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People Love This Famous Chocolate Cake Recipe From The Great Depression — And After Making It, I Can See Why

The recipe dates all the way back to the Great Depression — and it's probably the easiest, fastest, and most inexpensive cake I've ever made.

As someone who loves to bake, I often find myself scrolling through social media to find new recipes to try.

During one of my recent scrolls, I came across people on TikTok and Reddit making a chocolate cake recipe that apparently dates back to the Great Depression. Some people call it "Wacky cake" — and after learning more about it, it literally made me sit up, dramatically gasp, and further investigate.

The reason for my dramatic reaction is that this cake is made without milk, eggs, or butter — key ingredients in most baking recipes.

Although it's popping up all over social media now, this chocolate cake isn't anything new. As mentioned, it first originated during the Great Depression — which explains why it omits the most expensive ingredients you typically need when making a cake.

a photo from the great depression of two men

Considering we're living during a time when inflation is up 6% from a year ago and the price of groceries continues to soar, it's fitting that people are once again following this recipe for an inexpensive treat.

Being the inquisitive little baker that I am, I immediately checked my cabinet to make sure I had the few ingredients required to make this cake so I could get to baking it.

Here's how it all went down.

Note: Instead of trying to follow the TikTok videos, I did a quick Google search for Wacky Cake and followed this recipe from Southern Living instead.

First, I took out the ingredients:

a lineup of the ingredients

STEP #1: After preheating your oven to 350ºF, sift all of your dry ingredients — flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda — into a ungreased baking pan. Once all ingredients have been added, mix them.

a side by side picture of sifting ingredients and the ingredients mixed together

STEP #2: Before adding in the wet ingredients, make one large well and two small wells — I created mine with the back of a spoon.

wells in dry ingredients in a pan

From there, I poured the oil into the large one, then the vanilla extract and vinegar into the smaller ones.

the liquid ingredients in the different holes

STEP #3: Next, I poured 1 cup of water over the entire mixture and stirred everything together with a fork.

the author pouring a cup of water over the cake mixture

So far, so good!

the author using a fork to stir the cake mixture together

STEP #4: Once the mixture was thoroughly mixed, I put it in my preheated oven for 25–30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick came out clean.

a cake ready to be baked in an oven

After my timer went off, I let the cake cool before I dug in and took a bite.

a freshly baked chocolate cake

The verdict? It was...not quite sweet or rich enough for me.

the author posing for a selfie with the cake

When I think of a chocolate cake, I picture a super rich cake that will satisfy a sweet tooth, full of deep chocolate flavor. Unfortunately, this cake wasn't as sweet or chocolatey as I personally would have preferred or what I'm used to.

the author taking a bite of the cake

Sweetness and chocolatey flavors aside, the cake's texture was super impressive — it was spongy, moist, and very cake-like. Judging it just on its appearance, I thought it was going to be more on the dry side but I was pleasantly surprised.

the author holding up a square of the cake

Also, this cake was probably the easiest and quickest dessert I've EVER baked. From start to finish — including measuring and mixing all the ingredients together right in the dish before popping it into the oven — took me about 15 minutes. So if baking usually intimidates you, this is a great recipe to try. True to its roots, it's also probably one of the most inexpensive cakes you'll ever make — and it just so happens to be vegan.

a corner of the cake missing from its pan

If you feel inspired to make this cake too, let me know what you think of it in the comments below. Or if you have tried it before and have any creative modifications for it, feel free to share those as well! 👇