I've started this series of good cheap food to help people eat well cheaply. I was inspired by Lightbulb's series, Confessions of a Retail Worker. I posted this originally as a comment in one of his diaries. Today's recipe is a dessert because everyone deserves a little sweetness in life sometimes. And what's dessert without chocolate? So here's a recipe for crazy cake.
Crazy Cake
This may also be called whacky cake or by other names and I think it came to be either during the Depression or WWII because it does not require eggs, milk or butter. It's a moist, rich can't fail snack cake. You can dress it up if you want. Bonus - no bowls to clean.
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
6 tbsp. cocoa
3/4 c. vegetable oil
2 c. water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Put the flour, sugar, salt, soda and cocoa into an ungreased 9x13 inch pan and stir really well with a fork. Make 3 wells in dry ingredients. Put vanilla in first well, vinegar in the second one, and oil in the third. Pour water over mixture. Stir using fork, until well mixed. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. This makes a nice moist snack cake. You could add nuts and chocolate chips as a splurge. You can shake powdered sugar over the top or add icing.