As a vegan family, wacky cakes are on the table for many occasions because they are easy to make, with few ingredients, and delicious. This recipe is similar to my Yogurt Cake, Vegan Funfetti Cake, or Crazy Chocolate Cake.
What’s A Wacky Cake?
A Wacky Cake, also known as vanilla depression cake or vanilla crazy cake, is a one-bowl cake made only with pantry ingredients. It’s a cake that was created during the Great Depression when it was difficult to get fresh goods. As a result, wacky cakes are naturally vegan, made without eggs, milk, or butter.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It’s the easiest cake recipe you can make with the kids, with the best fluffy crumb and vanilla flavors. Plus, it’s also a cheap cake made with low-cost ingredients that we all have in the pantry. So if you are after a delicious vanilla cake that kids can make that doesn’t break the bank, but is sure to impress, try this vanilla wacky cake recipe!
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need are a few pantry items listed below:
All-Purpose Flour – you can also use all-purpose gluten-free flour; make sure yours contains added xanthan gum, or the cake batter won’t hold up as well. Sugar – white sugar or any granulated sweetener you have at home. This cake also works with sugar-free sweeteners for a sugar-free vanilla cake. Baking Soda – to give the cake its fluffy crumbs. Apple Cider Vinegar or white vinegar, or lemon juice. Vegetable Oil – it can be canola oil, light olive oil, or melted coconut oil. Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
How To Make Vanilla Wacky Cake
It’s very easy to make this vanilla crazy cake recipe in less than 10 minutes.
Frosting Wacky Cake Recipe
This vanilla crazy cake is delicious on its own with a dust of powdered sugar. But you can also use the recipe to make a 2-layer cake. Simply double up the recipe and frost the cake layers using one of the frosting options below:
Dairy-Free Vanilla Frosting Vegan Chocolate Frosting Coconut Cream Frosting Cashew Frosting Protein Frosting
Add-Ons
This vanilla cake recipe is very versatile, and you can adapt the recipe to create a range of delicious cakes. For example, you can stir in the batter 1/2 cup of:
Berries – blueberries, chopped strawberries, or raspberries. Dark Chocolate Chips Chopped Nuts and dried fruits like raisins or cranberries.
Storage Instructions
Store the leftover cake in a cake box or airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can freeze leftover wacky cakes in zip-lock bags and thaw them in the fridge the day before.
Allergy Swaps
Below are some ideas to tweak the recipe to fit your food allergies:
Sugar-Free – Use a sugar-free granulated sweetener that has a 1:1 ratio replacement to sugar, like allulose or erythritol stevia blends. Gluten-Free – Pick a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend with added xanthan gum. If there is no gum in your blend, add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum along with the dry ingredients. Oil-Free – You can replace the oil with the same amount of mashed banana for a banana crazy cake flavor or unsweetened apple sauce.
Below are some answers to your most frequent questions about this wacky cake recipe.
More Vegan Cake Recipes
Below are more vegan cake recipes for you to try.
