Chocolate Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make! (No eggs, no milk, no butter, no clean-up.) Made exclusively with pantry staples, this surprisingly moist, delicious snack cake mixes up in a jiffy, right in the pan!
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What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
Chocolate Wacky Cake was the first “scratch” cake I ever baked all by myself. (I think I was eight.) So named because it requires no eggs, no milk, no butter, and is mixed directly in the pan, Wacky Cake is a surprisingly moist, delicious chocolate cake that is easy enough for a child to make.
Wacky Cake is dead simple to make, but the origins of the recipe are somewhat murky. Also known as Crazy Cake, War Cake, Depression Cake, Magic Cake, 3-Hole Cake (and more recently as Quarantine Cake and Pandemic Cake) - Wacky Cake is a recipe created for difficult times.
Passed down from one generation of frugal bakers to the next, there are references to similar cake recipes dating back over a hundred years; clear back to World War I, when War Cake could be found in a 1918 Food Administration Department pamphlet entitled “War Economy in Food,” under “Recipes for Conservation Sweets.”
After The War to End All Wars ended in 1918, Crazy Cake recipes made their way into 1930's Depression Era kitchens, when budgets were tight, and milk, eggs, and butter were luxuries. Still later, mothers on the home front during World War II relied on this unusual cake recipe as a way to deal with wartime shortages, when milk and eggs were scarce, and other staples (like sugar and coffee) were rationed and in short supply.
Chocolate Cake in Six Simple Steps
Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make. It is mixed in one pan with a fork. The trick to this cake is the three-hole method of mixing that allows the vinegar and baking soda to combine at the last moment and act as a leavening agent.
Start your cake now, and it will be ready to eat in less than an hour!
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F | 177°C. Spray an 8x8 (or 9x9) cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together directly into the pan.
Flatten the sifted dry ingredients and form three depressions in the top - one large and two small.
3. Pour oil into the large depression, vanilla into the second depression, and vinegar into the third. Pour water over the whole thing.
4. Stir with spoon or fork until thoroughly mixed. Be sure to check the corners. The cake batter will produce bubbles on the top of the cake.
5. Gently tamp the cake pan on the countertop once or twice to release gas. Bake at 350°F | 177°C for 25-30 minutes, until the top springs back when touched.
6. Remove cake from the oven and allow cake to cool on rack. Wacky Cake can be served as is, or with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, or iced with your favorite frosting.
That's literally all there this to it! If you work super slow, you might need 15 minutes to mix it up.
BONUS POINTS: No raw eggs in this batter! Go ahead and let the kids lick the fork!
So what does Wacky Cake taste like?
FAQs & Expert Tips
It is an exceptionally moist, delicious chocolate snack cake. Surprisingly so, in fact. It's perhaps not as quite as rich as a true, butter-filled Devil’s Food Cake, but it will definitely satisfy those chocolate cake cravings.
1970's Kids Only: Remember Betty Crocker's Snackin' Cakes? Wacky Cake is a lot like those little cakes as far as texture goes, and it tastes something like a Hostess Cupcake without the cream filling, only softer and richer.
Teachers & Homeschoolers: Consider Wacky Cake a great opportunity to demonstrate the power of baking soda and vinegar outside a volcano!
Whoohoo kitchen science!
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Chocolate Wacky Cake
Equipment
- 1 Sifter or sieve
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F [177°C].Spray an 8x8 pan (or 9x9) with cooking spray.
- Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together directly into the pan.
- Flatten the sifted dry ingredients and form three depressions in the top - one large and two small.
- Pour oil into the large depression, vanilla into the second depression, and vinegar into the third.Pour water over the whole thing.
- Stir with spoon or fork until thoroughly mixed. Be sure to check the corners.The cake batter will produce bubbles on the top of the cake.
- Gently tamp the cake pan on the countertop once or twice to release gas. Bake at 350°F | 177°C for 25-30 minutes, until the top springs back when touched.Remove cake from the oven and allow cake to cool on rack.
- Wacky Cake can be served as is, or with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, or iced with your favorite frosting.
Notes
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Originally published July 30, 2013
Anna says
Hi Renee,
I want to make this cake with a 9 x 13 pan so I am going to fowls the recipe. How long should I bake it for?
Renée says
I'd start by adding 10 minutes, and go from there. Check it for doneness as you would any cake.
Gemma says
Gosh this looks simply delicious! I am so grateful when recipe bloggers share shots of each step, as I always worry I'm not where I should be at each stage in the recipe. I'm intolerant to eggs, so I'm always looking for egg free recipes, so thank you so much for sharing with us! x
Renée ♥ says
You are so welcome, Gemma! I appreciate the feedback on the process photos as well. Enjoy your cake!
Beth Neels says
I was intrigued that this is mixed is mixed in the pan with no additional mess. I didn't know how much we were going to love it though, YUM!
Noelle says
I love chocolate everything and this was just great! Love the flavors
Andrea Metlika says
This cake reminds me of my childhood. I love how easy it is to make and that I can make it myself now.
Renée ♥ says
It's a bit of a comfort food for me as well. ?
Katie says
My family would love this! Can't wait to try it.
Renée ♥ says
It's the perfect snack cake!
Ashley R says
This looks super easy and easy clean up. I need to try it .
Marina says
Such a great recipe and it's vegan!!! Will try this over the week-end thanks for sharing x
Marta says
This is such a cool, low-maintenance cake. I want to give it a go.
Renée ♥ says
It's so easy.
Renée ♥ says
"Low Maintenance Cake." I like that. ?
Amber Myers says
I am all about chocolate cake. This looks delicious! I'll have to make it with my kids.
Renée ♥ says
It's a great kids-cook recipe!
Mimi says
I'm craving chocolate so badly lately, I'll have to make this
Suzanne @AndMyHouse says
I think I made this a long time ago and it was delicious! So glad you posted it, because Husband and I are trying to not eat dairy and eggs, anyway, found you from SITS!
Renée ♥ says
So glad you stopped by! You will love this cake - it is so moist, and best of all: no boxed, processed taste!!
Javelin Warrior says
I've seen versions of this cake before, but I've never tried to bake it myself. It definitely sounds easy and I wish there was a photo of the final cake! What a simple and tasty dessert...