A Kitchen Addiction

Chocolate Wacky Cake with Fudge Frosting

by 39 Comments

Chocolate wacky cake. Dense, rich, and loaded with chocolate! Also known as a “depression cake,” this cake contains no eggs, milk, or butter. It is also the first cake that I ever made from scratch.
It has become a tradition, starting sometime around my junior high years, that I make this cake for my mom’s birthday. When we were up at my parents this weekend, we had a belated birthday celebration for my mom, and I, of course, made this cake!

This recipe has been around for years, but I don’t actually know the original source of this exact recipe. In fact, when looking through my mom’s recipe box this weekend, I found a recipe from my grandma that was a little different than my mom’s.

The fudge frosting was a later addition, and I think it was originally called “No Fail Fudge Frosting.” That name fits. You can let it boil longer or shorter than the instructions, not beat it enough or too much, and you will still end up with a wonderful layer of fudge. Go ahead and give it a try!

Chocolate Wacky Cake with Fudge Frosting
Yield: 24 pieces

Ingredients

  • For the Cake
  • 3 C all-purpose flour
  • 2 C sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 C unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 2 C water
  • 3 tbsp canola oil
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • For the Frosting
  • 1 1/2 C sugar
  • 3 tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1/3 C milk
  • 1/3 C butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 9×13 cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. Sift together flour, sugar, salt, soda, and baking cocoa into a large bowl. If you have a small sifter, just whisk the dry ingredients together thoroughly. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, stir together wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until completely combined.
  4. Pour batter into cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove for oven to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. When cake is cool, prepare frosting.
  6. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, baking cocoa, milk, and butter. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
  7. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and beat until glossy and frosting starts to thicken.
  8. Pour frosting over the top and smooth across top of cake with the back of a spoon. Frosting will harden as it cools, so it is important that you work quickly.

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Comments

  5. I’ve never heard of wacky cake but anything without eggs or milk is good with me 🙂 and I love fudge frosting so this on my things to make list 🙂

    Reply

  14. This is one of my favorite cakes to make since my 4 y/o son is allergic to eggs. He LOVES chocolate, so this is usually his birthday cake! This recipe calls for a lot less oil, so I am going to give it a try the next time I make it.

    Reply

  25. Wacky cake brings back SO many memories for me! My sister always made me a pan full when I babysat for my nephew. Hers had some sort of amazing white glaze on the top though. Regardless, this looks AWESOME!

    Reply

  26. Are there really only 3 Tbsp oil in the cake? I use the same recipe (called Crazy Cake) but it calls for 3/4 cup oil!If I could get away with 3 Tbsp, that would be amazing!

    Reply

  27. This is one of my favorite cake recipes and have made it for over 50 years. The only difference is that my recipe calls for 3/4 cup oil and 2 tbls. apple cider vinegar. Try adding chocolate chips to the batter.
    Also, my recipe says not to bake in a round cake pan as the cake will not bake in the center. I have tried baking in the round cake pan, and the middle did not get done but if you bake cupcakes, they are OK.

    Reply

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