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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
From there, I poured the oil into the large one, then the vanilla extract and vinegar into the smaller ones.
STEP #3: Next, I poured 1 cup of water over the entire mixture and stirred everything together with a fork.
So far, so good!
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.
After my timer went off, I let the cake cool before I dug in and took a bite.
The verdict? It was...not quite sweet or rich enough for me.
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.
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.
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.
