Chocolate Depression Cake - Wacky Cake - Retro Recipe Box (2024)

FAQs

What was depression cake made of? ›

Wacky cake is considered wacky not only because the recipe lacks any dairy or eggs but also because all the ingredients for this cake are mixed directly in the pan it is baked in. This recipe goes against the most popular methods for mixing cake batters, especially since there is no bowl or whisk necessary.

Depression Cake, also known as Wacky Cake or War Cake (among other names), originated in the Great Depression. It is a cake made without milk, eggs, or butter. These were all ingredients that were hard to come by during the Great Depression and at wartime.

Wacky cake, also called crazy cake, lazy cake, Joe cake, wowie cake, and WW II cake, is a spongy, cocoa-based cake. It is unique in that unlike many pastries and desserts, no eggs, butter or milk are used to make the cake batter.

A bizarre form of counter-magic, the witch cake was a supernatural dessert used to identify suspected evildoers. In cases of mysterious illness or possession, witch-hunters would take a sample of the victim's urine, mix it with rye meal and ashes and bake it into a cake.

Step 1: Look at the directions on the cake mix. Step 2: Add one more egg (or add 2 if you want it to be very rich). Step 3: Use melted butter instead of oil and double the amount. Step 4: Instead of water, use whole milk.

"You can use cake mix with an additional ingredient to make it taste moist and homemade: pudding. Adding an instant-pudding mix to your cake mix and altering the other ingredient amounts and bake time will produce a delicious cake--and no one will detect that it started with a mix.

Do professional bakers use box cake mix? ›

As a professional baker, I don't often use boxed mixes, but I appreciate how easily they bring a cake together. I think premade mixes are great for beginners gaining confidence around the kitchen and also for last-minute cake "emergencies."

Manufacturers like Pillsbury, Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker made their boxed cake mixes a few ounces lighter. Cake mixes that were once around 18 oz. were reduced to around 16 oz.

Yes, you can substitute milk for water when preparing SuperMoist cake mixes, however, the cake may be slightly drier than if prepared with water. Also keep in mind that milk will add calories and change the nutrition slightly.

Amongst the most common ingredients in medieval cake baking were honey, fruit, nuts, spices and cheese. These are all of course ingredients that we still love to see in our cake baking today. Nice to see that some things haven't really changed.

The cakes are usually filled with allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger or other sweet spices, raisins or currants, and before baking are topped with the mark of a cross to signify that these were alms.

During the Great Depression, ingredients like eggs and dairy were hard to come by, but it didn't stop people from making delicious sweets! Crazy Cakes replaced eggs with vinegar and baking soda which made the cakes airy and fluffy much like eggs do in our baking.

In 17th century England and New England, it was believed that a "witch's cake" had the power to reveal whether witchcraft was afflicting a person with symptoms of illness. Such a cake or biscuit was made with rye flour and the urine of the afflicted person. The cake was then fed to a dog.