Loading ...
Whacky Vegan Chocolate Cake
February 16th, 2009 Madhuram Posted in Cakes, Food Blog Events, Vegan Baking | 
Print This Recipe
| 43 Comments »
This chocolate cake recipe has been around for decades. It’s also called the Whacky cake or the Depression cake. But let me tell you, the taste and texture of the cake is definitely not whacky or depressing. It’s unbelievably moist and tastes like any regular chocolate cake especially with the frosting. At first I didn’t tell my husband that the cake has vinegar in it, so he was not able to tell any difference. He liked the cake very much even after I told about the secret ingredient. But since I knew about the vinegar I was able to feel a very very very mild smell/taste. I guess it’s psychological. I have to stress here again that when eaten with the frosting this chocolate cake is so delicious. This vegan chocolate cake recipe is definitely a keeper. I’m already thinking of the variations I can make each time.
I was wondering what to do for the frosting without the sugar because all the recipes I had called for confectioner’s sugar. I had a few packs of instant pudding mixes and thought how it would be for a frosting. I googled and found that pudding mix frosting is very common. Luckily I had the Cool Whip topping which is required for the frosting. Even though I was skeptical, I had to proceed with it anyway because I had no other go. Surprisingly it did turn out good. So the frosting is not vegan.
Yield: One 8 or 9 inch cake or 8 cupcakes.
2 Stir together all the dry ingredients (flour to cocoa powder) and create a well in the center.
3 To the well add all the wet ingredients one by one. Mix until just combined. Don’t overmix. It’s ok to have some lumps.
4 Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Mine was done by 24 minutes. If baking cupcakes, check around 13-15th minute.
5 Cool completely on a wire rack. I left it for an hour.
6 To remove the cake from the pan, run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake.
7 Cool completely before frosting. Actually frosting is not even necessary for this moist cake. You may simply dust with confectioner’s sugar and top with fresh raspberries.
Procedure:
1 Pour milk into a large bowl. Add the pudding mix. Beat until fluffy for 2 minutes.
2 Blend in the thawed Cool Whip thoroughly.
3 Frost the cake/cupcakes and refrigerate it at least for 3-4 hours before serving.
My Notes:
1 This frosting is not very sweet, but it was perfect with the cake and for us. We don’t like overly sweet cakes and frosting.
2 This measurement will be right for a 13×9 inch cake or a layer cake. I had at least a cup of frosting left over, which I intend to serve in ice cream cones for my son.
1. Egg Replacement Event – Vinegar hosted by me.
2. Just for You hosted by Alka. I made this cake for Valentine’s day for my husband.
3. My Favorite Things – Heart Shaped Food hosted by Bindiya.
4. Cook and Create with Luv for Luv hosted by Priyanka.
Print This Recipe
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 18th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Madhuram, I made this cake and it was very good. Thanks for sharing a nice cake.
Shibani, you’re welcome and also thank you very much for trying it out.
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
what is a cool whip?
Sai, Cool Whip is available in a white color tub in the freezer section near frozen fruits. It is made of sugar and oils and resembles whipped cream.
April 16th, 2009 at 5:18 am
Hi Madhu,
Have tried several eggless cakes over the years but this recipe of yours surely takes the cake!
The pics tempted me to try it and yesterday I baked it, following ur instructions to the T. The cake looked terrific when baked slightly crisp on top but extremely moist inside, infact I loved the texture.
There was only one issue all of us at home felt the smell and taste of baking soda was overpowering. It lingered awhile. Any tips for this? Can i use baking powder instead of soda? If so what shld be the quantity? Also have u tried this with whole wheat flour? Does it come out well?
Thanks a ton, I love ur website and have bookmarked it!
Hi Vijaya, thank you very much for your kind words. Did you measure and sift the baking soda and combine everything together well? My cake did not have the after taste of baking soda. There was this very mild vinegar taste. Baking powder contains baking soda but cannot be used interchangeably. Try with apple cider vinegar the next time like I did for the vegan blueberry muffins. There is no after taste at all.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Hey, if I would like to prepare this cake in advance, will it starty drying or getting moister?
Thanks!
You can prepare it ahead and store it in the refrigerator Vesna. We had the cake for a week and it was good. It doesn’t dry or get moist.
March 14th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
hi Madhuram,
Tried out this recipe y’day in the form of cupcakes… the texture was awesome…. just unbelievable… but my cupcakes were completely done only after 18 mins or so…. and hence thought would let u and the others know about it, so that you can watch out for the timings when baking this in the form of cupcakes….kudos to this gr8 recipe….
Thanks Madhu for trying it out and mentioning about the time. It will definitely be helpful for others who will be trying it.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Hi Madhuram,
Baked this cake just now and it is cooling.I can tell you from the texture it has come out well.Intially when mixing the batter I was skeptical because the batter was liquidy..is this normal?Used apple cider vinegar
Thank you for sharing a wonderful receipe.
I think the batter was watery. Thanks for trying it Priya.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:31 am
Hi Madhu,
I tried the cake for Badri’s and MIL’s b’day.It came out well.Thanks for posting the recipe.
You’re welcome Anila. Thank you for trying it and for the feedback.
February 25th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Madhu
I used apple cider vinegar, 1/2 the quantity of flour i substituted with Whole wheat pastry flour and another 1/2 with unbleached and then used turbinado sugar. The top portion is little crisp but inside it is very moist. Any ideas? Please let me know. Thanks.
I’m guessing that it’s because of the sugar. Did you sprinkle some sugar on top of the batter?
February 21st, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I added one tablespoon of lemon juice, and I used baking soda.
.
Thank you very much, the cake was so delicious
Thanks for the clarification Mary.
February 20th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
What a beautiful cake, Madhuram. I use vinegar in cakes to curdle soymilk, but I’ve never used it by itself. Good to know it turned out so well. Lovely job.
Thanks Vaishali. The cake was really very good.