This is a very quick and easy EGG FREE chocolate wacky cake, super moist and always very popular. Great for parties and recipe options for frosting too

This cake is absolutely delicious! Soft, moist and the best part, it has no eggs! So if you are in a situation where you've run out of eggs and have a cake craving, this cake is the one for you!
Perhaps you need an egg-free cake recipe for dietary reasons, then you will be fine with this recipe.
We've got another egg ree and fat-free recipe for you to try, Applesauce and Walnut Brownie Cake. Yummy!
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Many of you who have visited Lovefoodies will already know our Foodie Friend Nanny Pat, after making her Apple Pie recipe. You may even have chatted with her or seen her delicious dinner photos at our Lovefoodies Facebook group.
Nanny Pat is always busy cooking something tasty up in her kitchen, and here we have got one of her star recipes, which she makes especially for Papa!
This is Nanny's Whiz Bang Wacky Cake! It's an oldie, and you may know the cake as Depression Cake, originating from the Great Depression.
It traditionally has no eggs, no butter, or very little butter and no milk. Those ingredients would have been very hard to get hold of, or incredibly expensive during that time due to rationing.
Check out our handy Oven Temperature Conversion Guide!
Nanny's adapted the recipe for today's baking and added a lovely frosting and a generous helping of sugar in the cake as there is no rationing! It's a very easy and quick recipe to make, and Nanny gives us a couple of options for the frosting for you to choose from.
In the photos, Nanny has used one of her popular frosting recipes because it contains nuts... and yep, Papa LOVES nuts!
We'll list the frostings below and you can choose what you prefer, or simply add your own frosting.
This is a moist chocolate cake and a great size, not too large, so great for a family dessert. You can make this in a regular cake pan or a sheet pan style. Obviously, if you are feeding a crowd, you would have to double this! Please enjoy!
Prep time
10 minutes
Baking time
20 - 30 minutes
Serving size
6 - 8 Persons (small slices)
Ingredients you'll need
The cake
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons Baking Cocoa powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. salt
5 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. vinegar
1 Cup warm water
For papa's frosting (as seen in Nanny's Photos)
1 ½ Cups / 180 g Confectioner's Sugar
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese (softened)
½ Cup / 110 g Butter, (softened)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
½ cup chopped nuts of your choice
Another frosting option:
¼ cup butter
½ Cup Brown sugar
1 Tablespoon milk
½ cup shredded coconut
-
- The measures for the frosting is more than enough for the cake, and you can add as much or as little as you wish. If you have some leftover, you can save it in the fridge and use it for another cake or halve the recipe.
- Nanny always keeps some spare frosting as she’s always baking cakes and cupcakes so she keeps a supply handy
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. and in an 8" square baking pan, melt the butter then and add it to a mixing bowl.
2. Add all the other cake ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine.
3. Pour into the already buttered pan (from the melt) and bake for 20-30 minutes until the cake springs back after touching it or the toothpick comes out clean. Don't overbake. Allow cooling.
4. While the cake is cooling make Frosting -
For Papa's Frosting, Cream together all the ingredients and spread on the cooled Cake, that has been left in the pan. Sprinkle with nuts, if you wish, or combine them in the frosting.

For the other Frosting: In a pan, mix all the ingredients until it comes to a gentle boil and golden in color, then remove from heat and pour all over the cake.

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other ingredients? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
Recipe Card

Chocolate Wacky Cake
This is a very quick and easy EGGLESS chocolate cake, super moist and always very popular. Great for parties and recipe options for frosting too
Ingredients
The cake
- 1 ½ Cups all purpose flour
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Baking Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 Tablespoons melted butter or margerine
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 Cup warm water
For papa's frosting (as seen in Nanny's Photos)
- 1 ½ Cups / 180 g Confectioner's Sugar
- 1 oz pkg. Cream Cheese, 8 ., softened
- ½ Cup / 110 g Butter, (softened)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup chopped nuts of your choice
Another frosting option:
- ¼ Cup butter
- ½ Cup Brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- ½ Cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. and in a 8" square baking pan, melt the butter then and add it to a mixing bowl.
- Add all the other cake ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine.
- Pour into the already buttered pan (from the melt) and bake for 20-30 minutes until the cake springs back after touching it or toothpick comes out clean. Don't over bake. Allow to cool.
- While cake is cooling make Frosting -
- For Papa's Frosting, Cream together all the ingredients and spread on cooled Cake, that has been left in the pan. Sprinkle with nuts, if you wish or combine them in the frosting.
- For the other Frosting: In a pan, mix all the ingredients until it comes to a gentle boil and golden in colour, then remove from heat and pour all over the cake.
Notes
The measures for the frosting is more than enough for the cake, and you can add as much or as little as you wish. If you have some left over, you can save it in the fridge and use it for another cake or halve the recipe. Nanny always keeps some spare frosting as she's always baking cakes and cupcakes so she keeps a supply handy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 638Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 695mgCarbohydrates: 83gFiber: 2gSugar: 61gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate
Sheet Pan Style Cakes
Here's a selection of our delicious sheet pan cakes.
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Strawberry Shortcake Cake, a wonderful refreshing classic sponge cake packed with fresh strawberries and a whipped cream frosting.
Strawberry and Coconut Poke Cake with Fresh Whipped Cream. Easy made from scratch recipe. Yummy!
Pineapple and Coconut Poke Cake.
A delicious pineapple combined with creamy coconut cake recipe, topped with fresh whipped cream and more coconut, making a soft and fluffy great tasting tropical cake
A quick & easy made from scratch recipe with a delicious streusel crumble topping. Great tasting simple cake recipe. Perfect for dessert or tea time
Easy Homemade Pineapple Cake.
Soft and fluffy cake loaded with juicy sweet pineapple gives a flavourful dessert. Easy simple recipe for a delicious homemade pineapple cake, made from scratch.
Lazy Daisy Rhubarb Oatmeal Cake.
Just like grandma used to make, old-fashioned Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake with rhubarb, delicious served warm, this gooey gooey cake is a great dessert!
Easy Homemade Rhubarb Cake. Quick & easy made from scratch recipe with a delicious cinnamon streusel crumble topping. Great tasting sweet & tangy cake. Great for dessert or tea time
Pineapple Zucchini Cake, a lovely soft cake with shredded zucchini, pineapple, nuts, raisins and spices. Smells fabulous when it's baking! Easy recipe. Instructions for baking in a loaf pan or sheet pan
Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake. This is a very easy, made from scratch recipe. The cake is so soft and moist, bursting with pineapple flavor. Delicious served simply on it's own or with some ice cream or whipped cream. Easy, fuss free recipe using regular ingredients and so good!
Easy Red Velvet Party Cake recipe with a lovely cream cheese frosting. Soft, fluffy and so delicious! Make as a sheet or round cake, you decide!
Gold Miner's Almond Joy Cake. A super moist, delicious and rich cake loved by all! Loaded with chocolate, marshmallows, coconut, almonds... this is a pretty amazing cake and perfect for parties too!
Old fashioned Oatmeal Cake with Caramel Icing. A wonderful moist, fluffy, soft sheet cake, using oats and apple sauce. Tastes like carrot cake! Easy homemade recipe and a family favorite.
Honey Bun Cake! This is a delicious, moist cinnamon and brown sugar cake, and always popular with the family!
Easy Strawberry Upside-down Cake is REALLY EASY! Uses simple ingredients and the cake turns out soft and fantastic tasting.
Pineapple and Walnut Cake is a lovely sheet style cake with crushed pineapple and nuts. There's also a really easy cream cheese frosting for the top of the cake
Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting.
A quick and easy recipe for a buttery coffee cream cheese frosting, perfect for cakes, cookies and other desserts.
Mary F.
says:I’m confused by the ingredient, “Baking Cocoa Powder”; do you mean just cocoa powder, or baking powder that you add some cocoa to? Thank you…it looks wonderful. I think I’d try it with the optional frosting.
Lovefoodies
says:Hi Mary, the cocoa powder is what is used in baking (as opposed to drinking chocolate cocoa powder). It is more concentrated than what you get for making drinks, and you can usually find it in the baking section of the shops. Hope that helps!
Kim
says:why do u use vinegar and is it apple cider or white vinegar
Lovefoodies
says:Any of those will be fine Kim