There is nothing easier to make than a Deep Depression Cake. A cake that dates back to the Great Depression, it is easy to make, a moist and inexpensive cake that has an amazing flavor. Made without butter, eggs or milk, this cake was inspired during the Great Depression.
Our 5-Minute Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is perfect with this chocolate cake recipe.
Deep Depression Cake Recipe
While deep depression cake started back in the Great Depression, it doesn’t mean it isn’t still loved today. This cake has been a classic for years and for good reason. This cake is extremely easy to make. It requires only the pan you will be baking in and a fork. It couldn’t be easier. The ingredients are extremely inexpensive.
Why Is This Called a Depression Cake?
This cake was created during the Great Depression. The cake is made with no butter, no eggs, and no milk. This is because during the Great Depression these ingredients were hard to come by. Since it was hard for many families to have enough food, dessert was a treat. By making it as inexpensive as possible.
Can I Freeze This Chocolate Cake?
If you want to freeze this Depression Era Chocolate cake, it is easy to do. Once the cake is cooled, you can slice it into pieces. You can freeze the cake as a whole or in individual slices. You can freeze the cake frosted or unfrosted. If you are freezing the cake frosted, you might want to freeze it on a plate before wrapping it. This will prevent the frosting from sticking to the plastic wrap.
Ingredients You Will Need
(full amounts in recipe box below)
- All-purpose Flour
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Sugar
- Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt
- White Vinegar
- Vanilla Extract
- Vegetable Oil or Canola Oil
- Water
- Chocolate Frosting
- Rainbow Sprinkles
How to Make a Wacky Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 13×9 baking dish with butter.
Using the pan as a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Using a fork, whisk together the ingredients.
Make 2 small wells on the sides and one larger well in the center in the dry ingredients.
Pour the vanilla and vinegar in each of the small wells and then oil in the larger well. Don’t worry if it overflows.
Pour water over everything and whisk to combine thoroughly.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake is done. A toothpick will come out clean when it is done.
Cool the cake completely and frost the cake with your favorite chocolate frosting.
If desired, sprinkle rainbow sprinkles over the top.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Depression Cake - No Milk, Eggs or Butter
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Water
- Chocolate Frosting of your choice
- Rainbow Sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease an 13x9 pan with butter.
- In the greased pan, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Whisk lightly with a fork or small whisk to combine.
- Make two small wells on the sides and 1 large well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
- Pour the vinegar and vanilla into the small wells then pour the oil in the big well, if they spill over the wells that's perfectly okay.
- Pour the water over the top and whisk again to combine thoroughly.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool completely.
- Frost the cake with your choice of chocolate frosting. Our 5-Minute Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is wonderful with this cake!
- Optional; sprinkle rainbow sprinkles on top.
- Enjoy!
Last Step:
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140 comments on “Chocolate Depression Cake – No Milk, Eggs or Butter”
Very good. Moist. I use a TB of white vinegar.
Yes, supposed to be 1 TBSP vinegar.
We always called it Wacky cake. It is my husband’s favorite cake.
I’ve made this cake many times, last time was last week. So good. Very moist.
Why Kosher salt? You mean sea salt? I don’t mind a salt with a blessing, but what makes it so special?
Kosher salt has different size granules than other salts. You can use different salts but you may need to convert. For example a teaspoon of table salt is typically far more salt than a teaspoon of kosher salt because the granules of table salt are so small. Weight/mass measurements in baking avoid this tricky issue! It’s not important that the salt is blessed, but it is important information that the recipe writer used that particular type of salt and not another 🙂
I was happy to find this recipe. We made this when I was a kid as we did not have a lot of money. We loved it and I am excited to try it again. I love it with chocolate peanut butter icing on top.
My kids and grandkids love it when I bake it in ice cream cones!
Wow awesome idea ” baked in ice cream cones “. I’d love to try that. Any specific cone, directions ?? Share any details please. Want to try with my gbabies. Thank you in advance.
I grew up with this cake but in my family it was known as “Wacky Cake”. Would love to know what the frosting recipe is on the cake that’s pictured.
Hi Nikki! We used our Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
This looks so simple, I can hardly wait to try it…
This looks good.
This is BY FAR the only cake I have successfully made. And it tastes AMAZING ! I subbed the brown sugar for date sugar and it still tasted sooo good. I have sent this recipe to my grandma to try. My whole family loves it. This is definitely going to be my to-go cake. Thank you.
I grew up in the 50’s and I have always loved this cake. We always called it “Crazy Cake” You just throw it together, bake and eat it warm right out of the oven. Add Whipped cream or Ice Cream is also wonderful to serve with it. Its great frosted or un-frosted. Thank You for bringing the recipe back to life. Its been a long time. It sreally great when your low on groceries/baking ingredients. My mother always used apple cider Vinegar and table salt. Same-Same I guess.
We called it crazy cake
Yes, crazy or wacky cake. I like vanilla buttercream icing on it.
My mom called it Poor Man’s cake
To be honest we always used bacon grease, no one had oil!
I love this because it is VEGAN! Thanks for sharing and this showe that vegan doesn’t have to be expensive or uneasy! Cant wait to try it!
My mom makes this cake. Her recipe is called “One pan cake”. She tops it with cinnamon and sugar after cooling.
You say this Depression cake calls for no milk, eggs or butter, yet you say to butter the pan. Is there anything else to use to keep it authentic? Thank you!
Hi Angie, Use non-stick cookie spray!
Parchment paper
OMG is this good! I did not even put frosting on it just some cool whip. It was so moist, quick and easy to make. I used dark chocolate because thats what I prefer and mixed it in a bowl instead of the pan. I cant wait to try the spice cake version someone posted next.
My 4-H
ABC’s of Food cookbook from 1966 has this recipe. It’s named Funny Cake. I made it many times for my family when I was learning to cook.
My Mom always made a dessert passed down from her side of the family in Maine. It was called Funny Cake, but it was a pie crust with a cake batter poured in, then a chocolate sauce poured over, topped with chopped nuts. When baked, the chocolate sauce ended up between the cake and the pie crust. So good! I believe it is also known as Tollhouse Pie. ♀️
I’ve made this cake several times. I use an 8X8 square pan. Then this cake is thicker like a regular cake (just my preference). And I use vanilla buttercream. And this taste exactly like the chocolate cake w/white icing we had in school years ago.
Been making this for years, so easy so good.