become a farm wife. She was first generation Polish American and one of my cousins still makes her perogies.
This cake also works excellently well as the base for the cupcakes recipe that involves cream cheese and chocolate chips in the middle!
I love “nothing cake,” so whimsical!
This is so funny! I’m reading this on the 23rd, yesterday was my birthday and my daughter and son in law were taking us out for dinner. They didn’t bring dessert though, and I didn’t want them to pay for desserts all around too, so I made Wacky cake in the afternoon. Pretty much as you made it, but I made it with melted butter, as I don’t use Canola oil. Takes it to a whole other level! The leftovers go home with them so I’m not tempted further. Cheap and delicious!
I realize it isn’t really frugal or vegan using butter, but it is sooooo good!
And, we had it with ice cream.
It’s possible to sub mashed banana or sweet potato, or applesauce, for the oil.
We used to make the chocolate version of this cake with raspberry-infused balsamic vinegar, made from raspberries from our garden. Very next level, tho’ not quite as thrifty.
I’ll have to look in my recipe “stash” – there is another Depression Era cake that uses applesauce instead of sugar and if memory serves, no eggs, milk, or butter.
If you find the recipe, please share. I’m supposed to avoid sugar.
Made the cake yesterday- delicious! Ate it with some raspberries on the side. Thanks for the recipe!
Yum, everything’s better with raspberries!
With 1/3 of a cup of cocoa it’s not that economical
I buy mine from the bins at Winco, so it’s pretty cheap.
We made this all the time growing up but we had our square metal pan and stirred all the dry ingredients in it and made three depressions in it and poured the water in one, the oil in one, and the vinegar in one and then stirred it together and baked. In my opinion even as a kid it would have been better with a little frosting on it but it was still fast easy and cheap.
I made this for my birthday yesterday and then blogged about it (and a surprise second “cake”). Perfect all the way around. Thanks for adding to my day!
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