Wacky Cake
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This may be one of the easiest cakes you'll ever make. The popular history of this cake dates back to the Great Depression of the 1930s. It's commonly called "Wacky Cake" and it is often made by Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts…along with many other people who agree it's delicious. It's called "vinegar cake" because it doesn't use eggs or milk. Baking soda and vinegar are combined in the cake as a leavener, to make the cake rise. And rise it does!
The original recipe from the 1930s says to use cold water rather than coffee; but using coffee gives the cake a richer flavor. It doesn't make your cake taste like coffee. Try it and see!
Pans needed: The video shows the cake batter being entirely mixed in a 10 inch cast iron skillet, but you may want to mix it in a large bowl and pour the bowl into a greased iron pan.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 cup cold coffee
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet with Crisco or shortening.
Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl (or cast iron skillet) and mix them all together: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt.
Add wet ingredients to the same bowl, and mix it all together: vegetable oil, vanilla extract, vinegar, coffee. Mix it into a thick and rich chocolate batter.
Pour the batter into the greased cast iron skillet. Place in preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes before removing from the iron pan.
Chocolate Glaze
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk
Melt butter and chocolate together in a saucepan. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. The powdered sugar and chocolate will combine very quickly with the liquid, and you only need a little bit! Stir and add milk, only a little bit at a time, until it becomes a smooth chocolate sauce. Pour over cake. Let everything cool and harden before serving. (I cut a piece before it had cooled – that's why the slice looks so uneven!)