Crazy cake, also known as wacky cake, Joe cake and World War II cake, is a cocoa-based cake that does not contain any eggs or dairy, as these were hard to find or unaffordable for many Americans during the Depression.
In this version of Crazy Cake, our Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour combines with sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, oil, distilled white vinegar, vanilla extract and water for a delicious dairy free dessert.
To create your crazy cake, simply sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, soda, salt and xanthan gum together into a 9 x 13-inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells, pouring your oil into one, vinegar into another and vanilla into the third. Pour cold water over everything and stir well with a fork. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. After your crazy cake cools, frost it with your favorite gluten free icing. We love thisGluten Free Vanilla Buttercream Frosting from Gluten Free Baking. You can make it chocolate by adding cocoa or keep it vanilla. Both will taste delicious with your crazy cake!
Note that this particular recipe requires the use of our Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour, and using our Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour may result in a poor end product.
If you love this recipe for crazy cake, the best news is you can make a vanilla version! This Gluten Free Vanilla Crazy Cake fromGluten Free on a Shoestring is also made with no butter, eggs or milk, yet is still moist and tender. To keep this cake dairy free, make sure to use a different icing than the cream cheese frosting the recipe calls for. As author Nicole suggests, you can even do carrot cake and chocolate chip variations of crazy cake, which we think sound wildly tasty.
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, soda, salt and xanthan gum together into a 9 x 13-inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells; pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour cold water over all, and stir well with a fork.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 30-40 minutes.
Let cool then frost with your favorite gluten free icing!
