Make this Depression Era Crazy Cake Recipe with Pantry Ingredients (2024)

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!

What is 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.

Chocolate Crazy Cake Ingredients

This 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!
• Vegetable oil. Or try melted coconut oil. Yum!
• Water.

How to Make Crazy Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees 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.)

• 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.

Frosting for Crazy Cake

There are many different options for topping this chocolate crazy cake. Here are some of our favorite ideas:

• chocolate buttercream
• vanilla buttercream
• strawberry buttercream
• powdered sugar
• powdered sugar glaze
• peanut butter frosting
• caramel frosting
• cream cheese frosting
• coconut pecan frosting

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 cake? Yes! This cake also freezes well. You can freeze your crazy cake for up to 3 months in the freezer for best quality.