Wacky Cake – Healthy Chocolate Cake Without Butter, Eggs, or Milk!
The readers of this blog love cakes, but not any random cakes: they love the ones I call “without anything”: without milk, without butter, without eggs, without flour, without this, and without that … it seems that most of my readers live with some type of food restriction, far beyond those of kashrut I abide because I’m Jewish.
For that reason, this week I decided to try another variation of “without this and that” cake which I had saved for some time, an American dessert called Wacky Cake. The recipe dates back to the times of the Great Depression, hence the scarcity of ingredients: it doesn’t contain any dairy, nor eggs, nor baking powder. Makes you wonder how it comes together to begin with. Yet, it is a soft, fluffy, airy cocoa-flavored cake, not too sweet, and perfect for vegans since it’s strictly free from dairy products and eggs, but also good for those who have decided to watch their waistline after the holidays.
Another perk of this recipe is that it belongs to another category of baked goods that I truly love: not only is it “without this and that”, it is also a “chuck it all in” type of cake, meaning, easy to prepare in minutes by stirring all the ingredients quite randomly, with a spoon, in a single bowl. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that if you are particularly lazy, you can even mix all the ingredients already inside a disposable cake mold instead of in a bowl, so when you are done, you will only have one spoon to wash!
At this point I would say that you have no excuse: gather the ingredients from your pantry and try it immediately!
Wacky cake, a healthy chocolate cake without butter, eggs, or milk!
Ingredients
- 180 g all-purpose or whole-wheat flour (see notes for gluten free)
- 3.5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
- 200 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 tbsp sunflower or peanut oil
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 365°F and cover a round or square cake pan with parchment paper (I have not tried a bread pan, but muffins work if you want mini cakes).
- In a bowl mix the dry ingredients, then make a well in the middle and pour the vinegar, vanilla extract, and oil.180 g all-purpose or whole-wheat flour, 200 g sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 pinch salt, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 5 tbsp sunflower or peanut oil, 3.5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
- Pour in the water and mix well with a spoon, until a smooth and thick batter, comes together. Get rid of all lumps by stirring thoroughly.1 cup warm water
- Transfer the cake batter to the previously prepared pan, and cook in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. If you are not sure whether the cake is done, test it with a toothpick, but do not over-bake it, as it might turn out too dry.
(*) for our friends with Celiac disease: I tried making this cake with a gluten-free, prepared flour mix by Schär, and it worked perfectly.