The “wacky” in the title refers to breaking all the rules of baking. Born out of necessity during the Great Depression, this cake swaps out the expected milk, butter and eggs—which were expensive and hard to find at the time—for water, oil and vinegar. And, yet, through some smart kitchen science, the cake still comes out fluffy, light and not a bit dry. You can mix up the batter right in the baking pan (no bowl required!) with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. This is a vintage hack that feels like a new classic.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 10 min |
| Yield: | 9 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups frosting or whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with vegetable oil.
- Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt through a fine-mesh strainer directly into the prepared baking pan. Stir together with a fork (or a silicone whisk if using a nonstick baking pan). Add the oil, vinegar, vanilla and 1 cup water; stir with the fork until fully incorporated. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Frost the top of the cake with the frosting, if using. Cut into 9 squares and serve each with a dollop of whipped cream, if using.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 9 servings |
| Calories | 273 |
| Total Fat | 11 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 40 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 23 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 10 mg |
| Sodium | 161 mg |
Reviews
I have not tried it yet, but I plan to. My family has made Chocolate Wacky Cakes for generations. I would mail it to my Brothers when they were in the service overseas. It would last up to two weeks! Greasing the pan is not needed with my recipe.
Best vanilla cake ever. My husband even likes it and he doesn’t like cake. Big win!!
I needed a fast cake to use up some super-dark chocolate frosting my sister had given me. This is a very simple recipe with no dairy (I love dairy) and easy to follow. Another review mentioned water was omitted and it is true that 1 cup water is not in the actual Ingredients list (it should be) but it is mentioned in the Instructions. I mixed and cooked this in a disposable 8×8 pan on 350 in a toaster oven for 30 minutes. The cake developed a slightly crunchy crust on top, which was a nice surprise that I liked. The rest of the cake was moist and airy. I covered with the super-dark chocolate frosting my sister had given me. It was all a wonderful combination. I will definitely make this again for company or pot-luck gatherings. My only personal dislike is using vegetable oil – maybe I will try to substitute unsweetened applesauce the next time.
I am making this for the second time in a little over a week and my husband and I both really like it. I took the suggestions that other people said and put a little extra splash of vanilla and I definitely used milk instead of water and it was very very moist although I kept thinking I was getting a little crunches from the sugar as if the sugar wasn’t cooking into it or it was a little too much sugar….. I’m not sure. I also made the very basic chocolate buttercream frosting to go on top and that combination is absolutely delicious. A very moist cake with good crumb with chocolate buttercream. ! How can that be wrong ?!
By the way, we used to make this when I was a kid in the ’60s and ’70s but I think we called it crazy cake or something like that and it included cocoa . We put the dry stuff in the bottom of the oiled pan and made deep wells for each of the liquids and once we got them poured in the wells then we mixed it together. I did that with this one both times as well.
By the way, we used to make this when I was a kid in the ’60s and ’70s but I think we called it crazy cake or something like that and it included cocoa . We put the dry stuff in the bottom of the oiled pan and made deep wells for each of the liquids and once we got them poured in the wells then we mixed it together. I did that with this one both times as well.
This cake lacked flavor even though I used extra vanilla, I think I’ll try it again subbing milk for the water.
For a variation to the vanilla cake add Hersey baking cocoa for a yummy chocolate cake or whoopie pies.
I make this as written. It is an excellent cake much better than those little box cakes. I like to vary the flavoring by using 1 tsp. Vanilla and 1 tsp. Almond extract or Coconut extract. Yummy.
I like to keep the dry ingredients premeasured in a ziplocked bag. When I need a quick dessert I can turn on the oven, grab the bag…sift the ingredients into the pan, add the liquids and I’m good to go. Excellent served with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh fresh fruit.
I like to keep the dry ingredients premeasured in a ziplocked bag. When I need a quick dessert I can turn on the oven, grab the bag…sift the ingredients into the pan, add the liquids and I’m good to go. Excellent served with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh fresh fruit.
Fast & Delicious!
When you need a cake in a hurry for unexpected company or you want something homemade but don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen this easy peasy cake is for you! It’s truly delicious! I used milk instead of water which makes it richer, and after it cooled dusted with confectioners sugar. Budget friendly and company worthy! This is a winner! No wonder why the recipe has been around for many years!
When you need a cake in a hurry for unexpected company or you want something homemade but don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen this easy peasy cake is for you! It’s truly delicious! I used milk instead of water which makes it richer, and after it cooled dusted with confectioners sugar. Budget friendly and company worthy! This is a winner! No wonder why the recipe has been around for many years!
Does anyone know if you could substitute gluten free all purpose flour for the regular flour and it would still come out ok?
I think they omitted the water. I added about a cup. We’ll see, fingers crossed.