I've never made one but remember them from when I was a kid. They were definitely moist and tender. My guess is the acidity in the mayo also offsets the sweetness and enhances flavor. I would think the keeping quality would be the same as other cakes. The kind of frosting used, such as cream cheese, would make me want to keep it covered well in the fridge.

I used to make one often. I can't find the recipe, but I think it was from Maida Heatter. The mayo replaces eggs and oil. The cake was very moist and so good. It cries out for a good buttercream icing imo.

Icky yukky!..That was a WWII Recipe when butter and eggs were rationed but mayo was not. It's very heavy on the chocolate so you don't notice the absence of butter.....and the vinegar in the mayo makes it taste, sort of, like you have used sour cream.
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/04/chocolate-mayonnaise-cake-recipe.html

Here's a version I found on another forum.

https://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/chocolate-mayonnaise-cake/

That's the recipe Linda. Jo, what is a buttercream frosting? I usually make frosting with butter and powdered sugar . . . I think the one for the recipe that my friend sent me calls for cream cheese. The one that Linda linked to has sour cream. So many options . . .

I've always had good luck with recipes from The Joy of Baking. Here is their chocolate mayonnaise cake along with an explanation and history. Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Butter cream frostings are frostings made of sugar, any extract, and butter or solid shortening, and I suppose cream cheese would be a type of it too.

Oh dear, that one that you posted Teeda, suggests ganache as a topping! So many yummy options!

I made them years ago and even used Miracle Whip. They are nice and moist and at the time we enjoyed them.

Sue

I think I'm going to make cupcakes, so I can eat some now and freeze some for later . . .

They were definitely a "thing" many years ago. I think most of those little church/community cookbooks that everyone put together had recipes for them. I remember them, but like many things were a fad that faded away in favor of the next fad recipe.

I've made cakes with sour cream (but not mayo) and they were very good, but I mostly made coffee cakes. There is no reason not to make a cake with sour cream, and it will react with baking soda to help it rise.

Mayonnaise has only a very small portion of egg in it - about one yolk in one cup of mayo - and so I do not think it is a good substitute for eggs - just for oil (and not butter or shortening). Mayo does have a noticeable amount of acid in the vinegar or lemon juice, but if you need that, just add lemon juice and oil (plus eggs) to the cake instead of mayo. I think mayonnaise is more expensive than oil anyway, and that is the main ingredient by far. To me, it would be a waste of mayo to use it in a cake.

When I was growing up in the 50's and early 60's, my mother made a chocolate cake with Miracle Whip. It was moist and chocolatey - I still have the recipe but never make it. I'm not a baker...

It uses quite a big dollop of baking soda. That makes me think that maybe the vinegar (acid) in the mayo acts with the baking soda, much like buttermilk or sour cream would.

I used to have the best chocolate cake recipe and that was what it was called in the little paperback cookbook, "The Best Chocolate Cake".

I quit making it decades ago when I quit buying Crisco, since it was a shortening cake.

Now, I just go for that one on the Hersheys box. That makes a darned good cake and it is so simple.

Personally, I would not go for mayo in a cake. I can't stomach mayo and would taste it my mind, if not on the tongue. I do remember when this hit a new popularity.

There was also a tomato cake that was making the hit parade at one time.

Lars, I agree with your assessment.

I have not thought of a coffee cake in so long. It harkens me back to high school home ec, and that was a seriously long time ago. I am inspired to create one the next time I bake a cake.

I try to keep hubby supplied with a bit of something for his evening, after dinner dessert. He partakes of only a very small amount with some frozen dairy along with it. It is usually a home made pudding or a small piece of baked goods.

I use buttermilk for almost everything I bake. There are just a couple of exception, not many. I have my own King Cake recipe that will make you wanna' jump up and slap yo' momma---twice. I use some sweet milk in that dough. Yes, it is a dough, not a batter, for those who are not familiar with King Cake.

Knowing what mayo and sour cream have in common made me think it would be a fun recipe to try, as I love sour cream cakes. Banana is my usual, although I have made the chocolate version. But I didn't think about what Lars said, mayo being a rather expensive sub for oil and acid and maybe some dairy if they're not rationed at this point . . . I have a recipe also in my "to try" file that is for a buttermilk chocolate cake. Also similar I imagine, down to the suggestion of a chocolate cream cheese frosting . . . Sooooo many yummy options! I might put cakes on hold for a little bit, trying to empty out the freezer so I can defrost and clean it, and I found a trove of chocolate cake donuts . . .

My mother made Chocolate Mayo Cake and it was divine. I haven't made it in a while but it is my favorite chocolate cake recipe. I will dig out the recipe when I get home tonight.

We always served this cake unfrosted with either vanilla ice cream, real whipped cream or just plain.

I am not a fan of desserts but this cake I love as it is not too sweet. I don't make it often as I have no will power. LOL

That's what my friend said about the cake, she isn't a dessert eater either, but they were having a party and she liked that it was not overly sweet.

It's been years since I've made, or eaten, a Chocolate Mayo cake, but I remember them as being very good! Don't know about their keeping qualities, one never lasted past the first day around here.

Rusty

Someone mentioned tomato cake....made with canned tomato soup....really ikky!!

when we were first married and broke going to college in the early 80s we made it quite a few times. Also had lots of that surplus gov't cheese. I splurged one holiday and made us some rum toddies.

Here's the recipe I use for a coffee cake that has sour cream:

Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Batter:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream

Filling and Topping:
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup cereal, such as granola, oatmeal, or Müslix
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the batter, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.

For filling and topping:
Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Turn half the batter into a buttered 9 inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar mixture. Cover with remaining batter and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mixture. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes.

Yield: 9 servings

~From the Orowheat Bakery cookbook, circa 1975.

Every year for his birthday, my nephew wants Portillo’s chocolate cake. When they moved from Chicago, my sister did some sleuthing and discovered that the secret ingredient in Portillo’s chocolate cake is mayonnaise. She now makes DN a chocolate mayonnaise cake for his birthday. What is particularly funny is he despises mayo; will have nothing to do with it; gets queasy at the very thought. But he makes an exception for Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake!

If you know the ingredients of mayonnaise it really shouldn't make you queasy to put it in cake. Mayonnaise is a flavor carrier, it can go sweet or savory. That's why I like it better than Miracle Whip, which has already committed to sweet . . . if I want a sweet condiment I'll add sugar to mayo . . .

My big concern with a mayo chocolate cake would be keeping qualities. Moist desserts tend to mold on us before we can eat them all. Fruity cakes and pies often go moldy or languish way too long in the fridge to be at their best at our house. But freezing cupcakes would be a good way to go with this cake, preserving it longer because we don't eat sweets at a fast pace with just the two of us here who watch our diets pretty closely. My friend only made the cake because she was having a party, she also watches her diet, but entertains more than I do because she has a huge family and local circle of friends. They had a small outdoor socially distanced campfire gathering taking advantage of the short Indian summer weather we had last week.

Ever heard of Chocolate Midnight Madness or Lemon Afternoon Delight? They are scrumptious! The chocolate was our favorite when I cooked and baked much more than I do now. They include Hellmann's and the chocolate is like fudge pie or cheesecake. Recipes are still online.

Gonna have to do a cream cheese chocolate frosting. Hubs did the grocery shopping today and "cream cheese" was on the list. I have 1/2 package but wanted to get one for spare just in case. Well hubs got two packages, so now I have 1.25 lbs of cream cheese. Hubs says, "the list said cream cheese!" To which I replied, "Yeah, ONE cream cheese." So next time I have to specify, "One package of cream cheese." Our continual back and forth about the need for increasing specificity in my shopping lists for him is interesting. They are getting longer and longer and starting to read like depositions . . . (just kidding . . . )

It was called Wacky Cake when I first made it in Home Ec, in 6th grade. It was really very good. Haven't thought about that in years. Thanks for the memory!

given Mayonnaise is usually oil and egg whites

what is big deal since both are common in cake.

Mayonnaise Cake

Oakland Tribune
Oakland, California
07 Mar 1927, Mon • Page 24

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63237704/

WG that is a groovy recipe you found! Wish we ate more cake . . . We eat some, but no where near the amount where I could make all the recipes I want to try. AND, I inherited my Mom's "to try" recipe folder . . . gonna have to add this one too. Hubs loves dates.

the cake predates the ww2 so

for using Mayonnaise Cake