Cake was born in the era of the Great Depression, a time when people had to turn a little into a lot. Crazy Cake was one such feat of ingenuity, a recipe that used no milk, butter, or eggs at all but still produced a sweet, moist and delicious cake. You will usually see it as a chocolate cake, but here we’ve turned it into a sugary-cinnamon snickerdoodle version. Like the traditional one, it uses no perishable ingredients but you still end up with one amazing cake.

Crazy Cake’s major selling point is that it uses only pantry ingredients to create a special treat, but I think the fact that you mix it all up in the baking dish is equally alluring. You don’t even need to dirty a mixing bowl!

You just place flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt into your baking dish, and give it a quick stir.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water

For the topping:

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8×8-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
In the baking dish, mix together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
Make three depressions or wells in the dry ingredients, two small, and one large. Add the vinegar in one small well, vanilla in the other, and vegetable oil in the large one. Pour 1 cup water over the top and mix until smooth.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
While the cake bakes, stir together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping. While cake is still hot, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Let cool, slice, and serve. Enjoy!