Wacky Cake Recipe: Cheap, Easy and Chocolaty

Before you read any further, take the following quiz. Are you:

(a) a chocolate lover

(b) a vegan

(c) someone on a tight budget

(d) not a particularly skilled cook

(e) all of the above

If you answered "yes" to any of these, then do I have the cake recipe for you: Wacky Cake! If you haven't tried this economical, vegan-friendly, chocolaty treat, you've been missing out. Even novice cooks will be able to handle this one. If you're too lazy too bake from scratch, give this a try. There is less preparation and clean up involved with this recipe than with many store-bought cake mixes.

First, check your cabinets or go shopping to make sure you have the following ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking SODA (not baking powder!!!), salt, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. You will also need a cup of water. (I live in a drought-stricken area, so I no longer assume this is always available). No fancy stuff! Just use regular all-purpose flour (unbleached is okay). No balsamic or rice wine vinegars, just use white or apple cider vinegar. Plain table salt is fine. You can use blended vegetable oil, corn oil, canola oil, melted shortening - whatever you prefer. Cheap vanilla flavoring will work fine if you can't afford the good stuff. If you need to shop for kitchen supplies, you will need a 8x8 or 8x11½ inch pan, a set of measuring cups, a set of measuring spoons, a big spoon or spatula to mix with and a working oven (of course) and that's basically it. No mixers or other fancy equipment needed. You don't even need a refrigerator because all of the ingredients are shelf stable.

What else is nice about Wacky Cake is that the preparation is minimal. It is traditional to mix the whole thing in the pan, but I find it difficult to incorporate all the ingredients this way and I have trouble keeping the liquids from sloshing out. I prefer using a medium-sized bowl to mix in, but it's your call.

Let's cook! Turn on your oven and set it at 350˚F. In the pan or bowl, mix together the dry ingredients first:

1 ½ cups of flour

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt