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Chocolate Depression Cake
In Social Studies, I've been learning about the Great Depression. It's a really interesting topic to learn about, because it shows how situations can change so quickly. Before the Great Depression were the Roaring Twenties, the time period with the flappers, cocktail, and parties. But just ten years later, the stock market crashed and it kickstarted the Great Depression, a time period of dust bowls, unemployment, and government food rations.
Today I made a chocolate cake which is said to have been made a lot during the Great Depression. Because foods such as butter, milk, or eggs were scarce during that time, they would make this vegan cake on special occasions. According to my research, it says that government food rations had included flour, pork, split peas, corn meal, molasses, and cocoa. I think with those ingredients, they would have been able to make this cake.
But does it taste good? Even with no icing, just with powdered sugar dusted on top? Yes, it's scrumptious! My cousin commented, "it's the best chocolate cake you made so far." The thing is, this cake is not overly sweet, which chocolate cakes tend to be. I think using vegetable oil instead of butter also gave it a unique flavour unlike rich, buttery chocolate cakes. This cake is so simple, but it's fluffy and the bittersweet chocolate taste is prominent.
I think the Great Depression was bittersweet. Just before the Great Depression were the Roaring Twenties, a time of prosperity, a time of climbing. You cannot crash unless you were climbing. But because they had this time of prosperity, they also were able to fall from the cliff and fall into depression. After they fell, there was bitterness and poverty. But in the midst of that cloud there was light, or something people learned from it. I think people living in the Great Depression learned a lot of things, such as the importance of family bonding even during harsh times. Ultimately though, they learned how to overcome. Roosevelt, who was president at that time, said that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," and introduced the Three R's. First there was relief, government help for the people, and then there was recovery, basically opening the banks and stuff to make it look like things were better so that people could gain confidence, and reform, a time of making better systems so that they could prevent economic depression in the future. I don't know what essentially overcame the Great Depression and how the nation became even more prosperous than before because everyone says it's a controversial topic. And I haven't even gotten to the spendings of World War II yet.
But yeah, let's get started with the recipe now. Here's how you make chocolate cake from the Great Depression, which is very quick and easy.
CHOCOLATE DEPRESSION CAKE (Makes one 8x8" square cake) Ingredients 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 tsp. vinegar (I used apple-flavoured) 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 cup water
Powdered sugar to dust Instructions CAKE Preheat the oven to 350 degrees C. Line a 8 x 8" square pan with parchment paper after buttering it. 1. Sift flour and coca powder into a large bowl. Add sugar, salt, and baking soda. Whisk to incorporate. 2. In a medium-large bowl, add vanilla, vinegar, oil, and water. Whisk to combine. 3. Add the wet mixture to dry and whisk until fully incorporated with no lumps. 4. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for up to 30 minutes only until a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean. 5. Cut the cake into squares, dust with powdered sugar, and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Chocolate Chocolate and More: http://chocolatechocolateandmore.com/chocolate-depression-cake/