Great Depression Cake

Submitted by PaulaG

"This cake has many names and many variations. It is rumored to have come about during the Great Depression. In spite of the fact that it has no eggs it is nice and moist."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1⁄2 cups strong coffee
• 1⁄2 cup shortening
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 apple, grated
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly greased and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, set aside.
3. Bring the first five ingredients to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionslly.
4. Cool 10 minutes.
5. Blend the dry ingredients together and stir into the boiled mixture.
6. Pour batter into pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Reviews

[Dessert Rose]

I used 1/4 cup vegetable oil in place of shorting after reading other reviews that the cake was too oily. Instead of 1 tsp. allspice I use 1 tsp. ground ginger. You can also use 1 cup wheat flour with 1 cup flour. I make this all the time. My husband loves this cake!

 

[peachy_pie]

Loved it! Super cheap way to keep the household happy. I used dates instead of raisins, omitted the nuts because I didnt have any, and substituted wholemeal flour. It made a dense, sticky, moist cake which was very much enjoyed with a cup of tea. Thanks!

 

[katia]

I didn't had any success with this cake, maybe I did something wrong but I follow the instructions exactly. The batter was very dry after I blended the flour. The coffe mixture was still hot after 10 minutes that I let it cool, is that my mistake, I don't know. T used espresso coffee and 1/2 cup raisins. I really wanted to like this cake because I love coffe cake. I'll give it a try one more time. Sorry for the low rating and thanks for posting!

 

[CulinaryQueen]

Even though a 'spice' cake such as this is not one of my favorites, this was good. I cut the sugar down to 1 1/4 cups and the shortening (veggie oil) down to about 3 oz. due to the previous review. I also used a mix of currants and saltanas. I had no allspice so used mixed spice instead. Definitely a moist cake. Served it to my MIL who stopped by for tea...she ate two pieces of it! Thanks Paula. :)

 

[ladypit]

Definitely a moist cake! Nice to use up what I have left before we move. I used whole wheat pastry flour and sliced almonds instead of the walnuts. Mostly I used mixed raisins, but I finished up with some currants, and I used a gala apple. Boiling the fruit in the liquid really plumps the fruit up. Not a heavy coffee taste at all. Very moist and tasty. The only issue I had was that it was a little oily. I think next time I'll use less shortening. Thanks, Paula, for a great recipe using pantry staples.