Depression Cake - with 'no' eggs

Chocolate Crazy Cake (No Eggs, Milk, Butter or Bowls)


CRAZY CAKE, also known as Wacky Cake & Depression Cake - No Eggs, Milk, Butter, Bowls or Mixers! Super moist and delicious. Go-to recipe for egg/dairy allergies. Great activity to do with kids. Recipe dates back to the Great Depression. It's darn good cake!


More cake flavors have been added since this post. Click on the photo below to head to therecipes section for links to all the flavors. There are mug cake versions too!
Crazy Cake can be made with Gluten Free mixes! Many people have commented they have made this cake with Gluten Free mixes and it's wonderful. "Yes it is yummy and very moist. It even works with GF flour mixes!" Head here for a GF Crazy/Wacky Cake recipe - Bob's Red Mill's Gluten-Free Crazy Cake




For years, my youngest one never had cake because of her egg allergy. I know there are worse things in life...but no cake? That just stinks. She never had REAL cake until my good friend shared her mom's Chocolate Crazy Cake recipe with me four years ago - also known as Wacky Cake. This cake has no eggs. No eggs?! Huh?! How can you make cake without eggs?! The recipe didn't even call for an electric mixer! When my girlfriend gave me the recipe, all I could think was how will it taste like real cake? It can't be possible.

Within minutes of her sharing the recipe, I whipped up the cake while talking to her on the phone. I could not believe how easy the cake was to make. No bowls. No mess. I mixed everything in the baking pan. AWESOME. When the cake was done, frosted, ready to eat...I could not believe how moist it was. It was crazy good! Better than any box cake I've ever had. My daughter LOVED it! I think I shed a tear or two when she had her first bite. I was so happy she finally got to see what REAL cake tastes like.

From that day on, it was good-bye to the same old ice cream cakes we had EVERY SINGLE YEAR for EVERY birthday....and hello yummy REAL chocolate cake...with ice cream on top.





I made this cake for my oldest daughter's Sweet 16 last week.
Everyone got to eat cake, even our little one with the egg allergy.

That makes my heart happy.

I did a little research on Crazy and Wacky Cake recipes.

These cakes were created during the Great Depression, when eggs, milk and butter
were very hard to come by.

The cakes are also known as Depression Cakes.

Remember my favorite childhood Depression sandwich my grandparents made?

People were pretty resourceful during those hard times. It took some creativity and baking science to create a cake without eggs or butter. You don't even need a mixer. Genius!

The LA Times has a great article on Crazy Cake:
"Mad for crazy cake - It contains no butter or eggs, is a cinch to make and comes out rich, moist and delicious. What's not to like?"

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CRAZY CAKE RECIPE (NO EGGS, MILK, BUTTER OR BOWLS)

Print Recipe
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups flour (all-purpose)
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)
• 1 Cup sugar (All purpose sugar - Granulated Pure Cane Sugar)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 Cup water

Directions (picture tutorial below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8" square baking pan.
Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients - two small, one larger (see #3 in photo below).
Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in the other and the vegetable oil in third larger depression.
Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 35 minutes.
Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool. Top with your favorite frosting. Enjoy!

Note: Oven baking times may vary, be sure to check your cake to make sure you do not over bake.






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FROSTING RECIPES:

• For a great easy chocolate frosting (my favorite) head over to THE YUMMY LIFE, for a ONE MINUTE FROSTING recipe!

• For a dairy free frosting recipe, head over to Oh She Glows for a simple 2-ingredient chocolate fudge frosting recipe!

• Great Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting recipe from The Beating Hearth!

TIPS:

• You can double this recipe, just use a 9x13 baking pan.

• Mix batter in a bowl for neater, easier mixing. Be sure to follow the directions the same way - mixing the dry ingredients then making the depressions for the wet ingredients. Don't forget to grease your pan. You can also make cupcakes - be sure to adjust baking time.

• Although I have not used Gluten Free flour mixes for this recipe, many people have and said the cake turns out wonderful! This is a great tip from someone that made the cake using a GF mix - "...the mix I use is 1c. brown rice flour, 1c. white rice flour, 1/3 c. tapioca starch, 2/3 c. potato starch, 1tsp. xanthan gum. I've used it in everything from bread to cookies to cakes, and I love it.
• I do add just a bit more leavening agent *usually baking soda* than the recipe calls for.
• For instance, in this recipe I just added 1/2 of what it called for more. So the recipe called for 1 tsp, so I added 1 1/2. And it was SO good. Hubby didn't even know it was vegan. And he's a full on man lol. Meat, potatoes, you get it."
• She also added another note for this GF mix - "I only increase the leavening on cakes and bread. cookies are fine."
• A big thank you goes out to the sweet reader for being so helpful and sharing this tip with all of us!

• Head here for a GF Crazy/Wacky Cake recipe - Bob's Red Mill's Gluten-Free Crazy Cake

• Many have shared that this recipe is great served warm or cold with just sprinkling powdered sugar on top.

• This cake is also a great activity to do with kids.

A sweet reader, Lesley, shared photos of her Layered Crazy Cake and Cupcakes. Thank you, Lesley, so thoughtful for you to share with all of us!

• For the layered cake, she greased her pan and used baking paper (parchment paper) on the bottom. She didn't double the recipe, just cut the cake into a layer.

• For the cupcakes, she made a dozen using her muffin tin and cupcake liners.
• The cupcakes were baked at 350 degrees F for 13 mins. (Oven baking times vary)

Now...go eat some cake!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Cheers!


http://www.sweetlittlebluebird.com/2013/03/tried-true-tuesday-crazy-cake-no-eggs.htm
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