Depression Cake: How to make a cake with no eggs, no butter and no milk

With the high price of eggs now we are all looking at using eggs less. We used to use them all the time. I love hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, and even fried eggs. But I am not loving the price of them lately. So, I set out to make a cake that doesn’t have any of the expensive ingredients in it and it turned out really good. Let’s see how to make a cake without eggs, butter and milk.

You’re probably wondering how do you make a depression cake

You’re bound to be curious to know if you can make a yummy tasting cake using no butter, no eggs, or milk. But you absolutely can. Matter of fact my daughter who doesn’t really like sweets really enjoyed this cake because it wasn’t so rich and sickening sweet as other cakes are. If you have a daughter like mine then this cake is one to try!

One thing I definitely wish I had done is added cold coffee to the cake in place of water. That would have given this cake a depth of flavor I think that would have taken it over the top! So, if you have coffee lying around make sure to give that a try!

The vinegar in the cake combined with the baking soda is what helps this cake rise. It will not have any vinegar flavor though. That is why you need the cold water so that the rising doesn’t happen before you put it in the oven. So mix this fast and put it in the oven as soon as it’s mixed as that will help it rise tall.

As someone who has decided to stop buying mixes this may just be my new go to recipe for cake. It’s so simple to make and yet so yummy!

Chocolate Depression Cake

4.50 from 2 votes

A yummy dessert with no expensive ingredients like eggs, milk or butter in the cake!

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Prep Time 9 minutes mins

Cook Time 33 minutes mins

Servings: 8

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water

Equipment

• 1 mixing bowl
• 1 fork
• 1 bowl scraper
• 1 handheld or stand mixer
• 1 frosting spreader

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Spray an 8×8 pan or a bread pan (like I did) with oil. Add dry ingredients to bowl and stir to combine. Then add wet ingredients and stir making sure no dry ingredients are left dry. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 -35 minutes. I insert a knife to check to see if it's done. You know it's done when the knife is completely clean when it comes out. Let cool for 10 minutes then pop out of pan. Then let cool on a cooling rack until completely cool (about an hour).

Notes

Now let’s make the Frosting! 

3 tbs unsalted butter

3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

3 tbs whole milk

With a stand up or hand held mixer, combine the room temperature butter, cocoa, honey, vanilla and confectioners sugar. After 30 seconds add milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach a good frosting consistency. You may not need all 3 tablespoons (I think I used 2.5 tbs) or you may need another tbs. Just depends on where you live and what season it is. Spread over your cooled cake. 

What other ways are you saving money now? I’m afraid this year the prices are just going to get worse so we are doing all we can to combat that. This cake can definitely help.

Before you go check out my other ways I save money and my other cake recipes and ideas! Then follow me on tiktok and youtube to see what else I’m up too. Here’s some of my most popular cake recipes.

• Iced Box Coconut Cake
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