Judy Youngdoff Kansas sent the recipe below. As well as cakes using dry cake mix, there is another style of cake called a "dump cake." These are cakes in which all the ingredients are "dumped" together at once.

from Judy:
Believe it or not, I used to make a dessert every night for dinner when the kids were growing up. My favorite 'dump cake' came from a friend but is much different than the usual dump cake.

Red Devil's Food Cake

8x8 or 9x9 greased cake pan

Preheat oven to 350°

Sift together:
1 c sugar
1 1/2 c flour
3 T cocoa powder
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 c Wesson oil (any brand of cooking oil will do)
1 T vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 c cold water


1. Mix together flour and wet ingredients. Do not beat.

Bake in 8" or 9" square pan at 350-degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Best served warm. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. (Or chopped walnuts, as in photo.)


Judy: Would probably serve 4 easily, and 6 people using smaller portions. Two kids, a husband and one chocoholic at our house polished it off in one sitting!


I asked Judy why it was called "Red" cake, when there was nothing red in the ingredients. Here's her answer.


No red food coloring..........I'm not sure why it was called "red."   The recipe came from a friend of ours from church........they had a daughter, Joanie, same age as Julie. The girls were 'best friends' during their toddler years. This was just something easy to throw together for a quick dessert.