Homemade Crazy Cake Mix, with Variations

Homemade Crazy Cake Mix

Crazy cake is a Vegan & Lenten cake that is super easy to mix up from ingredients most people have on hand. It can easily be put together when guests drop by. It's also great for taking to a Potluck, and there's seldom any left.

There are tons of recipes for Crazy Cake, and LOTS of variations out there. One of my favorite places to find fun variations is on the Sweet Little Bluebird Blog. Some of my variations are inspired by her site. But, I've been using this type of recipe for about 25 years now, so some variations are also from other sources.

Our Church has a Potluck every Wednesday during Lent, and I love that I can bring a different cake every week if I want to. 

But, if I'm going to make a cake every week, I like to save a few steps, which is why last year I created my own Crazy Cake mix. Now it's even faster and easier than ever!

I'll share several different sizes of mix below, with variations in flavors.  "One Cake" is an 8x8 square cake, but you can also use this to make cupcakes, or use more batter for a larger cake - just experiment with the baking times a bit.

With any of these variations you can choose to add 1/2 cup or so of optional ingredients to the batter, such as chocolate chips, raisins, or nuts. And of course, they can also all be topped with icing or your favorite topping, if you like.

Crazy Cake Mix For 1 Cake
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Crazy Cake Mix For 2 Cakes
3 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt

Crazy Cake Mix For 4 Cakes
6 Cups Flour
4 Cups Sugar
4 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Salt

Crazy Cake Mix For 6 Cakes
9 Cups Flour
6 Cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Salt 

 

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Crazy Cake with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

 

To Make One Cake from Crazy Cake Mix:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Grease or oil 8X8 baking dish - I use a glass dish, but a metal cake pan also works
******
Measure 2 1/2 Cups Mix
Add Optional Dry Ingredients (like spices or cocoa) to Mix, and Stir
Set Aside
******
In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, measure Liquid Ingredients:
1 Cup Liquid (usually water, but for some flavors, substitute part of water with other liquids like Fruit Juices or Molasses)
1/3 Cup Oil
1 Tablespoon Vinegar (Apple Cider or White work well)
2 teaspoons Vanilla or other Flavoring Extract
******
Pour liquid ingredients into Dry ingredients. Stir & Pour into Cake Pan.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
If using Cinnamon Sugar, or just Sugar topping, top immediately while still hot- this helps it stick.
If using Frosting or Icing, let cake cool completely before topping
For Best Results, allow to cool completely before cutting

Variations:

Chocolate: Add 2 Heaping Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder to Dry Ingredients. 1/2 Cup Optional Chocolate Chips and/or Nuts may also be added to dry Ingredients. May be topped with Sugar or Cinnamon-Sugar as soon as it comes out of the oven, or it can be cooled and frosted, if you prefer. 

Cinnamon: Add Scant Tablespoon Cinnamon to Dry Ingredients. Top with abundant Cinnamon Sugar after baking, while still hot.

Apple: Reduce water by 1/2 cup. Add Cinnamon to Dry ingredients (1 to 3 teaspoons, depending on how much you like Cinnamon) Add 1 1/2 Cups Grated Fresh Apple to wet ingredients. Depending on the moisture in your apple, you may wish to add up to a 1/4 cup more water at this point. Optional nuts can also be added. Top generously with Cinnamon-Sugar as soon as you remove it from the oven.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip: Use 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla instead of a teaspoon when mixing wet ingredients. Add Chocolate Chips to Dry Ingredients (about 1/2 cup). Top generously with granulated sugar as soon as you remove it from the oven. 

Other Variations: Once you have the mix and the pattern, you can create as many variations as your creativity allows! I've made lots of other variations on this over the years, but have not recorded them all. Lemon, Spice (using a bit of molasses in place of some water), etc. 

 I like to cut this cake in 16 pieces (4 pieces x 4 pieces) and place it in cupcake liners for easy serving.  

As you can see from the picture at the top of this post, I write the recipe on the outside of my storage canister, so that I can easily make a cake without getting out a recipe box, and I can also easily refill the canister when it gets empty.

Hope you enjoy it!