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1930’s Einkorn Chocolate Cake

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This chocolate cake recipe originates from the Great Depression, when such things as eggs and milk were scarce. Unlike most chocolate cake recipes, it calls for neither! Also known as a Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake, this egg and milk free einkorn chocolate cake is perfect for those with allergies!

chocolate wacky cake with chocolate buttercream icing

I’ll never forget the first time I made this cake. It was August of 2014 and my husband’s birthday was coming up that Sunday. He came into the kitchen the day before his birthday to ask for a chocolate cake.

Sure, no problem! Usually I make this vanilla cake with buttercream, but hey, you want chocolate then you’re getting chocolate!

I told him “Absolutely!” and went to the fridge to gather the ingredients. Only one problem… I of course had zero milk on hand, and not a single egg in the house!

This wouldn’t have been such an issue if we were able to drink pasteurized milk, but we can’t. And since the raw dairy we frequent is a 2 hour round trip, I had to go in search of a no milk chocolate cake recipe.

RELATED: How to freeze milk

Chocolate Wacky Cake

After what seemed an eternity, I finally found it. The Holy Grail, as it were… I had to wade through quite a few recipes on Pinterest before finding this gem – A Depression Era Dark Chocolate Cake.

I was so excited to see that not only was it milk-free, it was also free of eggs and butter!! Talk about a cheap cake! After looking at the ingredients I did end up opting to use butter instead of vegetable oil. But you can use oil or coconut oil if you prefer.

Armed with this new recipe, I took another look at my kitchen and found that I had all the ingredients on hand and was able to whip this together in just 30 minutes, including the icing!

With the recipe calling for Apple Cider Vinegar, I was a little worried that it wouldn’t be as tasty as if I had just made a regular ol’ chocolate cake… However, my worries were for nothing! This is honestly, THE. BEST. Chocolate. Cake. I’ve EVER HAD!

It’s incredibly moist and unbelievably chocolaty!! Plus, it ended up being SUPER CHEAP! Which, on our budget is a big deal.

All totaled this cake cost a whopping $4.00! Talk about savings, and with all real ingredients too! Try it today, I bet you have all the ingredients… and it’s ready in only 30 minutes! You WILL NOT be disappointed!

Check out this video for an overview, and then print the recipe below that!

This chocolate cake recipe originates from the Great Depression, when such things as eggs and milk were scares. Unlike most chocolate cake recipes, it calls for neither! Also known as a Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake this egg and milk free chocolate cake is perfect for those with allergies!
5 from 7 votes
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Einkorn Chocolate Cake

Easy and delicious chocolate wacky cake recipe from The Great Depression. Egg-free, dairy free, and can be made with any wheat flour!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Wacky Cake
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 2 9 inch round cakes

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 3 cups Einkorn flour (or any wheat)
  • 2 cups cane sugar
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 6 Tbs cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup salted butter melted
  • 2 tsp homemade vanilla extract
  • 2 cups room temperature water
  • 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

For the Icing

  • 3 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar (I used the kind that doesn't have cornstarch)
  • 1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup salted butter
  • 1 tsp homemade vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup water

Instructions

For the Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda, stirring to mix well.
  3. Add melted butter, vanilla, and lukewarm water. Mix until well combined.
  4. Add apple cider vinegar, stirring well to make sure there are no lumps in the batter.
  5. Pour batter into cake pans and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the Icing

  1. Combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add vanilla extract and butter.
  3. Gradually add water, stirring well to combine until icing reaches the right consistency for spreading.

To Combine

  1. Allow cake layers to cool completely before removing from the pans.
  2. Stack one on top of the other (I didn't add an icing layer between the two cakes, but you definitely could... I just forgot!).
  3. Pour the icing on top and spread as normal.
  4. If the icing has "set up" a bit before you get it on the cake, just stir well and it will be fine!

Recipe Notes

You can sub coconut oil for any butter in the recipe.

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Comments

  1. Oh, what a delight ! Who can resist that wonderful looking cake ?! I MUST try it !
    Thank you for the recipe and beautiful pictures.

    Reply

  2. This recipe is very similar to an old war time (WW2) recipe. We both have some gluten issues (not severe) and use einkorn flour only. Thanks for this recipe!

    Reply

    • Yes! You’re right! I found a depression era recipe and modified it a bit. I love it!

      I’m so glad you found einkorn flour for your family. It has been so amazing for mine! I hope you check out some of the other einkorn recipes I have on here. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

    • I noticed it is listed as a depression era cake. Butter is dairy, so what did it originally call for? Would like to try it but need it dairy free.

      Reply

      • Hi Hannah! As listed in the recipe notes, coconut oil can be used instead to make it dairy free. The original recipe called for butter, even though it was a depression era recipe. Butter has a longer shelf life than milk and was (apparently) more readily available. But anyway, for us nowadays, we can sub in coconut oil! Enjoy!

        Reply

  4. is it baking soda or powder? ive never seen a reference to aluminum free soda so wanted to clarify. thanks!

    Reply

        • Right, I had mistakenly said “aluminum free baking soda” because I’m used to typing “aluminum free baking powder”. The recipe calls for baking soda, not powder. The recipe is updated and this is a very old comment.

          Sorry for the confusion 🙂

          Reply

    • Just to be aware, if you are dairy free, butter is a milk product that can cause big problems for those with this sensitivity!

      Reply

      • Hi Debbie! Great point, and one that I am very aware of 🙂 Please note the recipe note, it offers coconut oil as a dairy free option that works perfectly in this recipe. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to hear from you again!

        Reply

  12. Decided to make this cake for our 4th of July cookout and it did not disappoint despite the substitutions I made. I am going to be mentioning you and your fabulous blog tonight when I publish my post on it! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  13. I looked at the recipe link for the Depression-Era chocolate cake and am wondering if the amount of butter in your cake batter is a typo? The original recipe calls for 12 Tablespoons (3/4 cup) of coconut oil, melted, Your recipe calls for 1-1/2 CUPS of butter, which is 24 tablespoons. That seems like quite a jump! Did you perhaps mean 1-1/2 STICKS of butter? That would be 12 tablespoons and in my mind an equivalent to the oil. However, I don’t cook with coconut oil, so I’m not sure if the ratios are different. Could you advise, please?

    Reply

    • Hi Valerie! I just updated this recipe last week with a new system, and I just typed cups instead of sticks! I’ve changed it to 3/4 cup to avoid confusion.

      Thanks for letting me know! I have actually made it with 1 1/2 cups of butter and it just makes it incredibly rich and moist… so either way (or any where in between) will be delicious! I hope you try it!

      Reply

  14. This looks awesome and will try it this week. I did note when reviewing the recipe in the ‘To Combine’ heading, Step 1 Has an error, I believe. It states ‘Allow cake layers to cook completely before removing’ … I am assuming that s/b ‘cool’ completely. Not a biggie, I just noticed it. Thanks for a remarkable looking and sounding cake, It’s so nice to have a recipe that doesn’t require a special trip to the market, everything is in the pantry!

    Reply

    • Hi there! Thanks so much for catching that typo! I will change it right now 🙂 Let me know what you think of it! It’s sure a favorite around here!

      Reply

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