Since a lot of us are trying to cut our grocery bills where possible, I thought there was no better time to reshare this Chocolate Depression Cake recipe (also known as Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake), which was born out of a time when ingredients were in limited supply—The Great Depression. This unique cake is rich and chocolatey without using any eggs, milk, or butter and is made entirely with shelf-stable pantry staples. A cake without butter?? So “wacky,” I know.
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“I love this recipe! It’s so easy to make. It’s very delicious along with the frosting! This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe!”
Becky
Easy Recipe for Chocolate Depression Cake
Butter and eggs usually do some heavy lifting in cake recipes. Butter keeps cakes tender by coating the flour and slowing down gluten development, while eggs help with both leavening and structure. But here’s the magic of this chocolate depression cake: instead of butter, I use a neutral oil (whatever you have on hand works), which can achieve the same effect but with slightly less richness. And instead of eggs, I rely on a combo of vinegar and baking soda. The reaction between the two gives the batter a quick lift, making the cake light and fluffy.
So while this cake doesn’t contain any butter, it’s a damn fine treat when your cabinets are bare. Not to mention, it’s incredibly easy. Anyone can make this cake, and with very little cooking equipment or ingredients. For those two reasons alone, this is a good recipe to keep tucked in your back pocket (or your browser’s bookmarks). Also, it just happens to be vegan! It’s almost like a giant version of my chocolate mug cake if you’ve ever tried that. Anne Byrn’s 1917 apple sauce cake also uses a similar no-egg, no-butter style batter.
Chocolate Depression Cake (No Eggs, Butter, or Milk)
Servings 9 1 slice eachIngredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour ($0.27)
- 1 cup granulated sugar ($0.96)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 tsp baking soda ($0.02)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ($0.57)
- ⅓ cup cooking oil ($0.21*)
- 1 Tbsp vinegar ($0.06**)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.65)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
Chocolate Icing
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar ($0.48)
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ($0.42)
- 3 Tbsp water ($0.00)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.65)
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder until well combined.
- Add 1 cup water to a liquid measuring cup, then add the vanilla extract and vinegar to the water.
- Add the oil to the bowl of dry ingredients, followed by the water mixture. Stir until the chocolate cake batter is mostly smooth. Make sure no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the cake batter into an 8×8" or 9×9" baking dish. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the cake for 35 minutes.
Chocolate Icing
- If using the chocolate icing, let the cake cool for at least an hour after baking before adding the icing.
- Wait until the cake is cool, then prepare the icing. Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract to a bowl. Begin adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it forms a thick but pourable icing (about 3 Tbsp total). If you let the icing sit, it may begin to dry, but you can add a splash more water to make it moist again.
- Pour the icing over the cooled cake and spread until the cake is evenly covered. Slice the cake into 9 pieces and serve.
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Equipment
- Glass Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Cups Spoons
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Whisk
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Chocolate Cake with No Butter, No Eggs, and No Milk Step-by-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 350ºF.
Make the batter: In a large bowl, add 1.5 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder.
Stir these dry ingredients together until they’re well combined.
Measure 1 cup water in a liquid measuring cup, then add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 Tbsp vinegar (any light vinegar, like white vinegar, rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar).
Add ⅓ cup cooking oil and the water mixture to the dry ingredients.
Stir until a thick cake batter forms. A few lumps are okay, but make sure no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
Bake: Pour the cake batter into an 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish. You don’t need to grease the baking dish as the batter already contains plenty of oil.
Bake the cake in the fully preheated 350ºF oven for 35 minutes. If you plan to make the chocolate icing, cool the cake for at least an hour before making and adding the icing.
Make the icing: Add 1.5 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa, and 1 tsp vanilla extract to a bowl. Starting with 1 tablespoon water, stir in water until it forms a thick icing (about 3 Tbsp total). The powdered sugar only needs a very small amount of liquid to melt into a thick icing. If you let the icing sit for a bit, it can dry out but can be moistened again by stirring in another splash of water.
Pour the prepared icing over the baked and cooled cake, then spread into an even layer.
Serve: Cut the cake into nine equal pieces, then serve!
It’s also really good with a glass of milk or scoop of ice cream!
Recipe Suggestions & Variations
- Try stirring some chopped walnuts, pecans, or dried fruit into the batter before baking! Around ½ to 1 cup of add-ins should work out well. I also think chocolate chunks or chips would be delicious and would add extra sweetness to this otherwise subtly sweet cake (you probably won’t need the icing if you try this variation).
- Some readers have swapped in cooled coffee (instant dissolved in water or brewed) for the water in this recipe and loved it! It deepens the chocolate flavor without making the cake taste like coffee. If you’ve got a little leftover in the pot, it’s a great way to use it up!
- This cake definitely leans more moist and chocolatey than sweet, so if you’re after a sweeter bite, the icing really helps balance that out. You could even poke a few holes in the cake before adding the icing and let it soak in a bit.
Serving Suggestions
I made a super simple dairy-free chocolate icing to top my cake, but be aware that this type of dairy-free icing is super sweet because there is no fat to mellow out the sweetness. If you’re not into super sweet icings, I suggest skipping the icing and just dusting your cake with powdered sugar after it cools (if you do it while the cake is still hot, the powdered sugar will dissolve).
Or, if you’ve got butter on hand, you can go with a more traditional chocolate buttercream. Whipped topping or homemade whipped cream (added after the cake has cooled) would also be yum. And if you’re skipping the icing altogether? A warm slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is absolutely divine, as is a side of fresh fruit and homemade fruit dip. 🤤
Storage Instructions
You can store this dairy and egg-free cake at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. I’d keep it in an airtight container to stop it from drying out too quickly. You can also freeze the unfrosted cake for up to 3 months. If you want to add the icing, let your chocolate depression cake thaw and make the icing just before serving.
More Easy Cake Recipes
Our Chocolate Depression Cake recipe was originally published 4/10/20. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 6/28/25.
Can you swap out applesauce for the oil part? If so how much?
We haven’t tried it with this cake, but generally you should be able to do a 1:1 ratio! I will say, since the cake is also egg-free, it might be missing some fat if you do applesauce as well and no oil. Just something to keep in mind if it comes out on the dry side that way.
Cake was fabulous. My family devoured it.
Great recipe. I subbed doctored it up a bit. I used brown sugar instead of sugar. Almond milk instead of water. Added some cinnamon, honey, and dark karo syrup. Pour the icing on while hot. Delicious.
I made two of these- one in a square pan, then doubled the recipe and poured it into a Bundt pan. It was ready in 35 minutes! It was also easy to pop out of the Bundt pan. I had used oil spray. I had a different recipe for the frosting- peanut butter-cocoa sweetened with honey. (That was all I had). It calls for something looser and liquidy- maple syrup! I guess, I could’ve added one tablespoon of water to loosen it up some. But it was so good anyway. The cake was fluffy and moist. The frosting is delectable. Yum!!!! GREAT recipe!
OMg Delicious So Moist and this Chocolate Lover’s Favorite! Tyfs!🎊👏🏾👏🏾😁😋😋😋😁❤❤ It’s in my recipe box under the quick easy Delicious Chocolate Cake Banner!! I made the icing too Buttercream!!
To SAVE a bit MORE MONEY, you can decrease the amount of cocoa powder to 3 level TBL., and the recipe still comes out great. Honest.
(This saves 2 TBL and 1 tsp of cocoa powder each time. Cocoa powder will get even more expensive, so I wanted to pass this idea along.)
RE: Vanilla extract
There was a lot of damage done to vanilla orchid crops the last few years, so I personally no longer add vanilla extract to chocolate recipes, as vanilla is more expensive, and that’s before tariffs. I should experiment with other people’s ideas of subbing coffee for some of the water, though. That sounds great!
Our cost for cacao and vanilla have gone down quite a bit in the last few weeks.
Thank you very much for the additional money saving tips! 🥰
thumbs up
Oh, and I used 1 cup of McCafe espresso made in a Keurig coffeemaker, instead of plain water.
I made this cake today. I poured the batter into a loaf pan, and had added about 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts. I baked it 35 to 40 minutes at 350F. It was delicious! Next time, I will try it with the frosting!
This is the only cake I make for birthdays. I do sub coffee for the water. I’ve used both instant coffee, day old coffee or fresh. Always turns out.
This was surprisingly really good! I wanted to make something sweet but didn’t have the typical ingredients for a cake, so I opted for this recipe. It was so easy to make and turned out rich and fluffy. The icing isn’t my favorite, but I would just replace it with a normal frosting recipe. Totally will make again!
I love this recipe! It’s so easy to make. It’s very delicious along with the frosting! This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe!
This is an incredibly moist and delicious cake. It’s also the easiest cake I’ve ever made! It’s even easier than a cake mix! No sifting, no greasing the pan and no mixer needed! I served it to company, and they raved! This will be my go to desert when I want to serve something extraordinarily delicious with hardly any effort. In fact I’m going to bake it again for company in a few days.
Can you swop the sugar for splenda?
We don’t experiment with sugar alternatives so I’m not certain how it would turn out! I’m sure it would work but obviously it’s not going to taste quite the same.
Moist, delicious. This may be the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made. I can’t stop eating it! 😋