Crazy Cake

Also known as 'Depression Cake' because it was popular during the depression era.  But, this cake is anything but depressing!  I've made this twice now, and it is really good.  It's Henry Friendly, which means there is no egg or dairy in it.  I've tried other dairy and egg free recipes before and haven't really been that impressed.  This is something I'll be baking up whenever a need for cakes arise - and will soon be freezing a bunch of these in cupcake form just to have on hand.

Here's what you need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup cooking oil (vegetable will do...  I used Olive Oil)
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups cold water

Pretty basic ingredients.  The process is simple too.  First, put all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk until well blended.  You can also do this directly into a cake 9x13 cake pan, but when I did it that way, I found mixing such a large area tedious.  And also, mixing it in a bowl gives me the freedom to use different pans / muffin tins.

Next, make three wells.

Pour the oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract each into their own wells.

Vinegar seems like an odd thing to add, but I promise, you can't taste it once it's mixed in.  You need it to help it rise properly.

Now pour the water over it all, and mix it together.

Pour into your cake pan.  I chose to line mine with parchment paper because I wanted to take the cake out of the pan to decorate.  Also, cleanup is a snap.  You can opt to use cooking spray or nothing at all if you plan on just slicing it from the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes a toothpick (or wooden chopstick in my case) inserted in the center comes out clean.

Yeah, I had to poke mine a few times.

Allow to cool thoroughly and decorate as desired!
I made this cake yesterday, and in honor of Valentine's Day, I chose strawberry frosting.  It was super yummy.  The kids loved it.

I'm not a professional cake decorator.  Just make it and eat it.  Trust me.

Crazy Cake Print Recipe Ingredients 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 cup cooking oil (vegetable will do...  I used olive oil) 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups cold water Oven temp: 350 degrees F Instructions Whisk dry ingredients in large mixing bowl until well combined Make three wells.  Pour cooking oil, vinegar, and vanilla each into their own well Pour water over all and mix well Pour into greased or parchment paper lined cake pan Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean Decorate and enjoy!