Old-Fashioned War-Time Cake

There are some vintage recipes that we are all too happy to leave in the past (Savory jello salad? No thank you!), but there are also plenty of other old-timey recipes that are too tasty to be forgotten. This War-Time Cake falls into the later category for us, and once you taste it, you’re sure to agree. During times of rationing, families had to get creative with recipes that could be made without ingredients like eggs and milk that weren’t as readily available. With the egg shortages going on recently, this cake seemed like the perfect recipe to bring back!

The recipe starts out by boiling a mixture of water, brown sugar, raisins, and butter to really plump up those raisins and spread their flavor throughout the cake. After boiling, allow that mixture to cool while you start on the dry ingredients. Here, you’ll find baking staples and plenty of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. All that flavor paired with the juicy raisins is absolutely divine.

Servings: 12
Estimated WW Points: 4 per slice

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup brown sugar substitute (such as Swerve Brown)
• 2 tablespoons light butter, melted
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a saucepan, combine the water and raisins. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. Stir in the applesauce, brown sugar substitute, melted light butter, and vanilla.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Let cool completely before slicing into 12 pieces.

WW Points: Approximately 4 points per slice (12 servings).