LEMON CRAZY CAKE – THE ORIGINAL RECIPE (a.k.a. Lemon Wacky Cake and Lemon Depression Cake), is a vintage Depression Era cake that has no eggs, no milk, no butter and no bowls! One of the EASIEST, budget friendly lemon cakes you can make! You won’t believe how moist and delicious this cake is, perfect for any occasion!
Lemon Crazy Cake – A Depression Era Recipe
You will be shocked how moist and delicious this cake is with no eggs, no milk and no butter, made right in the pan or in one bowl! I adapted this wonderful Lemon Crazy Cake back in April 2013, from the Original Chocolate Crazy Cake. The original vintage chocolate cake was created during the Great Depression, when eggs, milk and butter were hard to come by. It took some creativity and baking science to create a cake without eggs or butter – you don’t even need a bowl or mixer. Genius! Because this cake is egg and dairy free, it’s a great recipe to have on hand for people with egg and dairy allergies. But you don’t have to have allergies or be vegan to fall in love with this inexpensive and easy to make cake – it’s fantastic!
The Original Post Date for this recipe was on April 9, 2013. Post was updated, March 29, 2023.
Ingredients Needed (see recipe card below for full recipe)
This awesome budget friendly cake is made with pantry staples and one lemon!
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- baking soda
- salt
- lemon zest
- pure vanilla extract
- pure lemon extract
- white vinegar
- canola oil
- water
- plus your favorite frosting or dusting of powdered sugar
How to Make Delicious Lemon Wacky Cake from Scratch
You are going to love how easy it is to make this Lemon Crazy Cake! You can mix the batter right in the baking pan or use one bowl.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. then spray an 8″ square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Start out combining the first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8″ square baking pan – mix well. Next, you need to make 3 depressions in the dry ingredients – two small, one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla and lemon extracts in the other, and the vegetable oil in the third larger depression. Next, pour water over top. Mix well until smooth.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes. To be sure the cake is ready, check with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Last, top the cake with your favorite frosting (I used vanilla for this lemon cake), or dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
NOTE – For a neater cake pan, you can mix the batter in a bowl, then pour it into a prepared baking pan.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR LEMON CRAZY CAKE:
Because this cake don’t require eggs, milk or butter, mixers or bowls – which is kinda crazy for cake making!
The cake get its moistness from the oil, and becomes fluffy from the chemical reaction between the vinegar and baking soda.
Vinegar is must in crazy cake recipe because it’s an important part of the leavening process. The vinegar reacts with the baking soda, which is what makes the cake rise. You don’t taste a hint of the vinegar in the finished cake.
Yes! Simply use a 9×13 baking pan.
Because there are no eggs, you want the baking soda and vinegar to combine and react/interact last, right before baking, this is what makes the cake rise. Some people think you don’t need to do this, I always have whenever I make a Crazy Cake. It’s a quick step, and all the crazy cakes I have created over the years have ALWAYS turned out perfect.
TIPS FOR MAKING CRAZY CAKE
- Because mixing in a pan can be a little tricky and a bit messy, if you want a neater cake pan you can mix the batter in a large bowl, then pour it into a prepared baking pan.
- Crazy Cakes can be made with Gluten Free mixes! Many people have commented they’ve made the cakes with Gluten Free mixes, and they have turned out wonderful.
- This recipe can also be made into cupcakes!
- Check out the full list of Crazy Cake flavors HERE!
- For a great dairy-free buttercream frosting, The Minimalist Baker has a great vegan recipe you will want to add to your recipe box!
- For a fantastic quick and easy Buttercream Frosting, be sure to check out a great one from Sprinkles Cupcakes, a favorite go-to.
MORE DELICIOUS EASY PANTRY CAKE RECIPES
Lemon Crazy Cake (No Eggs, No Milk, No Butter!)
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 ½ cups plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon zest from 1 lemon
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 5 Tablespoons canola oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Mix the first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8″ square baking pan, mix well.
- Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients – two small, one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla and lemon extracts in the other, and the canola oil in the third larger depression. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool.
- Top with your favorite frosting (I used vanilla for this lemon cake), or dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Notes
- This cake is wonderful with a simple dusting of powdered sugar, or top with your favorite frosting.
- The cake does not need to be kept refrigerated if it’s not frosted. Cover and it will last 3 days. If it is frosted, it will need to be kept refrigerated. Cover and refrigerate for up to 6 days.
- If you don’t want to mix this in the baking dish, you can combine all the ingredients in a bowl, then pour the batter in to a greased 8-inch square baking dish.
- You can sub canola oil with vegetable oil
- You can sub white vinegar with apple cider vinegar.
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- For a great dairy-free buttercream frosting, The Minimalist Baker has a great vegan recipe!
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- For a fantastic quick and easy Buttercream Frosting, check out a great one from Sprinkles Cupcakes, a favorite go-to.
Anonymous
Hi, Mary. Every caKe looks divine. I'm surely gona try this asap…have to get all the ingredients…my next family gathering surprise. God bless 😀
mocodebebe
I have and love my great grand mother's chocolate wacky cake recipe. I can't wait to try this lemon version!
Anonymous
I want to make my daughter a lemon cake for her birthday cake – she loves yellow and is allergic to dairy and eggs, so this is perfect!! I remember my mom making the chocolate crazy cake when I was a kid – loved it!
Do you think it would work to double the recipe and bake in 9" round pans?
Anonymous
I just made this cake and wanted it to be soy free as well as dairy free. The only other oil I had was olive oil. I was a little worried about using the olive oil because of the strong flavor, but the cake turned out amazing!
Lisette Petersen
Oops,I actually made the chocolate one. I was drooling over this lemon one. Gonna try it tomorrow!
lispet
I just made this recipe as cupcakes. Completely satisfied my chocolate craving.
lispet
I just made this recipe as cupcakes. Amazing,moist, and chocolatey!
Anonymous
Well I made the cake yesterday! I was really looking forward to lemon cake…I must of done something wrong because mine did not rise. Anybody for a lemon square!
Kitty in Michigan
Just wondering….could I use honey as a sweetener instead of sugar? Do you have to decrease the other liquids?
Candi
Wow does that look good! My SIL fell and shattered her knee cap and is now in a wheel chair for who knows how long. I was looking for some casserole and desert recipe's I could make and take over. This is definitely going to be the first desert. Thanks soo much for sharing.
Valkyrie
I made this tonight to recipe except I swapped the vinegar for lemon juice with pulp, but I added 3 tsp because I did'nt think the lemon juice would be as acidic as vinegar and I did'nt want to mess with the chemical reaction.
OH. MY. GOD. This seriously packs a lemony punch!!! The reaction turned out fine and it's still the moistest cake ever. Thanks for the adaptation!!!
Bev Prine
This is in the oven now… doubled the recipe. Exchanged Coconut Oil for Vegetable oil. Smells so good!
TawanaB
I love wacky cake! Have been making it (seems like forever) lol. Because of my age this is an old recipe for my family. My mom made home made cakes all the time for me and her recipe book disappeared so it wasn't until recently that I found this recipe. I was wondering how to adapt it for other flavors and do really appreciate your time to try these and post them. I tried my own variation of lemon before I read yours LOL and it came out good but I bet the lemon zest and flavoring is better. I think I did the same thing you did the first time, not sure. I used 1/4 c. lemon juice and the rest water in mine. I also made a lemon drizzle frosting. Can't wait to see what my husband thinks of it. I seriously may never make another full cake mix recipe!! The chocolate is the moistest best chocolate cake I've ever had. Can't wait to try the Spice either.
Now here is my next adventure, I don't know if you have tried this or not but I am going to substitute half a cup of water for half a cup of cold coffee and see if I get a mocha type flavor. Sounds good to me but it may be horrid lol, I will let you know. Thanks again for all the recipes.
Jessica
When I make the chocolate version I always swap out the water for coffee, all of it, it's great! I also use applesauce instead of oil to make it fat free!
Jessica
I always substitute coffee for water in the chocolate version and applesauce in place of oil (fat free!) and it comes out amazing!
rbremmer
Thanks for posting about using applesauce as that's what I was going to try. My cousin is on a very low fat diet and I'm responsible for desserts at our Easter and Thanksgiving dinners. Did you do any type of frosting?
Jamie Riddle
So you mix EVERYTHING together after you pour the water over it?
marysweetlittlebluebird
Yes! 🙂
marysweetlittlebluebird
Be sure to mix your dry ingredients first! – then make the depressions and add the wet ingredients – then pour water over top and mix it all together!
Mary A.
Hi Mary, I made this tonight using GF flour. I also substituted lemon juice for the lemon zest following the Common Ingredient Substitutions website because I didn't have a lemon zester. I'm also using a loaf pan because we've moved and I haven't found my 8" pans yet. The batter seemed thin. Is that alright or do you think I messed something up? I'll try to let you know how it turned out if I haven't buried my head in the snow in shame. 🙂
Cyndy Napp
Please post how that turns out. I, too am watching carbs. I also though of adding the stevia and some poppy seeds. A little drizzle of glaze goes a long way. Much more calorie friendly than frosting I would think.
Anonymous
I am a low carber and I am going to try your recipe using almond or coconut flour, Stevia and coconut oil in place of the higher carb ingredients.
Cyndy Napp
Please post how that turns out. Thanks.
BlueTulip
Oh. My. Goodness!!!!
I am making a Wacky Cake every week, forever.
Galagirl01
I made the chocolate today .. it was so good (and I'm not a chocolate cake girl) … I wondered if there were other options .. going to try the lemon!!
Anonymous
I'm not sure how exactly you mix the ingredience after pouring the water… Do you mix everything at the same time or each depression filled with its own addition separately?
marysweetlittlebluebird
Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a greased 8" square baking pan, starting with the flour first. Mix well. Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients – two small, one larger (see #3 in photo below). Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla and lemon extracts together in the other, and the vegetable oil in third larger depression. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth.
Jamie Riddle
So you do mix EEVERYTHING together after you add the water?
Anonymous
Hi Mary, firstly thanks for this recipe as My Ethiopian maid is currently fasting upto Xmas and does not eat dairy and egg products. So I will try this out tomorrow for her sake. In the meantime, as I am not a baking expert, I am curious to know exactly what purpose do the three depressions in the dry ingredients serve? Does it impact the smoothness or quality of the cake? Thanks dear. (My name is Reshma and I live in Dubai)
marysweetlittlebluebird
Hi Reshma! Because the cake does not have eggs, milk, butter or any dairy, the depressions help keep ingredients from mixing until they should mix (baking soda and vinegar) – this helps the cake to rise and be soft and yummy. People have said they mix the wet and then the dry…but I like to follow the rules because they have never failed me once! I'm not sure if you read, but there are several other versions/flavors for this cake – you can find them in my recipe section. I hope you enjoy the cake! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Jesse Brixius
Can you subsitute the sugar for anything? (That u have tried with this recipie?)
marysweetlittlebluebird
Hi Jesse! I replied to your message but it's not here. ??? I have never used anything but sugar. I have read that others have used artificial sugar and it turned out. Maybe one day I'll give it a try and let you know!
Carol Bond
I made one of these cakes with half sugar and half Splenda and it was still a big hit and turned out fine.
Anonymous
I've made it with xylitol and erythritol.
Anonymous
Would this work with whole wheat flour?
Would it not work if you mixed all the wet ingredients together & mixed into the dry?
Valkyrie
I've made the chocolate one with only 1 cup all purpose, and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and it was great. Different, but great. I would imagine using it with these would be ok too, just slightly more noticeable.
Anonymous
I've made it with 100% whole wheat, turned out great. I also always mix the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, mix together, and pour in pan. As long as the wet and dry ingredients are kept separate until the last minute, the details don't matter.
Anonymous
I have been eating the chocolate Wacky Cake all my life. I was born in 1946. My mom would make it and let us eat it warm with butter on it. It is still a favorite of my kids, too. It always makes up think of Mom. She used to make the indentations for the ingredients, but as time went buy we stopped doing that. Still tastes the same. It is the best. I'm sure it came from the depression.
Winter-Joy
I tried the crazy chocolate cake… I made them into cup cakes with a chocolate hazelnut frosting. It was delishious… My family couldn't believe the ingredients I used. They loved it… But now I'm tryi g to make a strawberry cake for a family friend. Do you have any suggestions on how to do so? Thanks in advance if you do…
Mary Neumann
Following up for those looking for a Strawberry version, you can check it out here, STRAWBERRY CRAZY CAKE: https://sweetlittlebluebird.com/strawberry-crazy-cake/