Cold Water Cake
Submitted by SANDRA120
Old-fashioned cold water cake with muscat raisins, warm spices, and no eggs or butter. A Depression-era boiled raisin cake that bakes up dense, spiced, and deeply satisfying.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
15 minCOOK
40 minREADY
55 minThis is the kind of recipe your great-grandmother scribbled on an index card and tucked into a tin box.
Cold water cake is a Depression-era classic built from pantry basics: sugar, raisins, shortening, and water get boiled together with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, then cooled and mixed with flour and baking soda.
No eggs, no butter, no milk. Just simple, honest ingredients that bake into a dense, moist, spice-scented cake loaded with plump raisins.
It’s the definition of making something wonderful out of almost nothing.
Variations
- Fruitcake style: Add a small jar of maraschino cherries and half a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for a more festive version.
- Extra fruity: Toss in a cup of regular raisins on top of the muscat raisins for even more chewy sweetness throughout.
Chef Tips
- Let the boiled mixture cool completely before adding the flour. Hot liquid will activate the baking soda too early and your cake won’t rise properly.
- Sift the flour, soda, and salt together before adding. Lumps of baking soda leave bitter spots in the finished cake.
- Test for doneness with a toothpick at 35 minutes. Every oven runs a little different, and the raisins hold moisture that can throw off timing.
Ingredients
Directions
Put first 7 ingredients in saucepan, stir and boil 5 minutes.
Let cool. Add the vanilla then the flour, soda and salt which have been sifted together.
Optional: Add cherries and nuts. Can use small bottle of cherries and a half cup of chopped nuts, also add at least a cup of regular raisins.
Pour into prepared 9 by 13 inch pan and bake in a 350℉ (180℃) F oven for 35 minutes or until done.
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