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Poor Man’s Cake

poor mans cake on a white plate. no eggs, butter or milk in this vegan cake recipe with raisins
Photo Credit
Sam Jones/Quinn Brein
Written By: The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors The Almanac Editors and Staff
Yield
12 to 15 servings
Category
Cakes and Frostings
Course
Desserts
Credit
Ruth Gagen Brentwood Historical Society, Brentwood, New Hamp
Sources
Yankee Magazine Church Suppers and Potluck Dinners Cookbook

Why do we call this recipe Poor Man’s Cake? It’s a vintage cake recipe created during the Depression Era during the 1930s. The “poor man” refers to the ingredients; no butter, milk, or eggs are needed! This doesn’t affect the taste because it’s the best cake ever!

Most of these ingredients should be found right in the pantry. Just add raisins—which you boil for plumpness. If you wish, you could always add walnuts. This is a great vegan option for a moist, delicious cake!

It’s fine without frosting, but we like to pair the cake with a cream cheese frosting, such as the one we use on our Best Ever Carrot Cake. If you don’t have frosting, a sprinkling of powdered sugar works, too.

Enjoy this old-fashioned cake! We’re so glad that we rediscovered it in our recipe archives. It’s a keeper!

Ingredients
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups hot water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 package (15 ounces) raisins
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water
cream cheese frosting (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
  2. In a pan, combine brown sugar, hot water, salt, shortening, raisins, and spices. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
  3. In a bowl, combine flour and dissolved baking soda, add to the batter, and mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  4. Cool in the pan. Frost, if desired.

About The Author
The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Editors

The Almanac Editors and Staff

Under the guiding hand of its first editor, Robert B. Thomas, the premiere issue of The Old Farmer’s Almanac was published in 1792 during George Washington’s first term as president.Today, the Almanac...
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Comments

<span>Alice L Bennett</span> Tue, 04/20/2021 - 15:52
Can you use dates or plums instead of the raisins. Maybe figs also? I don't like raisins. Thank you.
<span>Patricia</span> Tue, 04/20/2021 - 10:44
This was a family staple for al long as I can recall (I’m 68) especially at Easter when we decorated it with jelly beans & Peeps. We called it Yum Yum Cake..We also added 1 small can of drained pineapple to it...I make it to this day...
<span>Ruth Moore</span> Wed, 05/13/2020 - 14:06
Finally made this, it is delicious, reminds me of the Spice Cake bar that was sold in A & P a LONG time ago. Had to bake it 43 minutes, batter was soupy in the middle after 30 minutes. Will make again.
<span>Sharon R Williamson</span> Fri, 05/08/2020 - 06:11
Looks really good but I do not like raisins could I use craisins instead
<span>Mv Pelt</span> Tue, 04/21/2020 - 23:14
Could butter be used in place of the shortening? Thanks in advance.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 04/27/2020 - 15:35

Yes, you can sub butter. Enjoy!

 <span>Dawn Harrison</span> Tue, 02/18/2020 - 13:19
Do I dare try and make this with a gluten-free flour blend ?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 02/26/2020 - 09:54

We have not made the recipe with gluten free flour so we can't say if it will yield the same results. You can experiment and see how you like it. Good luck!

 <span>Jeanetta</span> Sun, 02/02/2020 - 19:24
The recipe looks like what I remember except for hot water I am going to try hot coffee. Thanks
<span>Kathy</span> Thu, 02/28/2019 - 12:13
I used to make this cake for my father in law using his mother's recipe. The only difference was that she added black walnuts from the tree in their yard. Of course, the cake became more expensive after the depression with the raisins and nuts. If we did not have the black walnuts we also used pecans which I preferred, but no the rest of the family!