Old-Fashioned Raisin Cake

A vintage Depression-Era snack cake made with raisins, molasses and cozy spices without any eggs, milk or butter that’s super moist and perfectly sweet.

JUMP TO RECIPE

Husband often waxes poetic about the sweet treats of his Canadian childhood. He recalls the iconic Butter Tarts (that I’ve yet to make as good as his mom’s), Jim Jam Cookies (made them, nailed them, love them), A&P’s Spanish Bar (no way I’m even trying to recreate it) and something called Boiled Raisin Cake.

I was doing some research on the Spanish Bar to see if I thought I could make it but it seems to be somewhat of a unicorn that I couldn’t begin to make since I’ve never even seen or eaten one. I think screwing up the vintage A&P Spanish Bar would be a punishable offense to anyone who’s ever loved it.

Which lead me down Husband’s list to the Boiled Raisin Cake. That doesn’t even sound good, does it? Notice I left out the boiled part of the name in mine?

I was going to ask my MIL for the recipe but she doesn’t have any written recipes and tells me stuff like, just mix in flour until it looks right so I consulted the internet instead.

I found lots of cake recipes that are all almost the same but with various names: Boiled Raisin, Depression-Era Raisin, Poor Man’s Cake and Old-Fashioned Raisin. I stuck with the basics (they’re all almost the same) then spiced it to my taste and added molasses. 

The references to The Depression (and “poor man”) come from this being one of the recipes that emerged during the World Wars and The Depression that are made without any butter, milk or eggs since those ingredients were being rationed, were unavailable or people just couldn’t afford them.

The raisins are boiled to rehydrate and plump them up a bit and also to extract their rich, deep flavor into the cake.

I was genuinely shocked at how much I loved this cake. I made THREE of them the first week. I’ve never bought so many raisins in my life.

Some of the recipes I saw had icing or glaze but I’m telling you, this cake does not need anything extra.

One of the last steps in making the cake is to mix baking soda with a little water then pour it into the wet ingredients which MAKES IT FOAM UP and take on this glossy sheen which can be seen on top of the baked cake.

It’s gorgeous. It’s brilliant. It’s perfect. I love it.

The raisins do sink a little while the cake is baking. I’m 100% fine with it but did want to let you know so you don’t think you did something wrong. I suppose you could use less water, add more flour or bake this hotter and faster but I just love everything about the cake so much I don’t want to change the recipe.

NOTES ABOUT MAKING OLD-FASHIONED RAISIN CAKE

• Don’t fret too much over the spices. If you’re out of nutmeg or don’t like ginger or whatever, just use what you have and what you like. 
• Feel free to add chopped pecans or walnuts! I have added pecans and loved the results. I use about one heaping cup.
• Yes, both the baking powder and baking soda are needed. This is a dense, heavy batter which requires a lot of help from the leavening agents to rise, especially since there are no eggs in the recipe. You can’t use too much baking powder or baking soda in a recipe without having bad results, so you do actually need to use both in this recipe.
• If you’re out of or just don’t like molasses, simply omit it. You could substitute dark corn syrup if desired but I think other alternatives (sorghum, agave, maple syrup, etc.) would be too thin.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have. It’s one of my favorites now!

Check out Husband’s beloved Jim Jam Cookies too! They have a spice cake thing going on with raspberry jam in the middle and, if you think you’ll like this Raisin Cake, you’ll definitely like the cookies too!! 

Recipe for Old-Fashioned Raisin Cake

Old-Fashioned Raisin Cake

Yield: 16 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 50 Min

A vintage Depression-Era snack cake made with raisins, molasses and cozy spices without any eggs, milk or butter that’s super moist and perfectly sweet.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 baking pan or spray with cooking spray. Optional: line pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil to easily remove cake from pan.
2. Combine brown sugar, water, oil, molasses, raisins, salt and spices in a saucepan then heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Once boiling, cook for 1 minute then remove from heat.
3. Combine flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl then whisk to combine, breaking up any clumps of flour. Set aside.
4. Mix water with baking soda in a small cup until baking soda has dissolved then stir into raisin mixture (it will foam up – don’t worry, it’s supposed to!)
5. Pour raisin mixture into bowl with flour then stir until just combined.
6. Pour batter into the prepared 9 X 9 pan then bake for 40-45 minutes or until cooked through (test with toothpick if needed).
7. Cool in pan then cut into squares.
8. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

Notes

• Don’t fret too much over the spices. If you’re out of nutmeg or don’t like ginger or whatever, just use what you have and what you like. 
• Feel free to add chopped pecans or walnuts! I have added pecans and loved the results. I use about one heaping cup.
• Yes, both the baking powder and baking soda are needed. This is a dense, heavy batter which requires a lot of help from the leavening agents to rise, especially since there are no eggs in the recipe. You can’t use too much baking powder or baking soda in a recipe without having bad results, so you do actually need to use both in this recipe.
• If you’re out of or just don’t like molasses, simply omit it. You could substitute dark corn syrup if desired but I think other alternatives (sorghum, agave, maple syrup, etc.) would be too thin.

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2022/09/raisin-cake.html

Images and text © South Your Mouth LLC 2022

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