Christmas War cake

[SilverLining]

War cakes (or depression cakes) were made without egg or dairy because those ingredients were expensive.  Usually they don 't have much sugar in them either...which makes me think this one isn't a real war time recipe.

Anyway, it is called Christmas War Cake.  I haven't actually tried it myself.

http://www.tourismpei.com/index.php3?number=15674

Home / Recipes and Food / Christmas Recipes /

Christmas War Cake
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups hot water
1 lb. raisins
Boil for 3 minutes. When cool add:

4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup chopped mixed fruit, red and green cherries
Bake in tube pan in 350 F. oven for 1 1/4 hours. Submitted by Vivian Graham, Charlottetown, P.E.I.

[Macabre]

With this subject line, I thought this was going to be a cake with Happy Holidays piped on top. 

Aside from the fruit in it, it sounds really good.

I am not a fan of baked fruit (I know--must be crazy), but I cannot abide maraschino cherries in any form.


Diversion from the thread
I do not think I will try this unless it can be done successfully without the fruit, and by "fruit" I would not include maraschino cherries, because I believe they have devolved to the point they are not actually food.  I do believe maraschino cherries are evil and green ones especially.  Poor DH. He grew up with an apple tea ring for Christmas every year--made by his mom--and when he started making them for us, I insisted on no maraschino cherries.    The green and red maraschino cherries are supposed ot look like ornaments on a wreath (the tea ring looks like a wreath). 

We do have this every Christmas morning--but the only red and green is from sugar lightly sprinkled on top.  I feel bad.  Kinda, not really.

[SilverLining]

All the recipes I've seen, war, depression, and trench, all have at least raisins or currants. (In can't even find safe currants, but that's another story.)

This particular recipe is for Christmas cake, so would include the mixed chopped fruit. Though, island cooking tends toward "what's in the kitchen" more than "what's in the recipe".  There are also a lot of recipes that include nuts.  But, my mom never put nuts in the fruit cake.

[PurpleCat]

Somewhere around I have a bread recipe from one of my Grandmother's that includes raisins that have been boiled in beer for flavor. 

[Macabre]

I can do currants--physically.

We use Sunmaid I think. Can you get Sunmaid there?  Heck--I could ship some to you.

[Macabre]

Raisins boiled in beer--that sounds interesting.

[ajasfolks2]

This cake is a lot like my mom's (and her mom's . . . and her mom's) ranch recipe when they were homesteaders in Colorado (1920s - 1950s).

I recall having a convo on boards about something similar to this cake way way back (likely pre-2007 and pre-HB?)?  I think that Ra3chel was in on that one?  (Or maybe it was becca?)

Anyway, my recipe uses applesauce for some of the fat / moisture.  The fruit is raisins (could sub currants), which you would soak at least in water to plump before adding to cake.  The fat was lard.     (Use solid Criso now.  Well, OK, sometimes I make it with lard.)  And lots of spice -- cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg.  Cocoa powder too.  Back then, cake was served unfrosted unless there was wealth of butter (summer) from cows -- then a buttercream frosting -- either vanilla or cocoa.

My mom still prefers it unfrosted.

It keeps and is a great cake to take to something (pot lucks, camping, etc.) as it travels and keeps well. 

We always baked in an aluminum 9 x 13" that had a slide on lid. 

Having to go from memory on the recipe as I cannot put my fingers on my copy today -- must be mis-filed in the recipe box.

And a piece (square) of this cake for breakfast with coffee is fabulosity.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As to maraschino cherries -- for "red" ones I now use Tillen Farms cherries.  They are from Sunnyside, WA and I'm able to find them in Whole Foods, Wegman's, and now Giant on the east coast.  No Red dye!!  No corn syrup!

Forget about green ones . . . and I quit buying those more than 15 years ago with the LTFA diagnosis for son as I only would buy them to make Xmas fruitcakes . . . which are loaded with nuts and not worth making if cannot use nuts, IMHO.  Gosh, I crave a piece of that homemade fruitcake, but that's a topic for another thread.

[SilverLining]

I can do currants--physically.

We use Sunmaid I think. Can you get Sunmaid there?  Heck--I could ship some to you.

There are sun aid raisins here, but the only currants I could find are a Noname brand and either they had a nut warning or they weren't a company I trusted.

I only use them for my fruit cake, which I do not make every year.  I did make them this year, and just skipped the currants. Also substituted something else which I also couldn't find safe.

[Macabre]

We use currants in a number of things--dressing, scones.

I like the texture better than cooked raisins. I like raisins by themselves and will tolerated them in a few things and liked them in cookies but I am not fond of cooked fruit in general (texture things), but currants are far less icky to me, and I like the flavor so much.

[SilverLining]

If I could make a decent scone, I'd need currants.

[becca]

Yeah, I can get the Sunmaid ones too.  If you ever need them, i am also willing to send some. 

I like dried fruits.  Most of them.  But to sugary for me to eat all the time.  I would happily snack on dried apricots, prunes, not so much raisins.  But the cake fruit thing is also not a big love of mine.  As a kid, I would eat  the fruitcake, if it was the only sweet around.  My desire for sugar trumped my dislike of the fruitcake, lol.  I actually enjoyed it when i got to having it, but would choose the other treats around ahead of it. 

Ajas, I have a recipe called "Grandma's Applesauce Cake."  No eggs.  It can have raisins, but my dd does no like them in things, so omit them.  It has quite a bit of sugar.  Similar to a banana bread but no eggs, and it has some spices.  It was not from my grandma, but from the grandma of a former neighbor.  His wife shared it with me for an egg free cake I could make for dd.  We like it!  I think it is here somewhere.  I can share if anyone wants it. 

[Macabre]

SL I am happy to send you some currants. You know I suck at sending stuff, so Becca may be your best bet, but maybe I could finally send you that Anne of Green Gables DVD!!