Julie Clark
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Crazy Cake Recipe
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This chocolate cake recipe doesn’t use any milk, eggs, or butter. It only uses pantry ingredients. Chocolate crazy cake sweet, delicious, and easy to make!
Today we’re once again bringing you an easy, pantry staples dessert recipe. This chocolate cake is termed “crazy” because of its ingredients and the way it is mixed. It’s also been termed “wacky cake” or “funny cake”.
It’s an old fashioned classic recipe that is a MUST for your recipe box. It’s light, it is fluffy and full of chocolate flavor. Plus, it makes just a small 8×8 cake…perfect for snacking! We have a spiced crazy cake for you to love, too!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Reader Linda says, “This was, and IS one of my favs! Especially with brown sugar choc frosting. And don’t worry about freezing the leftovers….there won’t be any! In fact, you may want to hide a piece (for later!) And sometimes, there is no time to make frosting, but love it with vanilla ice cream!!!”
What is the meaning of crazy cake?
Chocolate crazy cake is an easy homemade cake recipe that became a popular depression era acke. It has no eggs, no milk and no butter. And to make it even simpler, you mix the cake ingredients right in the baking pan. That’s right…no extra dishes!
The original depression cake doesn’t include chocolate chips, but I thought it was a nice addition and something that people normally have in their pantries. This chocolate cake still tastes amazing without the added chocolate. But really….who ever complained about too much chocolate?
In today’s world, it’s a go-to cake recipe when stores are running out of eggs left and right, (or we just can’t make it to the grocery store in time). It’s also one of the best birthday cake recipes I’ve found for kids with egg or dairy allergies.
What is wacky cake made of?
This whacky cake has no milk, eggs or butter. So as kitchen supplies and baking ingredients run low, this cake recipe is for you!
You’ll need an 8×8 baking dish plus the following pantry items:
- Flour. All purpose is fine.
- Sugar. Only white sugar.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder. I used dutch processed cocoa powder, but you can use the regular cocoa powder and it will work just as well for this recipe. If you want an extra dark cake, use a small amount of black cocoa powder along with the regular cocoa powder. (This is what I used in the video below, so you can see both colors in the cocoa powder cup.)
- Salt.
- Baking soda.
- Mini chocolate chips. I prefer using the mini chocolate chips because they are less likely to sink to the bottom during the baking process. If you don’t have mini chocolate chips available, you can chop up semi-sweet chocolate chips (use a food processor) or leave them out completely.
- Vanilla extract.
- White vinegar. Vinegar is a fairly common ingredient in baking because it helps create a chemical reaction with the other ingredients. In this case, the vinegar reacts with the baking soda creating the lift needed for a light and airy cake. The distilled vinegar works like a charm! Use apple cider vinegar or even lemon juice as a substitute.
- Vegetable oil. Or try melted coconut oil. Yum!
- Water.
How to Make Crazy Cake
- Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
- Place flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and chocolate chips into an ungreased 8×8- inch pan. (In the video, I fold in the chocolate chips after the batter is mostly mixed. You can mix the cake either way you’d like, just don’t over mix.)
- Stir all the dry ingredients together and make a well in the center of the pan.
- Pour vanilla, vinegar, vegetable oil, and water into well and whisk together until just combined. Do not overmix. It’s okay to have some lumps.
- Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake completely and then frost.
Recipe Variations
- Use coffee instead of water. We love coffee in chocolate cake. You can’t taste the coffee, but it really enhances the chocolate flavor. You can use a strong coffee in this cake, but feel free to use water, too. So crazy cake with coffee is a big yes.
- Add nuts. Finely diced walnuts, pecans or even almonds would be a great addition.
- Add other flavored chips. Think butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or toffee bites.
Frosting for Crazy Cake
There are many different options for topping this chocolate crazy cake. Here are some of our favorite ideas:
How long can I store my cake?
Your crazy chocolate cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 5-7 days in an airtight container. If your frosting contains butter, you may want to consider placing it in the refrigerator, but it’s not entirely necessary.
Can you freeze this crazy cake? Yes! This cake also freezes well. You can freeze your crazy cake for up to 3 months in the freezer for best quality.
Other Recipes to Love
Here are a few other unique baking recipes to try:
Crazy Cake Recipe
This chocolate cake recipe doesn't use any milk, eggs, or butter. It only uses pantry ingredients. Chocolate crazy cake sweet, delicious, and easy to make!
Servings 9
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 195 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 27 grams
- ½ teaspoon salt 3 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 5 grams
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips 194 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 grams
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar 13 grams
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 cup water (or strong coffee for enhanced chocolate flavor) 8 ounces
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate frosting (Use store bought frosting or your own favorite chocolate frosting.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
- Place flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and chocolate chips into an ungreased 8×8 inch pan. (In the video, I fold in the chocolate chips after the batter is mostly mixed. You can mix the cake either way you'd like, just don't overmix.) 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- Stir all the dry ingredients together and make a well in the center of the pan.
- Pour in the wet ingredints: the vanilla, vinegar, vegetable oil, and water into well and whisk together until just combined. Do not overmix. It’s okay to have some lumps. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar ⅓ cup vegetable oil 1 cup water
- Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cake completely.
- Frost with your favorite frosting or dust with powdered sugar. 1 ½ cups chocolate frosting
- Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 9 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of frosted cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 490kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 336mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg
This tastes very good I put peanut butter frosting on it (linked in this article) and it was very good I will be making this again.
My 10 year old granddaughter made this as a birthday cake for her dad (with a little supervision from Nana). She said it was the best chocolate cake and frosting she had ever eaten. (And her daddy agreed!)
This is the best and easiest chocolate cake I have ever made. I topped it with Lizzy T’s chocolate frosting and it is the perfect fit. My husband’s eyes widened to two plates when he tasted it, this is better than store bought cakes and without any additives, too! Keeps nicely in the fridge and softens again after a short while in room temperature.
This was, and IS one of my favs! Especially with brown sugar choc frosting. And don’t worry about freezing the leftovers….there won’t be any! In fact, you may want to hide a piece (for later!) And sometimes, there is no time to make frosting, but love it with vanilla ice cream!!!
For the icing, I would like a recipe where the icing gets somewhat firm, not gooey. Which of the recipes listed (or other) would you recommend?
This is not a crazy cake. It has been around since the depression. When their were rationing food. My family has been making this cake for close to 50 years.
sounds great …fast and easy ..kids will love ..we had one where we poked holes in it …don’t remember much other than the kids loved the poking the wholes in it ..but sounds a lot like it but no vinegar …can’t wait to try i think it will be great …thank you for a great easy recipe…
Can you use sugar substitute?
Can I use gluten free flour?