Commodities such as eggs, white sugar and butter were in short supply during the war. Also, food colouring was not available so women were creative in their recipes, for example, using beet juice as a substitute for red food colouring and developing recipes that used available foodstuffs. One such recipe is War Cake, which is still enjoyed in many families today and is great in a lunch box.
War Cake
In a large saucepan, combine:
2 cups water
2 cups brown sugar
4 tbsp shortening
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
2 cups seedless raisins
Boil above ingredients for 5 minutes, then cool.
When cool, add:
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon extract
2-1/2 cups flour
Mix well and pour into a generously greased, 9-inch pan.
Bake at 350F for 1 hour.
Cool and cut into 9-12 pieces.
(Maria DeBruyne Piron)
