Easy Chocolate Depression Cake Recipe

Published Feb 21, 2024 By Elle Ann

Image credit: Full Kitchen via YouTube

This cake recipe is old-fashioned and has been passed down to generations, but is still incredibly loved to this day. That is because this is actually super yummy despite its name, it is also a very easy pastry to make that requires ingredients that are often easy to find or you may already have available in your kitchen.

But what I love the most about this cake is that you can prepare everything all in one pan, you wouldn’t need any other bowls just to make this, all you have to do is to mix everything in the cake pan, and pop them in the oven, that easy! This is also made without eggs, milk, or butter, but I guarantee you it is very tasty. Watch this video tutorial by Full Kitchen on YouTube to learn how.

Ingredients for Chocolate Depression Cake:

1½ cups of all-purpose flour
3 tbsp of cocoa powder, unsweetened
¾ cup of sugar
1 tsp of baking soda
½ tsp of salt
1 tsp of white vinegar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
5 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 cup of water

How to Make Chocolate Depression Cake:

Easy to Make Chocolate Depression Cake — Image credit: Full Kitchen via YouTube

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In an 8-inch square baking pan, add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt, then whisk everything until uniform and combined, and then make 3 dips or depressions as shown in the video.

Step 2

In each depression, add the vinegar, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil separately, then pour the water all over the mixture, and start whisking everything until smooth and well combined.

Step 3

Place the cake pan in the preheated oven, then allow the cake to bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. Frost it with a homemade ganache or store-bought spread, whatever you have available, or serve them as is. Enjoy!