I wanted a cake for our Super Bowl dinner, but I wasn’t up for baking my usual three-layer cake that takes two days to make. Plus, I had just used the last of our hens’ eggs to make bread. Enter the effortlessly delicious chocolate Depression Cake.

A Depression Cake is a one-bowl budget-friendly dessert that became popular during the Great Depression due to ingredient shortages and rationing. Traditional baking staples like eggs, milk, and butter were often unavailable or too expensive so resourceful home bakers found a way to make a rich, moist cake using pantry staples. While the chocolate version is the most well-known, variations like vanilla, spice, lemon, and carrot cake also became popular.

The key to Depression Cake’s success is the reaction between vinegar and baking soda, which creates leavening, making the cake rise without eggs (think of those tabletop volcanoes from Science class). The oil replaces the butter, and water can be used instead of milk-resulting in a surprisingly tender and delicious cake.

Why is it still popular today? Its charm lies in its simplicity – whipped up in minutes from everyday pantry staples, this cake is budget-friendly, delightfully moist, and naturally dairy-free and vegan. No eggs? No problem!

Depression Cake
Makes an 8×8” cake

Cake Ingredients:
187g all-purpose flour
200g sugar
30g Dutch process cocoa powder
1t baking soda
½t fine kosher salt
1C water
⅓C neutral oil
1T vanilla
1t white vinegar

Frosting Ingredients:
2T neutral oil (or 3T unsalted butter)
20g Dutch process cocoa powder
1T maple syrup
1T vanilla
125g powdered sugar
3T water (or heavy cream)
garnish: non-melting sugar for sifting on top

Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line the bottom of an 8×8 baking tin with parchment paper and spray the tin with baking spray – or to be true to the Depression era – wipe the tine with neutral oil.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Combine all the liquid ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30-33 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool and then invert onto a serving dish.

Frosting Directions:
Add all ingredients to the bowl of a mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip all ingredients until smooth. Check for consistency: if it’s too runny, add more sifted powdered sugar or if it’s too thick, add one teaspoon of water at a time.

Smooth the frosting over the top of the cake and if you’re feeling fancy, sift some non-melting topping sugar over the top.

Note: As with all baking projects, bring ingredients to room temp before starting.
T = tablespoon
t = teaspoon