This week on Minnesota Live, I shared the chocolate cake that absolutely defined celebrations (or average weeknights!) during my childhood. This is my mom’s famous chocolate cake – topped with two different frostings. She adapted reach recipe from church cookbooks over the years and has made this for any day worth celebrating.
The cake is made completely in a 9×13 pan which is about as Midwestern as you can get. It’s the craziest cake technique I’ve ever seen and it never fails to shock me when it actually works. Every single time.
A couple of things to note about this cake: this is not a health food. There are five cups of sugar between the cake and frostings here. Proceed with caution. That being said, I use the best quality ingredients I can find and I really think it makes a difference and somehow balances out the intense sweetness. This means grass-fed butter (I like Kerrygold), high quality flour (big fan of Sunrise Flour Mill), avocado oil (over canola or soybean), Dutch process cocoa powder, organic cane sugar and top notch chocolate chips (Guittard milk chocolate is a Susie mandate). And foods that are a joy to make and a joy to eat and are made with real ingredients are absolutely worth indulging in.
Susie’s Chocolate Cake
The Cake:
Gather this:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white sugar
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- ¾ cup avocado oil (or another neutral oil)
- 2 cups water
Do this:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a 9×13 ungreased pan (if you have a deeper 9×13 pan, that works best). Make two small holes and one large hole in the dry ingredients. Put the vanilla in one small hole, the vinegar the other small hole and the oil in the large hole. Pour the water over the entire top of the pan. Mix well with a fork but don’t overbeat. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean – 35-40 minutes. Set aside to cool. When completely cooled, add a layer of the white frosting. Put cake in the fridge to cool. Then add the slightly warm (not hot!) fudge frosting layer and return to the fridge. Best served cold!
The White Buttercream Frosting
Gather this:
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix
Do this:
Beat all ingredients together in a stand mixer until combined and fluffy.
The Fudge Frosting
Gather this:
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 oz milk chocolate chips (preferably Guittard)
Do this:
Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium. Add the sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Bring to a full boil for one minute. Turn off the heat and add chocolate chips, stir until the chocolate chips are melted. Let sit until warm, stir again and spread over the cake.
Home to Homestead 
We had this same cake growing up, but we called it crazy cake!
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Thanks for sharing! It will be a special occasion cake in my house. I can’t wait to try it. I hope it is the kind of cake, if you just take tiny portions- much less calories;)
This isn’t just a cake: it’s an experience of wonderful flavors! It might just become an obsession with me! Your son is such a sweet kitchen helper too!
Oh my goodness Elizabeth! My mom has made this exact same cake ever since I can remember and my Mom is 93! I still have the recipe card and it is called Crazy Cake, which by today’s standards it’s in appropriate. I love this cake! I’ve halved the recipe because my husband and I don’t need a full size cake but it’s just enough for the two of us. Too funny!
Yes!! It’s a common cake! In the south it’s often called a Texas sheet cake. In our family it’s known as my mom’s chocolate cake because she adds the two layers of frosting. SUCH a good idea to cut the recipe in half – what size pan do you bake it in when you do that?
Why are you taking credit for this cake? This recipe has been around for decades. It’s called Crazy Cake.
Where am I taking credit? I shared that my mom adapted three different church cookbook recipes to create this combination.
The cake is a classic – many people also call it a Texas Sheet Cake.
There is always one ugly critic and naysayer. I appreciate the recipe from your experience. I haven’t tried it yet but intend to!
well , if your momma wrote this recipe down , thats fine , but this cake with no eggs or dairy is called wacky or depression cake, I don’t think your mother was the originator of that, the 3 church cookbooks and a winning combination 😉 is just the back story. Sure sounds good though, look up Wacky cake online. Momma might have been looking at that recipe when this came about…..
called Texas Sheet cake not just in Texas but many states! What is “crazy” about it anyway? Don’t get that name!
Thats not her cake , that is however called wacky cake or depression cake. No eggs or dairy, but she did add oil. Im not trying to take anything away from her, but it’s not hers. Sorry, I said , what I said.
It’s often called “crazy cake” and “Texas sheet cake” too. It’s a common cake – and I shared that she adapted the recipe from church cookbooks over the years. In fact, I adapted it by using avocado oil which wasn’t even in her recipe. In our family it’s known as my mom’s chocolate cake – because she always made it for us and she would add the two layers of frosting. If this post or the recipes I share don’t bring you joy – there are lots of other options online for you!
It looks delightful and I am looking forward to giving it a try. Thank you for sharing a lovely memory of your mom and your childhood. I miss my beautiful midwestern mom and making her recipes for special occasions and holidays helps me remember her even if it was one from the lid of a cool-whip container she shoved haphazardly into her recipe box. My favorites are the ones cut off the back of a box, glued to a card with her changes added over the years. I am going to go to the kitchen and have a good cry and make some shortcakes from bisquick.
ugggggg mean people suck… Read it .. save it or don’t… Easy peasy lemon squeezy .. and I’ve made this cake a million times… The 2 frostings… Yesssssss please and thank you MOM!!!
GEESH. It’s a cake. No matter the name. IT’S AN AWESOME CAKE!!
Haha, there are lots of names for this one. Maybe a piece of cake would cheer a few people up around here? 😉
Looks scrumptious! Definitely will give it a go! Hey! People! Get a life and criticize something else in this world! Seriously! Such grumpiness and self righteousness! 😏🤔🥴
This is awesome! My mom used to make crazy cake with a slightly different first layer of frosting. How fun to see this variation! For those people complaining – as Elizabeth said find another option.
Such a beautiful lady your mom is, I’m glad you have a nice recipe from her & great memories to help carry on a wonderful tradition. That’s so nice! Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you for the idea of this wonderful cake! When I make it, it is a very big hit with my family too! I have never tried it with the two frostings (is that even allowed?)lol! Just teasing! I’m going to have to try this cake with two frostings!
The cake looks delicious. I’m going to make it tomorrow. One thing I’d like to suggest to you Elizabeth is that you always talk about shopping locally I would like to suggest that you try the Hope butter that is made in Hope Minnesota very delicious.