No butter, no milk, and no eggs needed! Wacky Cake, Crazy Cake, Depression Cake, this super simple, one-bowl cake recipe goes by many names. It’s incredibly moist, rich, and fudgy despite being made with only basic pantry staples! Also includes an easy chocolate icing made with no butter, milk, or eggs!
I didn’t originally plan to share this recipe on the blog today but, considering current events and the fact that many of us are self isolating at home, I thought some basic, simple recipes were in order. Ones that would help you make the most of the ingredients you currently have on hand and don’t require any unnecessary grocery store visits.
Today’s “Crazy Cake” is precisely that kind of recipe. It uses no butter, no eggs, and no milk and yet yields an insanely moist, fudgy chocolate cake. It’s made in just one bowl and is basically fool-proof. Despite the simplicity of the recipe, it holds its own against even my favorite fudgy chocolate cake recipe.
Crazy cake (also known as “Wacky Cake”) is not my own invention. It’s a product of the depression era when ingredients were scarce and people had to make the best of what they could find in their pantry. It’s made an appearance on the blog before, in the form of the cupcake base for my grandmother’s recipe for black bottom cupcakes (recently used to make black bottom cookies!), so it might even seem familiar to you.
How to Make Crazy Cake:
- Start by whisking together all of your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in a large bowl. Back in the day, the ingredients were often mixed together directly in the baking pan, but I think it’s easier and worth the extra dish to make in a separate bowl.
- Make a well in the center (see photo above).
- Add your wet ingredients (water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract) into the well in the center of the bowl.
- Whisk all ingredients together until you have a smooth cake batter.
- Pour into an 8×8″ baking dish and bake until cooked through. Cool and cover with icing, if desired (more on the icing below!).
Wacky cake is incredibly simple to make, but the easiest way to go wrong is by accidentally over-baking the cake. Keep an eye on it and cook just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).
Icing
It goes without saying that you can really use any icing you’d like on this cake. Buttercream frosting, chocolate frosting, peanut butter frosting, cream cheese frosting, even Swiss meringue buttercream, any of these would work great (though you would only need a half-batch).
But…! All of these recipes use butter. And some of them use milk, or eggs! And if we had butter and milk and eggs… well we’d probably just be making classic chocolate cake, right? We wouldn’t be here in the first place. So I wanted to provide you with a frosting that also uses no butter, milk, or eggs.
Technically this frosting is a glaze, but it’s a thick, fudgy one (it reminds me of the glaze I use on my Texas sheet cake). It’s incredibly simple to make: whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, water, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Can I Make this in a 9×13″ pan?
Making this exact recipe in a 9×13″ pan would yield a very thin cake. If you double the recipe, though, you can make it in a 9×13″ pan. You can also make the recipe as written in a 9×9″ or 11×7″ pan, you will just need to reduce the baking time by about 5 minutes or so.
What’s with the Vinegar?
I’ve had a lot of people ask me if they can make crazy cake without vinegar. Unfortunately, because this recipe is made without eggs, the vinegar is a necessity. It reacts with the baking soda to give the cake its lift and perfect texture (and does not make the cake taste like vinegar at all!) I do not know of a substitute that would work as well, though you can use white vinegar or apple cider.
Can I Make a Vanilla Crazy Cake?
Yes! Just leave out the cocoa powder for a vanilla version. I also like to increase the amount of vanilla extract used to 1 ½ teaspoons.
How to Store:
Store in an airtight container (or just cover the cake with plastic wrap) at room temperature for up to 5 days. It will keep longer in the refrigerator, but keep it tightly covered to keep it from drying out.
Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like:
Are you more of a visual learner? Check out my YouTube channel where I show you exactly how I make this cake step-by-step in my own kitchen.
Crazy Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (35 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) avocado, vegetable, or canola oil
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar¹
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ICING
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (25 g) natural cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and lightly grease an 8x8 glass baking dish².
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, ⅓ cup (35 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract.1 cup water, ⅓ cup (80 ml) avocado, vegetable, or canola oil, 1 Tablespoon white vinegar¹, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whisk or stir all ingredients together until batter is smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake on 350F (175C) for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over-bake or the cake will be dry.
- Allow cake to cool before frosting.
ICING:
- To prepare the icing, whick together sugar, cocoa powder, water, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth. Icing should be a thick and fudgy consistency, but should be spread-able. If it is too thick, add additional water one teaspoon at a time until the proper consistency is achieved.1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar, ¼ cup (25 g) natural cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons water, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Once cake has cooled, gently spread frosting evenly overtop. Enjoy!
Notes
Store covered at room temperature for up to 5 days. Cake will keep even longer if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator by the fridge may dry out the cake a bit.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
sash
Does using vinegar not make the cake smell like vinegar ? or taste like sour?
Sam
It will not, you won’t even be able to taste it. 🙂
Linda Flaherty
Having never made a crazy cake before – I was sooo surprised at how moist and yummy this is. The following day is the absolute best!! Thanks!!
Sam
It’s shocking how good it is considering how many classic ingredients are “missing”, isn’t it! So glad you enjoyed, Linda! 🙂
Mari misirli
Love it, my granddaughters and their friends love it.. so easy to bake, no milk, butter and eggs! It’s really crazy❤️🌺
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Mari! 🙂
Carole
I love this cake! It brought me straight back to when I was a kid. My Gramma made this all the time!
The only difference I did was to make a looser glaze..Love this cake!!!
Thanks Sam! 🌸
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Carole! 🙂
Alena
Oh. My. Goodness. This recipe is so incredibly forgiving, and I don’t usually leave comments when I alter the recipe (it’s not fair!!!), but I can’t believe it turned out so well. I reduced the sugar by almost half, doubled it and put it in a 9 x 13 inch pan, had oven breakdowns (it stopped 4 times while baking :\), and YET it still turned out. Genuinely amazed. Keeping this one for sure!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that it turned out perfectly for you and that you enjoyed it, Alena! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Jess
Can I make this cake in a 7 inch round pan?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Jess! Yes, that should work fine. The bake time may be slightly different as well so you’ll want to keep an eye on it. I hope that you enjoy the cake. 🙂
Abi
I made this cake for my family and they absolutely loved it!! One of my new favourite recipes!
I was wondering if you could also make this as cupcakes?
Sam
Hi Abi! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it! It should work as cupcakes as well. 🙂
Annette
Greetings from India! Tried out the crazy cake this weekend and it turned out absolutely amazing! Thank you so very much for sharing this recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Annette! 🙂
lisa
I was skeptical at first but this cake is so good! If you hate overly rich cakes this is for you! Also it’s so easy. Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lisa! 🙂
Morgan
I made this cake out of pure curiosity (just because I really wanted to see how it turned out without all the “classic” ingredients). My family absolutely loved it – even my mom, who typically doesn’t like chocolate!!! The cake was so rich, moist, and delicious, and every single one of my family members went back for seconds (and thirds…;)). This is definitely going in my books as a favorite! Thanks so much for posting 🙂
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it, Morgan! 🙂
Liz Maher
your recipe says 1 tablespoon of vinegar but all other recipes for the same cake using the same ingredients say 1 teaspoon. Is it a mistake or did you find it needed more?
Sam
Hi Liz! 1 Tablespoon is correct! 🙂
Judy Triplett
OMG!! My Mom used to make this and called it “Finger Cake” because she mixed it with her hand! This was back in the 60’s and she got it from one of her card club playing friends. I have always loved this cake and got it out yesterday to make it for Memorial Day. Thanks for sharing!!
Sugar Spun Run
I love that! I am so glad that it could bring back so many wonderful memories for you, Judy! Enjoy! 🙂
Katie
Excellent and easy and just as delicious as a regular chocolate cake. We used to make this as kids, we called it Wacky Cake. The o my difference, is we would add a teaspoon of dry instant coffee; it takes it to the next level!! My daughter is vegan, so I made this cake for her birthday, and it was a hit. My husband hates chocolate cake, but he loves this one and ate half the cake 😂
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that it was such a hit, Katie! I hope that your daughter enjoyed her birthday cake and had a nice celebration. I am happy that you were able to find a chocolate cake that your husband enjoyed too. 😂Thanks for trying my recipe!
JB
Hi Sam,
I haven’t made the cake yet, but I definitely plan to share the recipe with one of my kids’ classmates mom. Her classmate is allergic to eggs and dairy and is thus limited in what he can share, food-wise. As I imagine, his enjoyment during classroom birthday parties is invariably a bit tempered as he is left with options like oreo’s and jello while everyone else has cupcakes. If this cake tastes half as good as it looks, I’m sure it will be a hit when school is back in session.
So for the above recipe, as well as the simple ingredient/easy to follow instructions with accompanying videos, useful tips, ingredient substitutions and responsiveness in your comments, thank you. We have various allergies in this house too, and are forced to make things from scratch to ensure food safety, for a bunch of things including cheesecake (every store bought cheesecake has a treenut warning) which I’ll try my hand at soon, too.
Sam
I hope everyone enjoys the cake! 🙂 I’m glad you have enjoyed the recipes and videos. 🙂
Amanda
I kind of had low expectations for this cake…could it really be that easy? And still be good? The answer is YES. This whipped together in a snap and was a hit!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed it and it exceeded your expectations, Amanda! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂