Skip to Content

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man’s Cake

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man’s Cake. An easy to make, simple raisin spice cake using common ingredients to create a moist and delicious version of this timeless classic.

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man's Cake

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man’s Cake

Originally published December 2012.

I had been getting requests for War Cake on our Facebook Page for the last couple of weeks. At first I replied that I had never heard of it.

But in fact, our family has been making it for decades.

It’s said to be a recipe adapted to the limited available ingredients such as eggs and dairy products due to rationing during World War II.  We know this cake in our family as Poor Man’s Cake and my Mom’s recipe for it is absolutely delicious.

Spanish Bar Cake starts with boiled raisins, shown in saucepan.

This War Cake recipe starts with boiling the raisins. Be sure to allow cooling time when planning to bake this cake.

By either name this is one delicious, moist raisin spice cake and although it is made without eggs or milk, you would never know it. It stays moist for days in a covered container but you may want to try it warm out of the oven.

You can also add some rum sauce for a terrific dessert especially now as the Holiday season approaches.

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man's Cake

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man’s Cake

Need more holiday baking ideas?

If you’re searching for special Holiday Cake ideas, be sure to check out this great collection of recipes.

Best Newfoundland Christmas Cake Recipes

Like this War Cake recipe?

You’ll find hundreds of other sweet ideas in our Cakes & Pies Category and even more in our Desserts Category.

To keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes plus daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals, be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram.

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man's Cake image with title text

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man’s Cake

You can also sign up for our FREE newsletter to know immediately when we add new recipes. You’ll also get weekly suggestions for great family friendly  meals and desserts too!

Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man's Cake
Yield: 16 servings

War Cake ...a.k.a. Poor Man's Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

War Cake a.k.a. Poor Man's Cake. An easy to make, simple raisin spice cake using common ingredients to create a moist and delicious version of this timeless classic.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups raisins
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan combine the raisins and water. Bring to a rolling boil and continue to boil for about 10 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and butter.
  3. Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. This step can be done a day in advance if you prefer. Let this mixture cool for at least a couple of hours until it reaches room temperature.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices.
  5. Pour the raisin mixture onto the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well blended but do not over mix the batter. Pour the batter into a well greased and floured bundt pan or tube pan.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or cake tin.

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

    Nutrition Information

    Yield

    16

    Serving Size

    1/16

    Amount Per Serving Calories 268Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 15mgSodium 160mgCarbohydrates 52gFiber 1gSugar 30gProtein 3g

    The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

    Did you like this recipe?

    Do you love our "Real food recipes for real people'? Share the recipe on Facebook to let your friends know about us. They'll thank you for it.

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Brad

    Thursday 3rd of November 2022

    Hello Barry

    I noticed there is a bullet in the recipe with no ingredient beside it. Is the bullet a typo or is there a missing ingredient suppose to be listed beside it?

    Regards

    Jennifer

    Sunday 12th of December 2021

    Hi would it be ok to use blueberries or craisons?

    Lynn Parsons

    Monday 13th of December 2021

    I’m sure that would be delicious! Let us know how it works out!

    Miles Thompson

    Thursday 5th of September 2019

    HI Barry,

    I doubled the recipe, and when I dumped the raisin mixture into the flour I had to stir and stir and stir.

    What do you think of this - use enough of the raisin mixture to thoroughly wet the flour, then add the rest. My concern is too much gluten development which may make it bread-like.

    Thoughts?

    It smells wonderful, is very tender and is still cooling.

    Cheers - Miles

    Barry C. Parsons

    Wednesday 11th of September 2019

    I've never doubled it but if I did I'd do the mixing in an extra large bowl, so you can do big folds, and generally less of them. Hope it turned out well. It's a pretty forgiving recipe.

    Bonnie

    Monday 5th of August 2019

    My mom also made it and called it boiled raisin cake. She made a sort of caramel, brown sugar butter icing for it that was also wonderful. She lived through the war years and because their family had 12 children, they were the only ones in town with enough sugar to make fudge. Thanks for the recipe and the memories. Now if I could only duplicate her icing recipe.

    Ramona

    Thursday 28th of December 2017

    Just came across this recipe (and this blog, too) and recognize it also. My mother used to make it often, and simply called it boiled raisin cake. I think she got the recipe out of some old cookbook like the "Household Searchlight" cookbook.

    David Bethune

    Wednesday 11th of September 2019

    yes it was called a boiled raisin cake and I still make it ;

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Skip to Recipe

    Sharing is Caring

    Help spread the word. You're awesome for doing it!