Name: Wacky (Crazy) Cake with Chocolate Fudge Glaze
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Continental
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp salt; 1/3 cup cocoa powder; 2 cups cold water; 2 cups sugar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tbsp regular white vinegar; 3/4 cup vegetable oil; 1-1/2 cups sugar; 3 heaping tbsp cocoa powder; Enough almond or oat milk to moisten the sugar cocoa mixture; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 cup margarine, cut into chunks

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This Wacky (Crazy) Cake with Chocolate Fudge Glaze is a delicious chocolaty cake with a fudgy chocolate glaze that requires no eggs, butter or dairy.

The Origins of the Wacky Cake

Wacky Cake. Crazy Cake or War Cake or WWII Cake. Depression or Depression Era Cake.

Depending on where you grew up, you may have heard of one of these delicious cake recipes. I grew up with Crazy Cake, but whatever the name, it pretty much means a moist chocolate cake made with a few basic ingredients.

Best I can tell, the reason for so many names is that the origin of this delicious chocolate cake recipe is a bit murky. Most sources will link the original recipe back to either the Great Depression or the World War II Era. Either way, the Wacky Cake recipe has some unique characteristics for something using such basic ingredients.

In both cases, there was a distinct absence of eggs, butter and milk. So, people during these times had to get creative with their baking if they wanted cake for a delicious dessert.

The Basic Ingredients

There are a couple of things that really define a wacky cake recipe. One, (as mentioned above) is the absence of eggs and dairy. The second is the process of combining the wet ingredients and dry ingredients.

For the most part, people could get their hands on basic ingredients like all purpose flour, baking soda, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and regular white vinegar. These common ingredients are the base for the cake batter for a Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake recipe. I also know of some people who will add in a tsp of instant coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor.

Interesting Way to Combine Ingredients

So, the Great Depression and/or the World War II Era can account for why those basic ingredients were used, but what about the traditional way of combining and mixing those wet ingredients and dry ingredients?

The traditional Wacky Cake recipe will tell you to take all of the dry ingredients and put them into the cake pan you are using to bake that Crazy Cake. That’s when the “divot method” comes into play.

First, on the top of the cake, create three “divots” in the dry ingredients you just added to the cake pan. Put the vegetable oil in one divot, the vanilla extract in the second divot and the regular white vinegar in the third divot. Pour water over the top of the cake and stir everything together to create the cake batter right in the cake pan.

No separate bowl required! Your cake pan is your mixing bowl. Kind of a wacky way to bake!

The Wacky Cake Mixing Conundrum

My Wacky Cake recipe does veer a bit from the original recipe. I use a separate large mixing bowl to combine both the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients and create the cake batter. At that point, I will pour the cake batter into a prepared (cooking spray) cake pan.

I do this as I haven’t quite figured out how the Crazy Cake wouldn’t stick without a prepared cake pan. And, if you actually did use a prepared cake pan, how does whatever you used to prepare that cake pan not get stirred into the cake batter?

Until that Crazy Cake mystery is solved, I will use a mixing bowl for my Wacky Cake recipe separate from my cake pan. The cake pan versus separate mixing bowl question is probably best left to my baking blogger friends!

What I do know is that this is a great recipe. With a few wet ingredients and a few dry ingredients you can quickly pull together a delicious dessert (separate mixing bowl or not!).

Crazy Cake brings me back to my own childhood and hearing stories from my grandparents about what they endured during the Great Depression and World War II. It also reminds me of the recipe box every grandmother had where great recipe after great recipe was handed down generation to generation. Now time to make this Wacky cake recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called Wacky Cake?

One, it requires no eggs, butter or milk. Two, (if you want to) you can mix all the ingredients (wet ingredients and dry ingredients) in the same cake pan that you use to bake the cake. It goes against the rules of conventional baking, hence – wacky!

Is Wacky Cake vegan?

The cake itself is vegan and the glaze is vegan if you use margarine in place of butter and any non-dairy milk. This is also a great cake for anyone who has a dairy or egg allergy.

Why is Regular White Vinegar added to the cake?

Regular white vinegar is added because it creates a chemical reaction with the baking soda, which makes the cake rise and get fluffy. And trust me, you don’t taste any vinegar in the finished cake.

What makes Wacky Cake moist?

The vegetable oil in this classic recipe ensures a very moist cake.

Ingredients Needed for Wacky Cake

Full instructions can be found below in the printable recipe card

For Cake:

All purpose flour
Baking soda
Salt
Cocoa powder
Cold water
Sugar
Vanilla extract
Regular white vinegar
Vegetable oil

For Glaze:

Sugar
Cocoa powder
Almond or oat milk
Vanilla extract
Margarine

How to Make Wacky Cake with Chocolate Fudge Glaze

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a 9×13 cake pan with cooking spray.
Combine all of the cake ingredients (both the wet ingredients and dry ingredients) in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk together until smooth.
Pour cake batter into prepared cake pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before frosting.
While cake is cooling, prepare frosting.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cocoa and add almond or oat milk about 1 tbsp at a time until mixture is just moistened.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Turn heat off and add vanilla extract and margarine.
Continue stirring until margarine is melted and frosting has thickened. This will take several minutes.
Pour frosting over cake and spread evenly.
Allow cake to cool long enough to let the frosting set up before serving.

More Delicious Chocolate Desserts to Try

Yield: 12 servings