These cakes wacky to make, fun to eat

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Wacky spice cake

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In the last two weeks, we've been looking at eggless, dairyless baking. A timely letter from Jeanie Dubberley reminded me that long before people were thinking about vegan diets or food allergies, there was wacky cake. Most food historians trace wacky cake back to Second World War days, when North American housewives had to contend with the periodic rationing of milk and eggs. Easy, economical and tasty, wacky cake persisted into the postwar period as a go-to recipe when your fridge was bare and you needed to make a cake in a hurry.

It's also fun: I remember making wacky cake as a teenager. My friends and I mixed the dry ingredients straight in the pan, making three wells for the wet ingredients and then watching the science-experiment process as the vinegar and baking soda bubbled away. (This interaction gives the cake its leavening.)

Jeanie offers a classic chocolate wacky cake, as well as a wacky spice cake. Thanks also to Teulon's Lois Nordin, Beausejour's, Edna Mroz, Sonia Lemoine and Helen Pitura for their egg- and dairy-free recipes.

This week, we have a request for a recipe for old-fashioned British walnut slice. If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you'd like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

Wacky chocolate cake

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
250 ml (1 cup) white sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
45 ml (3 tbsp) cocoa
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla
15 ml (1 tbsp) white vinegar
75 ml (5 tbsp) vegetable oil
250 ml (1 cup) cold water

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). In a bowl or in a 22x22 cm (9x9 in) baking pan, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add vanilla, vinegar and oil, and then pour water over all. Stir gently but thoroughly. Bake 25-30 minutes or so, or until cake tests done.

Tester's notes: Moist, chocolatey and easy. (And easy to clean up!) I made three wells -- one for each of the wet ingredients -- though I'm not sure if this is actually necessary or if it's just part of the whole wacky cake ritual. You don't need to grease the pan, but this is a cake that should be served straight from the baking dish. (It's probably too sticky to invert onto a cake plate.) The cake would be delicious plain, or you could serve it with ice cream or frost with a plain buttercream icing.

Wacky spice cake

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
250 ml (1 cup) golden brown sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
2 ml (1/2 tsp) each of ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg
5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla
15 ml (1 tbsp) white vinegar
75 ml (5 tbsp) vegetable oil
250 ml (1 cup) cold water

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). In a bowl or in a 22x22 cm (9x9 in) baking pan, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and spices. Make a well and add vanilla, vinegar and oil, and pour water over all. Stir gently but thoroughly and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cake tests as done.

Tester's notes: Easy and delicious. Some bakers believe that the leavening process involving the baking soda and the vinegar works better when done straight in the pan rather than in a bowl. I tried both, and both worked. Again, this cake would be good plain, or with a buttercream or boiled icing.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 22, 2012 C4