This chocolate depression cake is a moist, high altitude tested, vegan and dairy free chocolate cake, made without butter, eggs or milk in both the cake and the frosting. Also known as a wacky cake, war cake or crazy cake, chocolate depression cake is easy to make and budget friendly!
You might also love these high altitude recipes for chocolate spoon cake, flourless chocolate cake, and Denver chocolate sheet cake.
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What is Depression Cake?
During the Great Depression, when money was tight and ingredients were scarce, bakers had to get creative with baking without certain ingredients that were hard to come by, or simply not affordable. So they created a chocolate cake that used simpler, less expensive ingredients and no butter, eggs or milk.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick and Easy. You don’t need a mixer or any special equipment for today’s recipe
Vegan. With no eggs or dairy in the cake or the frosting, today’s recipe is suitable for vegan dietary requirements.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Cocoa Powder. Use unsweetened, Dutch processed cocoa powder in both the cake and the frosting. You want to use a good quality cocoa powder, since the flavor will be much more prominent without any other rich ingredients.
- Coffee. To add more flavor, use hot coffee, although plain water can also be used. I used my favorite decaf coffee.
- Chocolate Chips. I like to sprinkle the frosting with some mini chocolate chips for a simple decoration, but sprinkles can also be used.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray a 9×9 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.
- Add the coffee, oil, vanilla and vinegar, and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool for 30 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a serving plate before adding the icing (or just keep the cake in the pan to serve it from the pan).
Frosting
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add the coffee and vanilla, and stir until smooth.
- Spread the frosting over the top of the cake.
- The frosting will set quickly, so sprinkle the top with chocolate chips or sprinkles before it crusts over.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.
If using chocolate chips on top, be sure they are also a dairy free/vegan brand, if this is a dietary need of yours.
Water can be used instead of coffee in this recipe. However, the coffee adds more flavor, which is needed without the flavor and richness from dairy ingredients.
I used Cacao Barry Extra Brute Dutch processed cocoa powder.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Chocolate Depression Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ¼ cups hot coffee (or water)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp white distilled vinegar
Frosting
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tbsp hot coffee or water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray a 9×9 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.
- Add the coffee, oil, vanilla and vinegar, and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack and cool for 30 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a serving plate before adding the icing (or just keep the cake in the pan to serve it from the pan).
Frosting
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add the coffee and vanilla, and stir until smooth.
- Spread the frosting over the top of the cake while it's warm.
- The frosting will set quickly, so sprinkle the top with chocolate chips or sprinkles before it crusts over.
- Serve the cake warm, or at room temperature.
Thank you, Heather, for sharing this eggless recipe. My husband developed an egg allergy last year, so it’s been a challenge for me to find eggless high altitude baking recipes. I can’t wait to try this!
Have you tried any egg replacer ingredients? I’ve heard good things about “Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer”, although I’ve never used it myself.