1940s War Cake (Eggless Spice Cake)

War cake was eggless and butterless by necessity: boiled raisins, brown sugar, spice, and a hot oven when dairy and eggs were hard to spare.

During the Second World War, American households faced rationing and shortages that touched sugar, fats, meats, and other staples. Eggs and butter were not always formally impossible to buy, but they were precious, and thrift cookery treated them as ingredients to save for other meals. “War cakes,” sometimes called eggless, butterless, or milkless cakes, circulated in newspapers, church leaflets, and extension bulletins. A common method boiled raisins with brown sugar, water, fat, and spice, then cooled the mixture and stirred in flour and baking soda for a dense spice loaf or square.

The boil did two jobs. It plumped dried fruit and dissolved brown sugar into a syrupy liquid that moistened the batter without milk. Spices (cinnamon, cloves, allspice) covered the simpler crumb that eggs and butter would otherwise have enriched. The cake was meant to keep for several days in a tin, which suited households baking less often to save fuel and ingredients.

British Ministry of Food leaflets pushed similar eggless ideas, but American war cake formulas also sat in a longer North American tradition of vinegar cakes and Depression thrift cakes. Treat any single printed formula as one version among many. Regional sugar habits, the fat on hand (shortening, oil, or saved drippings), and oven type all changed results.

Raisins were not a luxury garnish in these cakes. They were the moisture and much of the perceived richness. Cloves and cinnamon did the rest of the work that butter and eggs usually do for aroma. When households had coffee or tea left from breakfast, some bakers used cooled coffee in place of part of the water for a darker crumb. That variation shows up in home-front thrift notes and is worth knowing even if you stick to water in this version.

What changed

Postwar abundance brought eggs and butter back into everyday cakes, and boxed mixes further reduced the need for eggless pantry cakes. What remains useful is the method itself: dried fruit, spice, and a boiled syrup base can still make a dairy-light cake when allergies, cost, or pantry limits call for it. Modern ovens with accurate thermostats also make the bake more predictable than wartime “moderate oven” instructions.

Modern kitchen notes

Cool the boiled raisin mixture until lukewarm before adding baking soda and flour, or the soda will react too early and the crumb may fall. An 8-inch square or a small loaf pan both work; loaf pans may need a few extra minutes. The cake is plain by design. A light dusting of sugar or a thin glaze is optional, not historical requirement. It slices best when fully cool. Wrapped well, it keeps several days and the spice flavor deepens slightly.

Safety note

This is a baked cake, not a preserve. Store covered at room temperature for a few days or refrigerate in warm weather. If you adapt the formula with unusual substitutions, still bake until a toothpick comes out clean so the center is not gummy.