Wacky cake, also called crazy cake, Joe cake, wowie cake, and WW II cake,
is a spongy, cocoa-based
cake. It is unique in that unlike many
pastries
Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ...
and
desserts
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and most parts of ...
, no
eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
,
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...
or
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...
are used to make the cake batter.
Wacky cake may have been created as the result of
rationing during World War II, when milk and eggs were scarce. Active ingredients in wacky cake include flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, vegetable oil, white vinegar, salt and vanilla extract. The eggless batter means that the structure of the cake is entirely supported by gluten, which is strengthened by the acidic vinegar and salt.
Wacky cake is typically prepared by mixing dry ingredients in a baking pan and forming three hollows in the mixture, into which oil, vinegar, and vanilla are poured. Warm water is then poured over, and the ingredients mixed and baked.
Some recipes add brewed
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
as an additional ingredient. The cake may be topped with
icing or
confectioner's sugar, or even served plain.
The cake is a popular delicacy at
bake sales in numerous rural regions of the United States.
See also
*
Depression cake
Depression cake is a type of cake that was commonly made during the Great Depression. The ingredients include little or no milk, sugar, butter, or eggs, because the ingredients were then either expensive or hard to obtain. Similar cakes are kno ...
References
Cakes
Chocolate desserts
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