Chocolate Depression Cake

This chocolate depression cake recipe is sometimes called chocolate crazy cake, chocolate wacky crazy cake. or chocolate surprise cake because it is made without eggs, milk, or butter. Which is surprising and sounds both crazy and wacky! The cake rises by using baking soda and vinegar, thus eliminating the need for eggs.

Depression as in The Great Depression, not depression as in “this cake will cure your depression.” Since a lot of us are experiencing ingredient shortages right now, I thought there was no better time to post this Chocolate Depression Cake (also known as Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake), which was also born out of a time when ingredients were in limited supply—The Great Depression. This unique cake is rich and chocolatey without using any eggs, milk, or butter. A cake without butter?? So “wacky,” I know. 

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water

For the frosting: