Wacky Cake
Chocolate cake with a simple vanilla frosting – this “wacky cake” recipe, which uses no butter, eggs or milk, was popular during WWII when rationing was prevalent.
Last month, I made Chocolate Dump-It Cake, which is a one-pot cake recipe dating back to the 1930’s or 1940’s, and it has quickly become one of the most popular recipes I’ve shared recently. A reader left a comment on that post about “wacky cake”, and another reader, Nancy, emailed me her family’s recipe for this one-pan, light-as-air chocolate cake.
The premise of the cake – the reason it’s “wacky” – is that there is no butter, no eggs and no milk in the cake. Everything is mixed together right in the pan, using only a fork. After doing some reading, I found that this was a popular recipe during World War II because of the rationing of those ingredients. Those ladies knew what they were doing, because this is a phenomenal cake! My family couldn’t believe the cake lacked all of those typical cake ingredients, and happily devoured it, commenting over and over about how delicious it was.
This cake really could not be any easier to throw together – grab your favorite 8-inch square baking dish, put all of the dry ingredients in there and mix together with a fork.
Then, make three wells and add the vinegar, vanilla extract and oil into each… Pour water over the entire mixture and stir with a fork until well combined.
Voila! Ready for the oven!
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Nancy’s recipe said to top the cooled cake with your favorite vanilla frosting, so I did just that. It’s my standard vanilla that I use for any vanilla-topped cupcakes (like the homemade funfetti cupcakes); I was running low on vanilla extract, so I used vanilla bean paste in its place, and oh my! The flavor and all of those little bean specks – loved it!
The reviews were unanimous among my family – everyone loved the cake. It turned out wonderfully light, moist and full of chocolate flavor; the vanilla frosting was a great contrast and a big hit.
This recipe deserves to be in everyone’s recipe box – it’s so easy, super quick, and makes a wonderfully delicious chocolate cake suitable for any dessert occasion!
Watch How to Make Wacky Cake:
One year ago: Dark Chocolate Chip & Walnut Banana Bread
Five years ago: Peach Cobbler
Seven years ago: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Wacky Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 4 tbsp (4) (rounded) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
For the Vanilla Frosting:
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In an ungreased glass or ceramic 8-inch square pan (do not use metal), add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, and stir to combine with a fork.
- Make three wells in the mixture and to those wells add the vinegar, vanilla extract and vegetable oil. Pour the water over the entire mixture and mix with a fork until thoroughly combined and no dry ingredients remain.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 26 to 30 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the Vanilla Frosting: Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Using a spatula, spread the vanilla frosting evenly over the top of the cake. The cake can be stored, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature, for up to 4 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
My 3yo insists on cupcakes for her birthday. I want to use this recipe as her sister cannot have dairy. Have you or anyone ever baked this recipe as cupcakes? Advice on cooking time/temp? 350 for 15ish minutes??
Thanks!
I Have made this as cupcakes most all of the time. I makes a generous 10. You can also frost with chocolate frosting made by melting chocolate chips in the micro with half and half slowly checking periodically and stirring until spreadable.
Too much salt! Please update the recipe to reflect this. 1/2 tsp is what’s needed. Every time I make this recipe I forget there’s a typo and add the whole teaspoon of salt which tastes awful. Do I throw it away and start over. :(
Speaking of typos….😄
**So I throw it away….
Love this recipe we have a few minor tweaks to ours, but its the first thing anyone in my family has learned how to cookall by themselves. My grandmother at 9, dad as a 10 year old, myself at 10, my brother at 8!
I have made this cake for years, I have always made Chocolate Pudding instead of frosting.
Especially good when the Pudding is still warm.
Interested in trying this for my son’s birthday; he and his wife are vegan. What could I do for a yummy frosting? They don’t use butter or milk, but they love coconut oil. Any ideas?
Hi Patti, You could get a can of cream of coconut and whip it to make coconut whipped cream! If you google it, there are tons of tutorials for doing it. I hope they enjoy it! :)
Oh my goodness!!! My mom used to make this cake YEARS ago and I loved it! This recipe was absolutely just as fabulous as I remember!!!!!! Thank you!! Easy and super delicious!
My mom made this for years for our birthday cake.
Some other simple topping thats good instead of frosting, is Cool Whip! A yummy ,easy
ready made alternative. Good memories, great cake !
As a child we were served wacky cake every Thursday at school. It was by far the favorite lunch day. Chili Beans, Cornbread, and Wacky Cake. Everyone from that city remembers the incredible wacky cake.
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Me too! We had this in elementary school and Ive been looking for it ever since! I had no idea what it was called though, I just kept googling school lunch chocolate cake with white frosting.
Oh man I was just sharing this same thought !
Thanks for this great recipe for vegan chocolate cake. I have tried many of your recipes and all turn out perfect. Can you please post a vegan vanilla cake recipe? Thanks in advance..
Could I use sweetened cocoa and just half the amount of sugar?
Hi Casi, I’ve never used sweetened cocoa so I’m unsure how much sugar content it has, and how it might affect the reaction with the leavening ingredients.
Thanks so much for this great recipe. I am nearly 80 YO & have made this cake since I was a child. I have ALWAYS used a metal pan & never experienced a problem w/taste, etc. This is the first time I have ever heard of using a glass pan because of taste, etc.
When I moved to AL in 2010 I lost 99% of all my recipes & cook books. So I am very appreciative to the internet & your site for helping me recover a favorite recipe.
I used PERO (a coffee sub.) instead of water in the cake I just made. Thanks & XOXOXOXOXOX
I just pulled the wacky cake out of the oven & will frost is w/my favorite choc frosting: 2 T cocoa, 2 T melted butter, 2 T hot strong coffee (or PERO in my case) & enough sifted confectioners sugar to make a good icing. Many, many thanks again!
Thanks so much for the comment, I’m so happy you found the recipe. Your frosting sounds delicious!
I saw this post while doing some extra searching on wacky cake recipes to answer my daughter’s question on if there were really any recipes out there with distinct variations. I thought you’d like to know that another name for this cake is Depression Cake because of it’s start during the Great Depression, which firmly puts its beginning in the 1930s. This is certainly the most decadent way to work around a lack of ingredients!
I made this cake last night. I let it sit overnight. When I looked at it this morning the middle of the cake sunk. What did I do wrong?
Hi Janet, The most common reason for the center sinking is that it wasn’t baked completely when it came out of the oven.
I have made this cake for years and it’s a family favorite. I have more consistent results when I sift the dry ingredients together to remove any clumps of cocoa and baking soda and mix it in a bowl with a whisk to remove lumps. I also use 1/4 cup cocoa which is easier to measure than 3 heaping tbsp. (about the same amount). I bake it in a 9-inch square pan or a paper lined muffin tin (for less time) and really check the middle for doneness before removing it from the oven. Frosting is certainly great and I sometimes add chocolate chips or nuts without adding frosting or just top it with powdered sugar. I’ve also played with other variations with good results (basic formula, omit cocoa and add back 3 tbsp. dry ingredients using flour and/or spices) or substituted fruit juice for some or all of the water and exchanging different extracts for the vanilla.
We used to make this cake when I was a kid. This recipe is great except for the salt. 1 tsp is way overpowering. I’m wondering if the tsp of salt is a typo. All other recipes I looked at called for 1/2 tsp.
I’ll try it again with the adjustment and see what happens.
I agree. My recipe for this cake uses 1/2 tsp. salt.
Amazing recipe, thanks for sharing! Because I don’t have glass ir ceramic pans, I sifted the dry ingredients a few times over, and made the wells in a bowl, then whisked in the water. My substitutions were: brewed coffee in place of vanilla extract and a simple ganache in place of frosting (with no powder sugar or vanilla). This was the perfect quick recipe for a dessert craving!
Has anyone ever doubled the recipe and then used a glass 13×9 inch pan vs. a square 8×8 inch? If so, what if any modifications to the recipe may be necessary to achieve the same wonderful result?
The recipe handed down from my grandmother IS doubled from what is on line. Just double every thing.
I have been making this cake for around 112 years now. My son is allergic to Eggs and all dairy products. A girlfriend gave me the recipe to make a birthday cake he could actually eat. NO ONE ever believes me that it has no egg’s in it! It is the best and all the ingredients are staple items in the pantry….. Easy to always have everything you need to wip this little number up.
My 18 year old nephew made this cake, his first Brown Eyed Baker cake and my sister sent us a piece. He made it because he loves all things military and you had said it was a WWII cake. It was delicious and so I made it, too. Thanks!!
I made this cake last week and it was great! I was searching for a vegan cake for a friend’s bridal shower and this was perfect. Since she’s vegan I made a different frosting using melted chocolate chips and coconut milk as a ganache. It was a huge hit!
I doubled the recipe and used coffee in place of water and felt that it slightly intensified the chocolate flavor.
Will there be a problem if I bake it in a metal pan??
I mentioned in an above comment that that the original author of the recipe said that the vinegar in the recipe can react with a metal pan, she said she would get a thin sludgy layer on the bottom of the cake when using a metal pan. Hope that helps!
My family fights over that “thin sludgy layer” left on the bottom of the metal pan. It’s the most moist part of the cake!
I made this cake for my birthday this week. I didn’t ice it, but served it with powdered sugar and fresh sliced strawberries. It was amazing!
Hi. So I made the cake with whole wheat pastry flour and think that’s why it didn’t stay as high as it was right outnod the oven but it was very easy and tasty. At an attempt to be more health conscious I halved the frosting and was short a stick of butter so made up the difference with coconut oil. OMG it was awesome!!!
Love your site and recipes. Have a great weekend!
In our family it is called a Screwball Cake. The recipe filled a 9 x 13 pan or made 30 cupcakes, just about double yours. It is a great starter cake for children to “help” make. Instead of three holes, make a smiley face–the eyes are for the vanilla and vinegar, the mouth for the oil. Applesauce can be substituted for half the oil without compromising the quality or taste.
What a great idea…making a face!
I’m going to try this recipe using GF flour, may increase the baking soda. Guessing it may turn out very dense, as it will lack elasticity.
My mom has been making this cake my entire life! She always uses a brown sugar frosting.
Hi Lori I’ve never heard of a brown sugar frosting. How does she make it?
I just made this cake and subbed milk for water and used less sugar in the frosting and it was absolutely delish!! My favorite part was the one dish and how super easy it was to make. Thank you!
I’ve been making this cake for at least 40 years ever since I learned to bake. But I never knew it’s origin just that it was my grandmothers recipe. She was a Rosie the riveter during the war.
This is a great cake and a staple in our house. I found the cake out if necessity because of food allergies ( needed egg, peanut, tree nut and milk free recipes until my child outgrew the egg and milk allergies). This was my go to for a treat that we could all enjoy. I always mixed it in a bowl and baked either in a pan or as cupcakes. My kids still prefer this to other cake recipes!
I just made this today. When I went back to frost it, it had sunk. Badly. I’m a pretty experienced baker and can’t figure where I went wrong. Any ideas? BTW it does taste great!
Hi Patty, The most common reason that cakes sink in the middle is that it’s not cooked the entire way through. I would be sure that’s it’s thoroughly cooked in the middle. Other reasons could be old baking soda, oven temperature that isn’t correct, and letting the batter sit for too long after mixing, before baking.
oh my gosh happy memories indeed! this is the first cake my Mum ever taught me to make! Wacky cake rocks!
we always had it with a rich chocolate fudge topping, being lactose intolerant was never a problem as we were always asked to bring a wacky cake to any party we were invited to!
so happy to have the recipe again, i never got the recipe from my Mum.
many thanks Nikki x