Chocolately Chocolate Chip Cake

This chocolate chip cake is built on the bones of a classic crazy cake (also called wacky cake or depression cake), the World War II-era recipe that used vinegar and baking soda for lift instead of eggs and butter. The vinegar reaction creates the carbon dioxide that makes the cake rise, while the dairy-free batter became famous during rationing.

What lifts this above the basic version are the strategic upgrades: cream cheese dollops dropped onto the batter create rich pockets of cheesecake-like filling that bake right into the cake. Chocolate chips and chopped walnuts on top crown each square with crunch and melt.

It’s the dump-everything-in-one-pan simplicity of crazy cake with the visual and flavor payoff of a much more involved recipe.

Dutch-process cocoa is the smart choice here over natural cocoa. The alkalized version mellows the chocolate flavor and produces a deeper, almost reddish-black color that makes the cake look more decadent than it is.

Using cold water rather than milk keeps the cake naturally dairy-free in the base, which works in this recipe’s favor since the cream cheese topping adds plenty of richness.

Pro Tips

• Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature before beating. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps no amount of mixing will smooth out.
• Don’t overmix once the dry ingredients meet the wet. Activated gluten makes for tough cake.
• Drop the cream cheese mixture in dollops, don’t spread it. The pockets are part of the visual appeal.
• Let cool completely in the pan. Slicing warm means the cream cheese pockets ooze and the cake tears.

Variations

• Swap walnuts for pecans or skip them entirely for a nut-free version.
• Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the batter to deepen the chocolate flavor.
• Use white chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet for a sweeter, more caramelized contrast against the dark cake.