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

FAQs

Why do they call it Wacky Cake? ›

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.

For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of milk or water, you can replace half of that with strong brewed coffee. This will help to enhance the chocolate flavor and add a subtle coffee taste to the cake.

Baking powder is made of baking soda plus cream of tartar and cornstarch. Baking powder can be substituted for baking soda by tripling the amount of baking powder. Baking soda can be substituted for baking powder by dividing the amount of baking powder needed by 4 and adding twice that amount of cream of tartar.

Vintage Recipes's post. Why is it called funeral cake? meant not only to provide refreshment for mourners, but also to be a token of remembrance and comfort.

There are a few theories as to how it got its name. One, it's the decadent counterpart to angel food cake. Two, it's sinfully delicious. Finally, devil's food cake came about during a time when food that was spicy, rich, or dark was described as deviled, like deviled ham and deviled eggs.

Cake fanatics, try this new frosting technique: the naked cake. With barely-there icing, you can see all the goodness you're about to slice into.

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.

What is in a frog cake? ›

The frog cake is a small dessert shaped to resemble a frog with its mouth open, consisting of a sponge base with a jam centre, topped in artificial cream and covered with a thick layer of fondant icing. The recipe today remains identical to the one employed when the cake was first produced in the 1920s.

Chocolate on chocolate. Rich chocolate cake coated in thick chocolate ganache. Delicious decadence in every mouthful.

Use Butter Instead of Oil

My favorite swap and also the easiest: add melted butter instead of canola or vegetable oil, which most boxed cake mixes call for. Butter adds moisture and fat just like any oil, but it also has that unmistakable butter flavor that we all know and love.

Most cake mixes call for oil, but butter will bring in amazing flavor. To substitute butter for oil in baking just melt the butter, measure it, let it cool, and add it as you would the oil. Compared to oil, butter will create a cake with a firmer, cakeier texture.

Most box cake recipes will tell you to add water to the mix. Instead, try adding milk using the same proportions. This will make the cake richer and creamier because it ups the fat content. You can even use buttermilk here for a pleasant tang.

As it turns out though, some cakes were designed to fall. While browsing Reddit, I recently stumbled upon a vintage recipe called "Sad Cake." The recipe get its name because the cake rises in the oven and then when you take it out, it cools and falls down right in front of your eyes.

Because of its unique texture, it is also called jiggly cake or Japanese cotton cheesecake.

These delicious treats go by this name because of their size, which is small enough for a fairy to eat. However, a version of “butterfly cakes” is a design that has wings on top of the cupcakes. Similar to a butterfly or a fairy's wings!