I was flipping through one of my cookbooks the other day and came across a recipe for Wacky Cake. I was intrigued as the recipe calls for no eggs or milk. As a WWII history buff, I knew wacky cake's origins date back to the late '30s to the mid 40's when food was scarce or rationed for the war effort. But how would it really turn out? This was something I had to find out for myself.
I started by combining the dry ingredients in the pan that I was to bake it in. I thought to myself - I love easy recipes. I made three holes in the dry mixture. One was filled with vegetable oil, the second vanilla, and the third with vinegar. It looked like this:
Then after pouring a cup of water over everything, stirred until combined and no streaks of the dry mixture were left, it looked liked normal cake batter. As I hurried it to the preheated oven, I thought I hope this works. I knew that the chemical reaction between the vinegar and baking powder would give the cake some lift. But I wondered just how much.
I shouldn't have been so skeptical because my wacky cake came out beautiful! Okay, it came out a little under done hence its the indentation in the middle of the cake. However, I did not mind and was impressed with how well it came out. It just goes to show when something's old, it doesn't mean it's outdated. Wacky Cake will definitely have a place in my cake repertoire from now on!
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have some cake!
Wacky Cake
(adapted from Cook's Country, America's Best Lost Recipes)
Serves 6-8
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup water
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in the prepared pan. Make one large hole, and two small holes in the dry ingredients. Add the oil to the large hole and the vinegar and vanilla separately to the small holes. Pour the water in to the pan and mix until just a few streaks of flour remain. Immediately put the pan in the oven.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan, then dust with confectioner's sugar. ( The cake can be stored at room temperature for several days.)
