The Depression-Era Cake We Don't See People Eat Anymore

During a time when basic ingredients were rationed, people got creative and found unique ways to put together whatever they had on hand to bake. For example, H2O was used to make water pie, a popular dessert during the Great Depression. Intrigued by the "make do" food era, we wanted to learn about another dessert that gained momentum throughout the 1930s: wacky cake.

Sometimes called a crazy cake or depression cake, a wacky cake is a limited-ingredient chocolate cake that first rose to popularity during the Great Depression and again during WWII. Pantry-friendly, it's a cake that uses ingredients like flour, sugar, cocoa powder, vinegar, and baking soda. "Wacky cake [lets] people bake something indulgent without rationed items like eggs, milk, or butter," Odette D'Aniello, baking expert and CEO at Dragonfly Cakes, said. "I love the creativity and ingenuity — baking is often an act of love, even in the leanest of times."

While we may not see this one-pan cake made often now, it was its strategic ingredients that allowed it to closely resemble today's desserts. "The magic of wacky cake is in its chemistry — vinegar and baking soda create lift, and oil provides the needed fat, so you get a moist, tender cake without traditional dairy or eggs," D'Aniello said. "It's a cake born out of scarcity, but beloved for its simplicity and surprisingly good texture."

According to Odette D'Aniello, the fact that we're surrounded by abundance in today's world is likely one of the main culprits as to why wacky cakes aren't as popular anymore. She pointed out that there's less of a need be creative and pull together pantry staples to make desserts. Although, the recent egg shortages that resulted in stores like Trader Joe's limiting how many cartons a customer could buy could have been the perfect time to whip up a depression cake.

Aside from that, the name in general may not help matters. "...wacky cake's name doesn't exactly signal elegance or occasion—something many people now associate with home baking, especially around celebrations," D'Aniello mentioned. "It doesn't always match the aesthetics of today's ultra-decorated cakes or the rich textures people expect from more ingredient-heavy recipes." We mean, this style of cake (which is adding all ingredients to a pan and baking it... no fancy mixer needed) is also sometimes known as a dump cake — another name that may not sound the most appetizing.

While we might not see wacky cakes often today, they can certainly have a place — especially given that food intolerances and allergies are on the rise. This makes them a great option for those sensitive to dairy. Additionally, Odette D'Aniello noted that it's naturally vegan, so it's a perfect dessert to fit in to your plant-based repertoire. "It also makes sense for baking with kids — fewer ingredients, less mess, and the chemical fizz of vinegar and baking soda makes it fun and interactive," D'Aniello said. If you wanted to try to bring a wacky cake back to life, you can even infuse more modern ingredients to elevate it a bit. "I've seen versions with espresso, or chili powder to give it a grown-up twist."

All in all, wacky cakes were the people's response to a time of need, which is something that D'Aniello is very familiar thanks to her family's lineage to the Phillippines and Guam. "Our family's baking roots go back generations, and as Filipino Americans, we're also shaped by stories of resourceful baking during and after WWII," D'Aniello said. While perhaps not as needed by today's standards, it's important for people to know how to make do with limited ingredients.