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old fashioned spice cake recipe with bacon drippings sliced into a square on a wooden cake stand

Old Fashioned Wartime Spice Cake Recipe

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This old fashioned spice cake recipe was printed in a 1944 wartime American newspaper alongside practical guidance on baking with rendered bacon drippings as a substitute for rationed butter. The recipe uses one-third cup of bacon drippings, two-thirds cup of dark corn syrup, sifted cake flour, and a four-spice blend of cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, and cloves, producing a dense, warmly spiced cake with a molasses-like depth that butter alone cannot produce. It bakes in a square pan at 375 degrees F for approximately 25 minutes and is traditionally finished with fluffy white frosting.

  • Total Time: 40 Minutes
  • Yield: 9 Squares 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/3 cup rendered bacon drippings, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup dark corn syrup
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 1-3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Prepare pan and preheat: Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly oil an 8×8 inch square pan. Line the square pan with parchment paper if you prefer easy removal.
  2. Cream drippings and sugar: In a large bowl, beat the bacon drippings and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer or hand mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes, until the mixture is noticeably lighter in color and fluffy.
  3. Add corn syrup and eggs: With the mixer running on low speed, add the dark corn syrup in a slow, steady stream. Beat until fully combined, stopping once to scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs and beat until the cake batter is smooth.
  4. Mix dry ingredients and spices: In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the spice mixture: mace, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Whisk the spice mixture into the flour mixture until evenly distributed.
  5. Alternate wet and dry: Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Stir the vanilla extract into the batter with the final flour addition. Mix on low speed only until each addition just disappears.
  6. Fill pan: Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
  7. Bake: Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Begin checking at the 20-minute mark.
  8. Cool: Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Find it online: https://recipe-rewind.com/old-fashioned-spice-cake-recipe/

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