Wacky Cake
Also known as depression cake, the batter for this quirky old-school chocolate cake is stirred together right in the baking pan (no mixing bowl required!), which is how it earned its name. The cake recipe also contains no eggs or milk, which is why it was a popular treat during lean times. Wacky Cake is delicious eaten on its own, especially with a cold glass of milk, but we added a layer of fudgy frosting and chopped toasted pecans to make it more decadent. Some testers in our Test Kitchen said it reminded them of a Texas Sheet Cake but much easier to pull off. Make sure to sift the dry ingredients right into the baking pan, don’t just combine everything in the pan and stir it up. Sifting makes the cake light and tender. If you don’t have a sifter, don’t worry—you can use a fine-mesh strainer instead.