Chocolate Depression Cake (No Eggs, Milk or Butter)
This chocolate depression cake is made without eggs, milk or butter, and it still bakes up fudgy in the middle and soft on top, a lot like a from-scratch devil’s food cake. Everything is stirred together in one bowl and baked in an 8-inch pan in about 35 minutes, and there’s a good chance every ingredient is already in your pantry.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Chocolate Depression Cake
- Serves: 4 people
- Main Ingredients: all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, vinegar, vanilla extract
- Why You'll Love It: Featuring no dairy or eggs, this chocolate depression cake is both deliciously fudgy yet fluffy, like a devil's food cake made from scratch.
Cakes like this got popular during the Great Depression, when eggs, milk and butter were hard to come by, which is also why you’ll hear it called crazy cake or wacky cake. We like it plain as a snack cake, but it dresses up nicely for company too.
How do you make chocolate depression cake?
Stir together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Add 1 teaspoon vinegar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/3 cup vegetable oil and 1 cup water, and stir until combined. Pour it into a greased 8-inch pan and bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. No eggs, milk or butter needed.
Why This Cake Works Without Eggs or Dairy
When the vinegar meets the baking soda, the reaction gives the batter the lift that eggs would normally provide. Oil stands in for butter and keeps the crumb moist, and plain water lets the cocoa flavor come through rich and deep.
The one step I don’t skip is stirring the dry ingredients together first. I’m usually all about dumping everything in a bowl and going for it, but when the cocoa and baking soda are already spread through the flour, the batter turns smooth in just a few stirs.
Ingredients for Chocolate Depression Cake
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: All of the chocolate flavor comes from the cocoa, so use one you like the taste of.
- Vinegar: Plain white vinegar reacts with the baking soda to make the cake rise, and you won’t taste it once the cake is baked.
- Vegetable oil: I usually use refined coconut oil, which doesn’t have any coconut flavor, but any neutral oil works here.
- Cinnamon: Just half a teaspoon adds a little warmth behind the chocolate without making it taste like a spice cake.
You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card below.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Spray the pan before you start mixing. The vinegar and baking soda start working as soon as they meet, so the batter should go into the oven right after it’s stirred.
- Stir just until you can’t see any dry flour. A few tiny lumps will bake out.
- Start checking at 30 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
How to Make Chocolate Depression Cake
1Mix the Dry Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until it all looks evenly brown.
2Add the Wet Ingredients
Pour the vinegar, vanilla, oil and water right on top of the dry mixture.
3Stir the Batter
Stir until the batter is smooth and glossy with no dry pockets of flour left.
4Pour into the Pan
Pour the batter into the greased dish and spread it out to the corners.
5Bake
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6Serve Warm or Frost
Eat it warm right out of the pan, or let it cool completely before frosting. The day I took these photos, I spread a can of store-bought frosting over the top.
Frosting and Serving Ideas
For a cake that stays dairy-free, keep the topping simple with a dusting of powdered sugar. If dairy isn’t a concern, creamy chocolate frosting makes it taste like a classic frosted sheet cake, and old-fashioned peanut butter icing turns it into a chocolate and peanut butter treat.
For something light and marshmallowy, spread on a batch of foolproof 7-minute frosting, just keep in mind that it’s made with egg whites. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on a warm square is hard to beat, and on a cold night it’s perfect next to a mug made with homemade hot chocolate mix.
If you love a chocolate dessert made from pantry staples, my chocolate cobbler recipe with food allergy options is this cake’s gooey, spoonable cousin.
Chocolate Depression Cake FAQs
Can I bake this batter as cupcakes?
This batter bakes into lovely cupcakes. Fill lined muffin cups about three-quarters full and bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes, checking with a toothpick at 15.
Is chocolate depression cake dairy-free and egg-free?
The cake itself has no eggs, milk or butter. Just check your topping, since most store-bought and homemade frostings are made with butter or milk.
Does depression cake need frosting?
We usually eat it plain and warm from the pan, the way you’d serve a snack cake. Frosting is a nice extra for birthdays or when company’s coming.
Chocolate Depression Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch baking dish with a non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Add in the vinegar, vanilla, oil, and water, and stir until well combined. Pour the cake batter into the baking dish.1 teaspoon vinegar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup water
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Eat the chocolate cake warm or cool completely and frost, if desired.
I learned to make this in Home EC around 1973, in my recipe, you mix it in the pan, and instead of oil, the recipe I have calls for 1 stick melted Oleo, shows how old it is. It turns out really nice with Blue Bonnet margarine, different texture with butter. Thank you for giving everyone the recipe, I think it makes the best choc cake and reminds me a little of the chocolate mayo cakes. Love getting your recipes.
Thank you, Jeannie
Hey, Christy. I didn’t’ get a Meal Plan Monday this week. was wondering if one was sent out? Thanks.
Hey Teresa! oh goodness! I don’t think I hit send!!!! I’ll send it out tomorrow. Thank you for letting me know!
Hey!
In your directions you say bake at 350 15 to 20 minutes.
In the recipe it says bake 30 to 35 minutes. Which do I follow?
Thanks!
Susan
Sorry about that. I have a headache today and just went off my imperfect memory when writing the post and meant to go change it. It’s fixed now 🙂 30-35
Thanks for the clarification! I LOVE your recipes!
Hope you are feeling better.
Have a blessed day!
Susan
My grandmother would make this, and she called it Crazy Cake. She always used a glaze as the topping. Thanks for sharing.
thanks for sharing this.my mama made something similar but the recipe she had put all dry ingredients in a pan and then make two valleys in dry ing and add watter to one and cooing oil to the other and stir made a good cake.praying you and your family are staying well and safe and haven’t been hit by the recent tornadoes that went thru Alabama. have a blessed day Pat McCurry York s.c. p.s. I didn’t see you comment that Christ has risen.He has risen indeed.
My mom also made cake like this back in the 70’s, but topped it with chocolate chips. It was mixed right in the pan and we used the Coco packets not powder. So easy and so good.
This looks awesome & I can’t wait to try it!! I have a question, do you use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, or does it even matter?
Thanks for your great recipes and uplifting words!
I use apple cider vinegar.
Thanks so much Deb!!
I’ve had a taste for chocolate too, I was going to make a Black Magic cake but that’s a lot more work than this one. I have a can of vanilla frosting, any ideas on how much cocoa I might need to put in to make it chocolate?
Blessings, grace, and peace from rainy Dallas TX!
Mama Jane
Hey Mama Jane! I’d just use the vanilla icing as it is. I think it would be great!
Thanks so much, i wanted to make a chocolate cake recipe that won’t take time and i didn’t have enough flour. I made it yesterday , , fantastic , i ate almost half of it, i love it,thanks thanks God bless.
Oh I love seeing this recipe! It is a family favorite. When I was little my older sister and I would make this and eat the batter…who needs an oven. Hahaha. Thank you for sharing it. It’s a good night for a baked wacky cake. We had an amazing frosting with marshmallows that we put on it.
Oh Leigh I’m so glad and thank you for sharing your heartwarming and delicious memories with us! <3