Cockeyed Cake A.K.A The Lazy-Ass Cake is the only cake recipe you’ll ever need! It’s so quick and easy, everything gets mixed and baked in the pan. And with no eggs, it’s a delicious vegan treat.
Although already known under many names such as cockeyed, wacky, crazy or depression cake, I am officially rechristening this cake as the LAZY ASS CAKE. It’s so simple to make, it’s almost foolproof!
All the cake needs is a minute or two of whisking, it bakes in the same pan the ingredients are mixed in, and comes out of the oven dark, moist and chocolatey in 30 minutes. No need to grease the baking pan even!
You can enjoy a slice plain or easily take it up a notch with a sprinkling of powdered sugar for a totally vegan treat (no eggs!). If you want something more sinful and indulgent, a generous slathering of canned frosting will do the trick.
Now, if you want to go all out and impress, this lazy ass cake makes a terrific base for tiered masterpieces. Just double the recipe, bake in two batches in round (or square) cake pans and pull it all together with your specialty frosting (mocha flavor, pretty please!) in the middle and chocolate ganache for the outside.
The cake requires so little work, you can focus more on getting it all nice and pretty.
Don’t let the humble ingredients fool you! Soft, fluffy, and with intense chocolate flavor, it’s the only cake recipe you’ll ever need. It’s a winner as is but I am one of those people who can’t leave great things alone. Occasionally, I like to pump up the chocolate flavor by adding a teaspoon or so of instant coffee granules to the batter. Totally optional but highly recommended.
Cockeyed Cake A.K.A The Lazy-Ass Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 5 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules, optional
- vanilla frosting (store-bought)
Instructions
- In an 8 x 8 baking pan, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, water, oil, vinegar, vanilla extract and instant coffee, if using.
- Stir together until smooth and blended.
- Bake in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool before frosting.
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Nutrition
Great cake, so easy to make. Do you have a icing recipe to go with this, to keep the home made momentum going.
Hi Rhianon,
I am glad you enjoyed the cake. Unfortunately I don’t have a homemade icing recipe on the blog yet, working on it 🙂
For the oil do you think i could use olive oil or coconut oil?
Thank you!
I’ve never tried it with these oils but I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t work 🙂
Made this for my husband and 2yr old.. They loved it! I just replaced the water with fresh milk. For the frosting, I used cream, brown sugar and cocoa.. It complimented the cake really well.. It’s like a chocolate mousse! It’s so easy to make. Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe.
Thanks for the feedback, Belle. I am glad the family enjoyed the cake. Will definitely try your frosting recipe. Sounds delicious.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! It’s exam season and I decided this morning to treat my fellow housemates. Turned out chocolatey and really light.
Thanks, Erica! I am glad everyone enjoyed it!
Is it ok to put less baking soda ? Like 1/2 teaspoon, i think i felt a little the taste of it.. otherwise was very nice 🙂
I haven’t tried it with less baking soda, I am worried it might affect the texture of the cake 🙁
I just wanted to give a little history on this cake. Erma Bombeck, an author and pretty funny lady, had this recipe in a book she wrote called: I hate to Cookbook or something similar to that. I started making this cake back in the early seventies. My exhusband loved this cake and would often ask for it after dinner if I hadn’t made anything sweet for him to end his meal with. Yeah, he was pretty spoiled, my husband of nearly forty years now is much nicer.
Thank you so much for sharing, Pat. I have a few Erma Bombeck’s books and they’re informative yet fun to read. Husbands are like a lottery, you never know if you have the winning ticket and this speaking as a divorced woman myself. I’ve found my better half and I am glad you have, too. 🙂
It’s in the oven right now
I put it together before my oven was even ready for it! I love how quickly it was. I just hope it tastes good
So quick and easy to make, right? You’ll be amazed how chocolatey and tasty it is with so little work!
This sounds really good. I will add this to my recipe file.
Please do! It’s so easy to make, you’d be surprised how moist and chocolatey it comes out 🙂
This is amazing!!! I tried it and it turned out fabulous!! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the feedback, Surbhi. I am glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
i have red wine vinegar and apple cider ,which can i use ? oh do you have easy one for a chocolate frosting ,im vegan ty
Hello, Maria! I recommend using regular white vinegar for this recipe. Also, if you want to dress the cake up, sprinkle enough amount of powdered sugar over top, totally elevates it further!
I would definitely include making a vegan chocolate frosting recipe in my list 🙂
It seems delicious!!!
It is! 🙂
I just made this cake. It was a very last minute decision, as my fiancé’s birthday present arrived too late and I still wanted to make his day special. I literally typed in “easy vegan cake” on Pinterest and this was the first thing that came up. I happened to have all the ingredients at home already, so I started baking! 🙂
This cake is actually the first vegan, more healthy dessert that my 3,5 yo likes, so I’m very happy! Thank you for sharing!
Isn’t this cake amazing? I was skeptical it would really work without eggs when I first came across the recipe but it definitely prove my doubts wrong 🙂
hi… i’m a fan of your recipes… still learning how to bake good cakes… anyways, thanks for this recipe of yours, made one and my children loved it… i wonder, what mocha frosting recipe would you suggest best with this cake??
hope you answer this… thanks and i’m glad i found your blog!!!!
Thank you so much, Ofelia. I am glad the kiddos loved the cake. Here is a link to my favorite mocha buttercream frosting http://www.food.com/recipe/the-best-mocha-buttercream-frosting-icing-262883 It’s so good and will go well with the chocolate cake 🙂
I just loved the name: Lazy Ass Cake. Although I did not have all the ingredients nor the right sized pan,. I had to do some rearranging of this recipe and it was still delicious. First, I did not have the right size pan so I used a 9 x 2 round cake pan. It worked just fine. Second, I only had apple cider vinegar which I chose not to use. I also did not use frosting as this recipe can stand on its own. As for the round cake pan, it still only took 30 minutes. Thanks for the wonderful and easy cake recipe. At 10:30 this morning, my husband and I were eating The Lazy Ass Cake. Keep the recipes coming. I just love to bake and share with my family and friends.
Thank you for the feedback and tips, Patti. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
I’m wondering how it would be with balsamic vinegar. I think that hint of sweetness and the subtle undertones would be really good. I’ll definitely have to try it both ways. 😉
I’ve never tried it with balsamic but like you said, the subtle undertones might work well with the chocolate. Please let me know how it turns out 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour and it turned out amazing. It was a hit with the kids.
You’re welcome, Susie. I am glad the kids enjoyed the cake. This is a favorite in my house and thanks to you, I can make a gluten version so everyone in my family can enjoy it. 🙂
Love an easy cake. Think it would be great with a 7 minute frosting. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi,
How can I make a vanilla version of this cake? More vanilla and cut the chocolate?
Thanks!
What kind of vinegar to use? Regular clear vinegar or apple cider vinegar? Thank you!
Hi Angel
I just used regular white distilled vinegar 🙂
Hahaha with a name like that, I had to investigate — and this looks SO delicious! Bookmarking it for sure. Thanks and glad I came across your blog!
Yes, Lazy Ass Cake receives more interest than Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting. 🙂
Thanks for the visit and I am glad I found your blog, too.