#wackycake

This Ultimate Vegan Vanilla Cake (Simple & Elegant) is one of the easiest cakes to make. From the super moist vanilla cake slices to the dreamy creamy, fragrant vanilla frosting on top, it's a complete lovely one layer naked cake.   Not over the top, just simple and elegant. 

Which also means, you don't have to do anything too fancy to the cake, and it will be just gorgeous as is.  But, (there's always a but, LOL) you could easily add some seasonal fruit, some fresh flowers, candies, sprinkles, nuts, candles or anything at all for special occasions like birthdays and holidays.

This cake is like the easiest vanilla cake I've ever made and even better that it's vegan. Who would have thought?  The ingredients are so basic, yet there are no eggs and no dairy!  Hallelujah! This 8 ingredient cake has flour, sugar, olive oil & almond milk -for added moisture, baking soda, salt, vinegar and lastly and most importantly, vanilla!  This cake has also been deemed Crazy Cake, Wacky Cake, and some call it Depression Cake!  

It was popular to make cakes like this during the Depression-era when eggs, butter, and milk were scarce.  It's also a very affordable cake to make from scratch as well.  It's even good without frosting, because of its' moist texture. Crazy Cake is a great option for those who have food allergies or follow a vegan diet.  The frosting is super creamy and it smells 'vanilla' wonderful.  It's also amazing just for dipping strawberries into, as we found out!  Ultimate Vegan Vanilla Cake (Simple & Elegant) is truly the best!  

More vegan cake ideas?

Vegan Carrot Cake | Moist & Amazing Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Old-Fashioned Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Ultimate Vegan Vanilla Cake

This Ultimate Vegan Vanilla Cake (Simple & Elegant) is one of the easiest cakes to make. From the super moist vanilla cake slices to the dreamy creamy, fragrant vanilla frosting on top, it’s a complete lovely one layer naked cake.   Vanilla Cake:1 and 3/4 cups tablespoons All-Purpose Flour (or gluten-free flour like Red Bob's)1 cup Sugar1 tsp Baking Soda1/2 tsp Salt1 cup Non-dairy milk (we used unsweetened almond milk)2 tsp Vanilla Extract1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or oil of choice)1 Tbsp White Vinegar (or sub Apple Cider Vinegar)Vanilla Frosting1 3/4 + 2 tablespoons Powdered Sugar2 Tbsp Vegan Butter2 Tbsp non-dairy milk2 tsp Vanilla ExtractOptional Fresh fruit (sprinkles, nuts, fresh flowers) Preheat the oven to 350°FTrace the bottom of the tube pan or angel food cake pan onto parchment paper using a pencil. Cut out the traced shape with scissors, staying close to the inside of both lines. Place the parchment paper cutout in the bottom of the tube pan.Grease and flour the tube pan and set aside.Vegan Vanilla CakeSift the flour into a large mixing bowl.Add the sugar, baking soda and salt and mix together.Add the milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar and use whisk or use mixer until just combined.Bake for 40-45 minutes until cake is light golden brown, then remove from oven.Allow the cake to sit on the wire cooling rack for ten minutes. Use a knife and loosen the cake.Using pot holders, hold the cake plate in place with one hand. Carefully, but quickly turn the tube cake upside down onto a cake plate with the other hand. Depending what side you want up on your cake, you can place another plate on top and reverse.Let cake continue to cool.Vanilla FrostingAdd the vegan butter, powdered sugar and 3/4 of the milk and beginning on low speed, using a mixer, slowly increasing speed until it is smooth and creamy. Add more milk if you want it creamier. If your vegan butter has a higher water content, you may not need to use all of the milk.If your frosting is still a little thin, add more powdered sugar, if it’s a little thick, add more milk. The consistency must be thick enough that it doesn’t slide off the cake, but thin enough to be spreadable.When your cake is completely cool, add frosting to the sides of the cake using an offset spatula, like light crumb coat, very thin layer of frosting, then frost the top with a nice layer of frosting.Decorate as needed. Best to decorate before serving. If you don't have a tube pan or tube pan, you could use a small bundt pan. Makes a 2 1/2 inch layer cake. Also can use 2 7" cake pans or 1 9x13 pan (reducing time to 25-30 minutes) or a 12 inch cake pan, or springform pan. If you want a larger double layer cake, double the recipe and use 2 9" pans. Can also be made into 12 cupcakes, 15-18 minutes. Slightly adapted from Lovin' It Vegan

There is a lot of marriage-related news happening this week which, in addition to my wedding anniversary coming up in a few days, warrants a quick story about the wedding cake my wife and I had at our big event.

Several of our friends had recommended an older woman to us who was a cake baker who lived out in the country. She had been making wedding cakes out of her home for years and years and was said to be a true artist. We set up an appointment to meet with her one afternoon and when we arrived, she warmly greeted us with a book of beautiful cake photos in hand. She had jumped right in to some ideas and options when I stopped her and said that we were actually looking for a "vegan" cake and asked if that would that be possible. The blank stare seemed to imply that she wasn't familiar with the term. I explained that, while we didn't want to interfere with her process, we didn't want any animal products at all in the cake. She gave me a long stare before her eyes lit up and she said, "Wait, you mean a wacky cake? I haven't made one of those in years!"

Turns out, during the Great Depression era, animal products were expensive and hard to come by. By World War II, food rationing was also to blame. A popular cake recipe was passed around that used inexpensive ingredients as replacements, making it completely vegan. This timeless recipe is known as "depression cake" or "wacky cake".

Once we all were on the same page with the ingredients, we picked out some colors and sizes and gave her many thanks as we went on our way. Sure enough, when the cake arrived at our wedding, it was absolutely beautiful, very delicious and came with a little bit of history, too!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup cocoa powder

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together by hand.  Add all the wet ingredients until well combined.  Pour into a 8×8 pan which has been prepared with non stick spray.

Bake for 30 minutes or until done.  Allow to completely cool before serving. Cake is even better if eaten the next day.  Enjoy!

Optional: top it off with a dusting of powdered sugar or your favorite frosting.