A One Bowl Chocolate Cake From The Depression

Humble mayonnaise from a jar makes all the difference.

If I could step into a time machine I’d set the dial for 1974 and I’d be in my grandparent’s kitchen the moment my grandmother took her famous chocolate cake out of the oven.

Trust me — you’d want to come along for the ride.

My beloved grandmother was known far and wide for her delicious cooking and baking. She was a farm wife who could whip up a fabulous meal with simple ingredients and still manage farm chores, a huge garden, chickens and cows and everything else you need to do on a farm. She was smart, funny, loving and I was lucky to inherit her lovely legs.

My younger sister and I loved eating at our grandparents’ home. There were so many delicious things to eat — fresh butter, homemade bread, cookies and of course, the incredible Crazy Chocolate Cake.

And to this day — it is one of my sister’s favorite birthday cakes. She would still steal the cake off your plate if she had the chance.

My grandmother iced the cake with either chocolate icing or white buttercream icing with coconut sprinkled on top.

I helped my grandmother bake the cake one day and asked her, “Why do you call this a Crazy Chocolate Cake?” and she looked at me and smiled and went to the fridge.

“Because it has a secret ingredient. I put mayonnaise in the batter. Most people think mayonnaise is only good for sandwiches. But it makes a chocolate cake rich and moist and that’s why people love it.”

I nodded my head as I licked the spoon and bowl. I could see why it was a crazy cake now.

You may think some ingredients are missing from this recipe — like oil and eggs and well — they are, but on purpose. It is a crazy chocolate cake from the Depression, after all.

This isn’t meant to be a fancy cake. It’s something you can whip up when guests unexpectedly come over or on a day when you feel the sudden need for chocolate.

You bake it in a 9 x 13 pan ( or in two round pans) and afterward when you eat it with or without icing, oh my — you’re going to make some friends rather quickly.

Crazy Chocolate Cake Recipe

1 cup white sugar

1 cup of mayonnaise (not the low-fat kind)

1 cup of cold water

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups of flour

4 tablespoons of cocoa

Directions:

Cream the sugar and mayonnaise together in a large bowl. And then add everything in the order it is given. Mix well.

Pour batter into a well-greased 9 x 13 pan — and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.

For cupcakes — bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15–20 minutes.

Thanks for reading! I have loads of food essays (delicious recipes too) and thoughtful and quirky simpler living essays waiting for you. (Well over 100 of them!) And this story caught the attention of NBC News in New York!