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!
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.
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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!
Einkorn Chocolate Cake
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 wholesome brand 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
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda, stirring to mix well.
- Add melted butter, vanilla, and lukewarm water. Mix until well combined.
- Add apple cider vinegar, stirring well to make sure there are no lumps in the batter.
- 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
- Combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Add vanilla extract and butter.
- Gradually add water, stirring well to combine until icing reaches the right consistency for spreading.
To Combine
- Allow cake layers to cool completely before removing from the pans.
- 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!).
- Pour the icing on top and spread as normal.
- If the icing has "set up" a bit before you get it on the cake, just stir well and it will be fine!
Notes
- You can sub coconut oil for any butter in the recipe.
Katie says
I have made several of your einkorn recipes and they are allwonderful! My question here is, if I will be making this with Navitas cocao powder, should I add more? You instructed me to do this on your brownie recipe and the results were amazing. Thanks!
Victoria says
Hi Katie! No, that brownie recipe was the only one that varies a bit based on cacao. The one you have will be great for this!
Diana says
Can I add eggs to this recipe ?
Victoria says
Hi Diana! You could add an egg, but the whole point of the recipe is to not need any eggs.
I would recommend making it without first, then adding an egg for a second batch if you decide you’d like to try that!
I hope that helps!
Melanie Schuchart says
Do you think I can cut sugar in half on the cake?
Victoria says
Hi Melanie! You should be able to without an issues, yes! Enjoy!
Naomi says
Do you ever use freshly ground einkorn berries in your recipes? That’s the kind of recipes I’m searching for, to avoid purchasing pre-ground flour when I already have the berries. I’ve been searching your site and don’t think I’ve seen any recipes with flour you milled yourself.
Victoria says
Hi Naomi! I believe I answered this question from you on a different post, but just in case it was someone else (or you didn’t see it), I’ll put it here too! <3
We do mill and use our own flour here, however, I use AP flour on the site because that’s what most people have. For subbing in WW, reduce the amount of flour by 25% :-)
I also have a modern wheat to einkorn conversion chart here for taking recipes not created for einkorn and turning them into either AP or WW einkorn recipes :-)
I hope that helps!
El says
Heyy is it possible that I can get this recipe in gramms? Where I live we use gramms and centimeters rather than cups or inches and I would just really like to try this cake.