Cakes, Pies & Pastries
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War Cake

My grandmother made this from Thanksgiving to Christmas to give out to all 9 of her children and their children. The aroma that permeated the house is something that I will never forget. The recipe gets its name because it was originally created during WWI and does not contain any expensive or hard to come-by ingredients such as eggs and milk. - Will
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Ingredients

2 cups brown sugar (1 pound box dark or light)
2 cups hot water
1-2 pounds raisins, seedless
4 Tablespoons lard or shortening
2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
2 teaspoons cloves, ground
1 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 Tablespoons luke warm water
3 cups flour

Directions

Combine first 7 ingredients (brown sugar, hot water, raisins, shortening, cinnamon, cloves, and salt) in a 4 quart pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.

When cold (which can take quite some time unless you are making it in the winter and can put it outside) add baking soda to luke warm water then add to the pot. Then blend in the flour 1/2-1 cup at a time.

Pour batter in to an unprepared loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours.

Variations

You may want to try adding your favorite nut chopped up after the flour is blended. (I have not tried this so I'm not quite sure how it would turn out).

Tips & Notes

Do not use a hand mixer, you will burn out the motor! The batter can become quite thick and heavy. Even a regular mixer can become strained. I use a spoon and mix it by hand.
To check to see if it is done use a cake tester or toothpick; it should come out clean.
If using smaller pans baking time may be reduced depending upon the number of pans in the oven.
Disposable aluminum loaf pans work well. The cake can cool in the pan and be turned out later.