I’ve been hunting for a really good war-time cake recipe. This recipe is from the 1943 Betty Crocker menus, recipes, and hints book that yesterday’s menu was from. I’m not sure if the book is called Your Share or 52 Menus, 226 Recipes, 369 Hints on Food Buying, Preparation, Meal Planning, and Serving. It might be a combination of the two.
This cake recipe doesn’t include eggs, milk, or butter. It definitely was for the baker who needed to conserve sugar and make substitutions for standard cake ingredients that were rationed or in short supply. Most similar recipes that I have found are made with maple syrup or molasses and I don’t typically like the flavor that those ingredients add to a cake. Today’s cake features neither of those things, so I was excited to try it.
Results
I think I found the recipe I have been looking for! This cake was really good! It was moist and soft, and the spices were really pleasant with the raisins. There were plenty of raisins, but not so many that it took over the flavor of the cake. It also smelled fantastic! I recommend trying this one.
One last thing—if you make this, check it before the 50 minutes are up. My cake was finished at 45 minutes.
History in the Kitchen 