Apple wacky cake
Recently, I was perusing my photocopies of old family recipes in search of inspiration. I was hoping to find a casserole since it’s officially turn-on-the-oven weather, but instead I came across something even better: a delightful dessert called wacky cake.
I remember when my grandmother had given me that recipe. We had spent the afternoon in her dining room at the farm with boxes and books of her recipe cards strewn about the table. With each recipe she saw, a story followed—both long and short. And when she found this one, she was thrilled as she had forgotten about it. “Oh, wacky cake!” she said. “I used to make this with your mom and uncles. This is the best cake. It’s a keeper!”
Wacky cake is so named because if you look at the recipe you’ll scratch your head when confronted by the absence of eggs, butter, and milk. (At least that is my theory, if you have a better explanation, please, by all means share!)
Likewise, the method of mixing is surprisingly simple: you just throw all the dry ingredients together in the baking pan and then make three holes to add the remaining liquid ingredients. The reaction of the vinegar with the baking soda makes the batter bubble and froth and provides all the leavening this cake needs.
Some say the recipe came about in the Great Depression, while others contend it came about during World War II, but no matter—this recipe is made for tight times with its lack of expensive ingredients. And yet it’s also vegan, which makes it appealing for those who prefer to avoid or cannot consume dairy.
I was dubious about how the cake would taste, but this is a rich cake, spongy and soft. The original recipe called for cocoa, but I thought it would be interesting to make a wacky apple cake. This was also moist with a hint of spice and the crunch of nuts. And in keeping with the simplicity of the recipe, I decided to forgo icing it and instead just sprinkled the top with powdered sugar.
Because of both its ease of use and its science-experiment nature, this is a terrific recipe to make with kids. My grandmother recalled making it with my uncle Austin when he was a boy (though he almost put in a cup of baking soda once instead of a teaspoon, which could have been very interesting!) It works well as a quick evening dessert, and a warm slice goes well with a cup of coffee on a chilly fall morning.
I’m glad I now know about wacky cake, which—if you think about it—isn’t very wacky at all!
Apple wacky cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 cup diced Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- Powdered sugar, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a an un-greased 8×8 square or a 9-inch round baking pan. You can also use a 9-inch cast-iron skillet.
- Poke 3 holes into the flour mixture. In the first hole, pour the vinegar. In the second hole, pour the vanilla. In the third hole, pour the oil.
- Pour the water into the pan and stir the batter until well blended. Stir in the apples and pecans.
- Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar before serving.
I just found this blog and I’m glad I did! This wacky cake sounds so good …and looks beautiful too! The apple version must be delicious…
I enjoy reading your blog, and being that I am also a homesick Texan who lives in Michigan, I can seriously relate.
I am constantly looking for food that reflects where I grew up and what I enjoyed as a kid and with my family. Some of my best memories, even though I was a born and raised city girl from Houston, were memories of sitting on my great grandmother’s porch in Wortham, Texas shelling peas or snapping beans. It was a spiritual ritual, part of a family coming together to commune about friends relatives, neighbors, and current events, and it always ended up with a great meal. One of my own personal favorite meals was my mom’s “pantry soup” which is just what it sounds like: a tomato based soup with lots of usually canned vegetables and some sort of leftover pot roast or roast beef hash or brisket slices or even chicken pieces, whatever we happened to have handy. My grandmother used to make beans in the crockpot all the time, all shades of red beans and all shades of flavors (dark rue, light rue, no rue, Mexican chilies, but BBQ sauce, etc.) and would serve them over rice, over mashed potatoes, or with cornbread. Now that I am here in Michigan, the recipes have been altered slightly. I live with someone who swore they did not eat beans of any kind. That’s a difficulty for me, ‘cause I do love me some beans! Now, seven or eight years later our house makes all kinds of beans, and I even have the neighbors eating red beans and rice and white bean chili and they have me eating that Yankee chili concoction with all the beans and tomatoes. It aint my Tex Mex chili, but it does grow on you, and can be delicious if done well. My own personal recipe I would like to share is for a white bean chili that is a quick and easy crock pot dish. It’s a northern white bean recipe, but with my own southern seasoning directions (use an actual roasted chicken, skin and parts and all, instead of canned or cubed breast meat- go figure!) I hope you get the chance to make this easy dish and enjoy it with your family. I know you already have some similar recipes and there are a million white bean chili recipes out there, this one is Beans an Chicken, and its yummy.
Adios fellow transplant, and thanks for the great blog.
Dianiewill
This sounds similar to War Cake, which recipe I found in Fannie Farmer.
This sounds yummy, I think I will make the apple version for Sunday breakfast this week.
I am a long time lurker. I found your blog when living in Jakarta and I decided it was time to learn to make some of my favorites from home the morning I found the teenage boy spooning leftover beef rendang onto bread and topping it with sliced cabe peppers. His defense was it was the closest thing to carne guisada tacos he had seen in a year. I tasted it and it was good but brutally hot!!!
Now we are in Germany but thanks to you (Ok and the commissary at the base that has the ingredients) we will be having sapodillas for desert this week and tamales for christmas! My kids may be growing up overseas but they are still Texans!
My mom has kept a copy of Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home on her cookbook shelf for as long as I can remember. In the dessert section is a “Six Minute Chocolate Cake” that matches this very same concept, and it has been one of my favorite cakes for years. I always use coffee instead of water and sometimes substitute carob for the cocoa. I’ve shared this version on my blog too. But what I really wanted to say is that I can’t wait to try it with apples!