So, here is the recipe for the birthday cake that the kids and I made for their Grandpa Sam’s 69th birthday this past weekend. It is a really yummy chocolate cake that uses no eggs or dairy (the cake, not the frosting) so if you have allergies to either this is a great tasting cake to try out. I know, that finding egg or dairy free recipes that actually taste good can be hard to find but seriously, this one is a winner!!
And no, we don’t have any of these allergies (that I know of anyways) I just like to find and try recipes like this for the pure fun of finding them! Weird, I know. Wanna know a little random fact about my hubby and I? Our wedding cake was an absolutely gorgeous and great tasting vegan cake…yes, they do exist! I just wish I still lived near Washington DC so I could visit the bakery that made ours for us…so good! If you live near DC you MUST buy something devine at Sticky Fingers Bakery, you will not be sorry!
Anyways, here’s a look-sie at the cake we made:
Pretty, huh?
The kidlets with Grandpa Sam
Celebrating in style!
Wacky Cake-see Recipe Card at the end of the post!
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cup white sugar
8 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp cider vinegar
12 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups water
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa together in a large bowl. Make a depression in the center and add oil, vinegar and vanilla. Then, pour water over everything. Mix until just combined with a fork. Pour batter into two greased round baking pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan and then invert cakes onto a cooling rack to cool.
Fluffy White Frosting-See Recipe Card at the end of the post!
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (I added this cause I like the flavor but if you want add it dead last to see if you are happy with just the vanilla flavor, if so then just omit it!)
In a saucepan, stir together sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbly.
In a medium bowl, whip egg whites, vanilla and almond extract until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form. This will take 7-10 minutes.
First, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt…
**FYI**don’t use a small bowl like I did here! You’ll definitely want a LARGE mixing bowl for this recipe!!
Then, add in your wet ingredients and mix until just combined with a fork.
Pour batter into your greased baking pans and bake for 30-40 minutes.
Let cool on a cooling rack completely before frosting!!
While your cake cooling, mix your sugar, water, and cream of tartar over medium-high heat and stir until bubbly.
While you are waiting for the sugar to dissolve and the bubbles to form, whip up your egg whites, vanilla and almond extracts…
until soft peaks form like these.
When your sugar syrup gets a bubblin’ take it off the heat…
and slowly add it to your soft-peaked egg whites…
until you get stiff peaks like these.
Then frost your cake with that awesome-ly fluffy frosting you just made.
And don’t forget to lick the bowl!!!
What a beauty!
Chocolate-y Birthday Goodness!
More Please!
Fluffy White Frosting
Recipe Type: Dessert
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: enough for a 2 layer cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract (I added this cause I like the flavor but if you want add it dead last to see if you are happy with just the vanilla flavor, if so then just omit it!)
Instructions
- In a saucepan, stir together sugar, water and cream of tartar.
- Cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbly.
- In a medium bowl, whip egg whites, vanilla and almond extract until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form.
- This will take 7-10 minutes.
Wacky Birthday Cake
Recipe Type: Dessert
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cup white sugar
- 8 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 12 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa together in a large bowl.
- Make a depression in the center and add oil, vinegar and vanilla.
- Then, pour water over everything.
- Mix until just combined with a fork.
- Pour batter into two greased round baking pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in pan and then invert cakes onto a cooling rack to cool.
We love wacky cake!
I puffy heart fluff frosting – homemade!! I make it for most cakes in this house – yum 😀
Oh great now I want cake!
I. Love. Cake.
Wacky cake has been a staple in my diet for over 30 yrs…It’s the BEST!
I now use it to make my cupcakes and NOTHING…I mean NOTHING turns out moister and more perfect.
Now you’ve made me crave some…oh darn…goodbye jeans!
My friend’s mom used to make this cake for us, but she’d make cupcakes using this batter. It’s awesome. I really want to try your frosting recipe. Looks wonderful and fluffy. I love your blog by the way.
This cake is seriously soooo moist!!! And the frosting, oh I could tell you stories of how good it is…it’s like marshmallows…so YUM!
OMGoodness…I printed your recipe for the frosting to make for my son’s party tomorrow…IMPORTANT: what do you mean by white sugar? Just regular sugar or powdered sugar? Thanks!
BTW…I love your blog!
Kayci- Sorry about that, I mean white sugar…not powdered and not brown!! Have fun!!
-Mags
This recipe looks great! I have two questions though…
1)Could you possibly add cocoa powder to the icing to make chocolate frosting?
2)Could you make the frosting in advance and keep it in the fridge, for a day?
@Sarah-Hmm, those are two good questions. I think you could probably add cocoa powder although I am not sure about the taste, as it is the taste is like gooey marshmallows so maybe it would taste like gooey chocolate marshmallows? And the frosting definitely hardens a bit when frosted on a cake so you make be able to make it in advance but quite possibly you may have to re-whip it in your mixer…maybe even put plastic wrap directly on the frosting to prevent as much hardening as possible. Good luck and let me know if you go for it!
Sounds good! My daughter has an egg allergy and egg substitutes don’t seem to work well for cake. I’m glad to find this one!
8 TBS is the same as 1/2 cup cocoa fyi. 🙂
This may be a silly question, but could you omit the coco powder for a plain vanilla / white cake? I need a dairy free cake, and this cake looks perfect for that, but the person it’s for doesn’t care for chocolate.
Yes, that should work!!