Crazy Cake
9 x 13 inch pan
Sift together (or whisk if you don’t have a sifter) into ungreased pan:
2½ cups flour (Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 replacement is a great gluten free substitute)
1½ teaspoons soda
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup cocoa (I use either Hershey’s dark or Dutch process)
1 teaspoon salt
Make 3 holes in the mix and in them put:
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ tablespoons vinegar
½ cup salad oil
Pour 1½ cups water over the top. Blend lightly with fork. DO NOT BEAT. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean.
Cream Filling
½ cup milk
2½ tablespoons flour
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
In saucepan, whisk milk with flour and cook until it forms a thick paste. Cool to lukewarm. In another bowl cream butter and sugar and salt. Add lukewarm mixture and beat until light and fluffy. Fold in vanilla. Spread on cooled cake. Let set in refrigerator for 1 hour.
Frosting
2 tablespoons butter (can use olive oil to make it dairy free/vegan friendly)
2 squares chocolate (3 tablespoons cocoa powder + 1 tablespoon melted butter or olive oil)
pinch of salt
I always use the substitute for the 2 squares chocolate and melt the butter in the microwave and add to the powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt. If you’re using the squares of chocolate, you can melt that in the microwave or a double boiler. When melted, add to 1½ cups sifted powdered sugar and beat until smooth and thickened. If too thick, add 3 tablespoons hot milk (or water). Make it runny enough to easily spread. It will firm up in the fridge. Spread over top of cooled and set cream filling.
This cake is one from my childhood. The church cookbook it came from was the one we used for most of our baked goods and was given to us by Marriam (Grammie) who got it from her sister Vivian. When I moved out of the dorm, I was given my grandmother’s copy and my mom marked our favorite recipes in the index. The comfort of my grandmother’s and my mother’s handwriting in this cookbook is lovely.
Vivian brought this cake to family reunions and when she no longer could, I took up the reins. This cake is the recipe I use for cupcakes and doll cakes because it is so. dang. good.
Apparently these types of cakes were developed when milk, eggs, and butter were harder to come by during the depression and it is incredibly easy to make. It’s the most requested of all my cakes from family and friends alike. It’s great for vegans without the creme filling or without any frosting at all. Gluten free flour is also a fine replacement and it is still good.
Since this cake is mixed in the pan, it’s fun to make with kids because you make a mountain of dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients over it, and mix it with a fork. So much fun and mess when those kids help you decorate.
When I was poor in college, I would put together all the dry ingredients in a jar and include the recipe to add the wet ingredients and make the frosting. It was an economic and popular gift.
I made this cake for my neighbor, Connie on her birthday every year. Her kids were worried about her health, so I started making her half of the cake on her birthday. She asked me about it one year and I told her what Ed had told me and said I would go back to making the full cake if she shared it with her kids. She said she would. After she passed away, I learned that she had in fact never shared it. I thought that was hilarious. Well played, Connie. Well played.
Damon asked me to make this cake for his retirement party, but only for him, not to share with everyone else. So while “I” love to share this cake because I can always make another one, that’s not true for everyone. Honestly even when I’m craving something I really only want a piece or two. I am always offering baked goods to others because I quickly get tired of the final product. I love the act of making it, and hope to give it away so it doesn’t go to waste.
I typically make this cake in either the covered cake pan that came from Grammie’s house if it’s staying at my house, or in the cake pan with my name on it if it’s going to someone else’s house. Of course, I also deliver it in pans that don’t need to be returned when someone has a baby or is ill. Folks shouldn’t have to remember to return a cake pan. I do like to put it in a pan that needs to be returned. It’s another opportunity to see someone you liked enough to bake for.
I’m headed back to Rapid City this week to make this cake for my mom’s birthday. She dislikes attention and her birthday but I can’t help but be thankful both that she was born and that she is my mother. She shares her birthday with Beth’s mom, Johanna. In fact, the first time I thought I might like Beth Denker was when we realized our mothers were born on the exact same day. And that our fathers are both 4 years older than our mothers. And at one point both CPAs. I’ve assured Nancy Baker that I am only happening to visit over her birthday and that I am bringing a cake only because I enjoy baking and not to signify a birthday. Her favorite way to celebrate is by celebrating others instead.