My grandma's depression cake recipe actually holds up better than the fancy stuff

My grandmother swore by a 'wacky cake' recipe from the 1930s that uses vinegar and baking soda instead of eggs and milk. I always figured it was just a sad poverty thing that couldn't possibly taste good. Last month I made it for a potluck and three people asked for the recipe. I guess sometimes the stuff born from necessity just works.

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesroberts1mo ago

Yeah, that thing about "mix wet and dry stuff and it bakes" really hits home. I feel you on that. It's funny how we make everything seem like this huge complicated thing when really it's just basic chemistry happening in a hot box. But I gotta say, there's something special about those old depression recipes. They weren't trying to be fancy, they were just trying to get something edible on the table with whatever they had. That takes a different kind of skill than following a modern recipe with twenty ingredients. Your grandma's recipe surviving like that says a lot about her and about the times she lived through. I'm glad it got the recognition it deserved at that potluck.

felix_black1mo ago

Hold up, vinegar and baking soda instead of eggs and milk? That sounds like some kind of science experiment gone wrong. I've heard of weird depression era recipes but that one's new to me. Honestly the fact that it turned out good is blowing my mind a little bit. I guess when you're scraping the bottom of the pantry you get creative in ways that actually work.

the_max1mo ago

I mean... it's not like anyone's trying to win a Michelin star with this stuff, right? It's just cake. People act like swapping an egg for applesauce is some kind of culinary breakthrough but really it's just about having something sweet when the cupboards are bare. I get being impressed but it's not exactly rocket science... you mix wet and dry stuff and it bakes. The real miracle is that people actually think box mix is "from scratch" to begin with.