When we hear the phrase “depression cake” our minds immediately go to a nice, sinful, slice of whatever might make us less sad (or taste good laced with tears).

But Depression cake with a capital D is simply a name for a cake made in hard times when a plethora of ingredients aren’t available. It was, of course, a staple of the Great Depression of the 1920s when food rationing and downright poverty stood in the way of stuffing pantries full of everything a home cook needed.

The cake is still a staple of many pastry chefs and bakers because without milk, butter, and eggs, it’s also vegan!

That thought might not excite you, but the point is that at the end of this cooking experiment, there’s cake. And that’s always better than no cake.

What you will need, however, are roughly:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar (even cider vinegar will do)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder (which might be a tall order for some, but you never know what’s in the back of that cupboard!)
• 1 cup of coffee (or water)

While we’ve come to think of baking as careful chemistry, in cases like this when you just need cake and aren’t doing any elaborate stress-baking, feel free to make this a one-bowl mix.

Here’s what to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease an 8-inch round or square pan.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar together in a mixing bowl.
3. Then, make three divots in the mix and pour the vanilla, vinegar, and oil into each hole.
4. Next, add the coffee and then simply stir the ingredients until they’re well blended.
5. Add the mixture to the pan.
6. Bake for 35 minutes.
7. Cool the cake in the pan.
8. If you have cream or powdered sugar on hand, you can add a bit to the top, but you certainly don’t need to.

Now, maybe your cake doesn’t end up looking perfect. So what? Nothing about being quarantined is a beauty contest.

If it sticks to the pan, break it up and serve it in a bowl.

If it didn’t set and ended up gooey, scoop it out and serve it in a bowl! Call it pudding. Do whatever it takes to get the warm chocolate in your mouth because you deserve a reward for even trying!

Whether you call them “Depression cakes,” “war cakes,” “wacky cakes,” or even “poor man’s cakes” (these are all phrases to Google if you want to find more recipes), they’re still cakes and therefore the treat so many of us deserve right now.

In fact, there are plenty of cocoa-free versions out there that use other spices that are more commonly found around the house like cinnamon and nutmeg.

There are all sorts of odds and ends in people’s pantries that can be used for something creative right now. And one of the benefits of the Internet is that you can often just search for a series of ingredients and wind up with a recipe that helps you use them.

So be creative – and just remember that if you end up with anything resembling cake, you haven’t failed.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Salon.com, TODAY, New England Today