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 first found this cake in a King Arthur Flour Company Cookbook. According to it, the cake belongs to the ‘family’ of vegetable oil cakes invented during World War II when butter, eggs, and milk were rationed. I like it b/c it’s easy to make, easy to clean up, I usually have all the ingredients, and it’s less sweet than a lot of current cakes.
i do wonder about the wacky part though!
I’ve never seen an apple version. Our family version of what we call crazy cake is dense and moist and incredibly chocolate-y–it is loaded with chocolate, and it is soo, sooooo, soooooo good. I can’t wait to try this new version.
As much as the Internet has enriched our recipe sharing lives, I do feel a lot of nostalgia for the days of recipe cards with “From the kitchen of . . .” printed at the top. I love the idea of “found” recipes; but how funny to discover how many people already knew this one. I’m surprised that I don’t, as I doubt there are many degrees of separation between my grandmother’s baking and yours. I can’t wait to try it, and would go the kitchen right now but I just pulled some butterscotch brownies out of the oven.
As for the scientific experiment part, it reminds me of the baking soda volcano which is, I’m sure, part of every grade-school child’s repertoire.
“Wacky Cake or Crazy Cake. In a way, this is a variation on Chocolate Pudding Cake…But it takes the “quick-and-easy” one step further: The cake is mixed in the baking pan. That’s part of the wackiness. Another is that the batter contains vinegar and water, but no eggs. Like Chocolate Pudding Cake, this one is shortened with oil instead of butter or margarine.”
—The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 467)
I’ve never thought to take the cocoa out… Hmm, neat idea with the apples and spice. We make it all the time. Works nicely as cupcakes as well.