We've talked about what to do with leftover oatmeal. So what do you do if you don’t have any eggs, milk or butter, but still want a sweet treat?
I’m always on the hunt for a delicious dessert to make for my hubby, who thinks that chocolate chip cookies are one of the basic food groups. Newsflash: They are not. Unfortunately, ingredients like eggs, milk and butter are not easy to come by these days. BUT, I found a fantastic variation on the Depression era Crazy Cake* recipe (usually chocolate), turned into a Snickerdoodle Crazy Cake! This recipe from 12 Tomatoes was sooo ridiculously good I’m going to make it even after we can get eggs, milk and butter! And the best part? You make it RIGHT. IN. THE. PAN.
What’s up with the name Crazy Cake?
According to Wikipedia,
“Crazy cake, also called wacky cake, Joe cake, and WW II cake, is a spongy, cocoa-based cake. It is unique in that unlike most pastries and desserts, no eggs, butter or milk are used to make the cake batter. Wacky Cake may have been created as the result of rationing during World War II, when milk and eggs were scarce.”
Sound familiar?
So, here's the exact recipe from 12 Tomatoes. Hope you enjoy!
(And no, Joe and John, I'm not going to make this and deliver it to your house!)
Serves 6
45 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
For the topping:
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
In the baking dish, mix together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
Make three depressions or wells in the dry ingredients, two small, and one large. Add the vinegar in one small well, vanilla in the other, and vegetable oil in the large one. Pour 1 cup water over the top and mix until smooth.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
While the cake bakes, stir together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping. While cake is still hot, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Let cool, slice, and serve. Enjoy!
Recommendations:
Don't over mix or it might come out chewy. Don't over bake either. You don't want your cake to be a rock.
What I liked about this recipe:
I mean, who doesn’t like the idea of practically zero clean up?
And, as cinnamon freaks, Hubby and I both loved it (and I don’t even like cake)!
P.S.: This is a great treat to take to someone’s house (once we can finally do that).
What I didn’t like:
It only makes 6 servings. Truthfully, you can probably get 9 servings if you make the servings small, but why would you do that?
Do you have any quarantine cooking or baking recipes that have become "go to" recipes? Tell me about it on Facebook or in Traveleidoscope's comment section!
