Skip to content

Snack

Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Cake (Wacky Cake)

The old β€œwacky cake”: no eggs, milk or butter, mixed right in the pan, risen with baking soda and vinegar. Handy when a guest can’t have eggs or dairy.

⏱ 1 hr 12 min (10 min prep, 32 min cooking, 30 min waiting) 🍽 Serves 9 · 1 square (1/9 of an 8-inch cake) budgetkid friendlymake aheadfreezer friendly vegetarianvegandairy free

In our collection Birthday parties: menu and shopping list β†’

πŸ“… Add to my plan

ContainsWheat. Check the labels on what you buy; brands differ.

Ingredients

Make 9 servings
  • 1Β½ cup All-purpose flour
  • 1 cup Granulated sugar
  • ΒΌ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • Β½ tsp Table salt
  • β…“ cup Vegetable oil (soybean)
  • 1 tbsp White vinegar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 cup Water, cold

Nutrition

Nutrition coming: the USDA numbers for these ingredients are being added.

Steps

You’ll need: 8-inch square baking pan, fork or whisk, measuring cups and spoons.

  1. Heat the oven to 350Β°F. You don’t need to grease the pan.
  2. Stir the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt together right in the pan with a fork, and smooth it out.
  3. Poke three wells in the dry mixture: a big one, a medium one and a small one. Pour the oil into the big one, the vinegar into the medium one and the vanilla into the small one.
  4. Pour the water over everything and stir with the fork until no dry spots remain, getting into the corners. Don’t eat or taste the raw batter, and don’t let kids lick the spoon: raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs (FDA). Bake it first.
  5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan.
  6. Dust with powdered sugar, or frost with a dairy-free buttercream (see the swaps).
Make aheadBake a day ahead; keep covered at room temperature.
❄️ FreezerFreeze squares up to 2 months.
β†Ί LeftoversKeep covered at room temperature up to 3 days.
πŸ§’ With kidsA great first cake: kids can do every step but the oven, and it’s fun to watch the vinegar fizz.
Cupcakes swapDoubled, it makes about 20 cupcakes; bake 18 to 20 minutes.
Frosting swapFor a dairy-free frosting, make the vanilla buttercream with vegetable shortening or a plant-based butter stick and plant milk. Check every label for milk.
Gluten-free swapUse a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend.

Goes well with

πŸ‹ Fresh-Squeezed Party Lemonade

Good to know

All-purpose vs. bread flour (and friends) Baking soda vs. baking powder Table salt vs. kosher salt vs. sea salt Cooking Fats Compared

An original Teddy Rook Book recipe, written for our Birthday parties collection; safety steps follow USDA. Nutrition is estimated from USDA FoodData Central and changes with brands and portions.