Easy Bake Meets the Wacky Cake

This was originally posted on March 29, 2012 on a different blog site.  It still holds true to this day.

When our boys turned 10, we got them a truck – a real truck.  It was a Toyota Hilux and it didn’t run.  Brian towed the truck into our back yard, drained all the fluids out of it and told the boys that as long as they did not smash the windows, they could take the truck completely apart.  That truck was in our yard for several years and the boys stripped it down.

I realized the other day why we are ‘out of the box’ when we give things to our kids…it is my mother’s fault.  “Out of the box” thinking is another think my mother modelled for me.  When I was little, I wanted an Easy Bake Oven.  If I remember correctly, my mother thought that if I was old enough to ask for an Easy Bake Oven, then I was old enough to learn how to use the real thing!  She taught me how to make a Wacky Cake and I make them to this day.  I have a very clear memory of watch the vinegar hit a bit of baking soda.  I have a very clear memory of carefully mixing the batter with a fork, check each of the pan’t corners for flour.  I have very clear memory of the smell of that dark chocolate cake, as it baked.  The only that has changed is that I now double the recipe, stir in some chocolate chips, and bake the cake in a 9×13 for approximately 40 minutes.

Wacky Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup cold water

Preparation:

In a 8×8 cake pan, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened. Bake at 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it springs back when touched lightly.

My boys love their truck, and my whole family loves Wacky Cake….and they are all really thankful for their grandma, who taught their mom how to bake.

PS I musst sheepishly admit the I bought my 3 yr old granddaughter an Easy Bake Oven. I bought it second, in super shape, so it was good ideal....and how could I ever resist a 'good deal'?