Wacky Chocolate Cake

My Aunt Paula sent me this recipe in a card for my 21st birthday. (And no, there's no booze in it.) So why is it wacky? Well, coming from my Aunt Paula, I wasn't quite sure what to think. She's educated me on plenty of wacky subjects, such as "barking spiders", "busie halters", and the precise definition for "caddywhompus."

Turns out the cake is "wacky" because it uses no eggs, milk, or butter. A little researching (ahem, Wikipedia) showed it was developed during the depression when these items were hard to come by. Even though it lacks any sort of dairy, it's really good. The cake is moist and chocolately--oh, and cheap! So, I now need to thank my Aunt Paula for educating me on yet another subject: cheapass chocolate treats. You rock!

Wacky Chocolate Cake     Makes 1 8 x 8 Cake
1.5 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 T. cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
6 T. vegetable oil
1 T. white vinegar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 cup cold water
( I also added 1 t. instant coffee to make the chocolate flavor stand out)

For Icing:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 T. butter
splash of milk
pinch of salt

1.)Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.)Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour into an 8 x 8 pan and make 3 depressions: 1 large for oil, 1 medium for vinegar, and 1 small for vanilla. Pour cold water over the top and stir with a fork until well mixed.
3.) Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the center of the cake is set.

Icing: 
Bring ingredients to a boil in small saucepan. Stir and pour over warm cake.