Wartime Eggless Fruitcake (Vinegar Cake)

What a revelation today’s recipe for eggless fruitcake (vinegar cake) is, and without the lingering taste of added vinegar.

A fabulous eggless cake, light and fruity

What a revelation this eggless fruitcake recipe (vinegar cake) is today. Without the lingering taste of added vinegar, it is light and fruity, with a crumbly and moist texture.

However, ‘vinegar cakes’ were not only popular during the war period: the use of vinegar in cake making was a national practice when the hens ‘were on leave’.

So while these thrifty, heavily rationed housewives knew a thing or two, so did the farmers’ wives and country folk who raised chickens, including my own paternal grandmother.

She came from Swaffham in Norfolk, and another name for this eggless war fruitcake (vinegar cake) is Norfolk vinegar cake, as it was very popular in that English county.

Nofolk is a very rural county, and my grandmother’s family had a small farm, where they raised and kept rabbits, goats, chickens, geese and ducks.

But back to today’s recipe for Wartime Eggless Fruitcake (Vinegar Cake) – I found a recipe for vinegar cake in Marguerite Patten’s book, “Feeding the Nation.”

I originally made this recipe but it was very crumbly and broke when I took it out of the cake tin! But it was WONDERFUL and we ate it with custard as a pudding.

I went through all my old vintage cookbooks and found many recipes for eggless cakes, all using vinegar and baking soda as the leavening agent.

I finally discovered a recipe from Norfolk WI for Norfolk Vinegar Cake, which I made and it turned out beautifully, as you can see from the pictures.

It’s still a very crumbly cake, and it breaks easily when cutting, but at least I was able to unmold it! And it tastes wonderful.

This is a fabulous recipe for those who have an egg intolerance or whose hens are no longer laying and are on strike!

You can’t taste the vinegar at all, and when the vinegar reacts with the baking soda, it creates carbon dioxide bubbles, which act as a leavening agent, giving the cakes a light, airy rise.

Try this lovely old recipe, it makes a delicious fruitcake that gets better with age, especially if made with butter instead of margarine.

And please let me know if you make it, Karen

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Culinary notes

• Original recipe below: From Anne Hackett, Mulbarton WI
• Marguerite Patten’s Wartime Vinegar Cake Recipe:
• INGREDIENTS:
• 6 oz SR flour
• 3 oz margarine
• 3 oz sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 pint of milk
• 3-4 oz dried mixed fruit
• METHOD:
• 1. Sift the flour. Beat the margarine and sugar.
• 2. Pour the milk into a large basin, add the vinegar and baking soda; the mixture will rise and foam in the basin.
• 3. Mix the flour and liquid vinegar with the creamy margarine and sugar then add the dried fruit.
• 4. Place in a greased and floured 7-inch pan, bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour.

More War Recipes and Ration Books

More Fruit Cake Recipes

Eggless Wartime Fruitcake Recipe (Vinegar Cake)

Wartime Eggless Fruitcake (Vinegar Cake)

Yield:
12 slices

Preparation time:
30 minutes

Cooking time:
1 hour 30 minutes

Total time:
2 hours

What a revelation this eggless fruitcake recipe (vinegar cake) is today. Without the lingering taste of added vinegar, it is light and fruity, with a crumbly and moist texture.

However, ‘vinegar cakes’ were not only popular during the war: the use of vinegar in cake making was a common practice throughout the country when the hens were ‘off duty’.

So while these thrifty, heavily rationed housewives knew a thing or two, so did the farmers’ wives and country folk who raised chickens, including my own paternal grandmother.

She came from Swaffham in Norfolk, and another name for this eggless war fruitcake (vinegar cake) is Norfolk vinegar cake, as it was very popular in that English county.

Nofolk is a very rural county, and my grandmother’s family had a small farm, where they raised and kept rabbits, goats, chickens, geese and ducks.

But back to today’s recipe for Wartime Eggless Fruitcake (Vinegar Cake) – I found a recipe for vinegar cake in Marguerite Patten’s book, “Feeding the Nation.”

I originally made this recipe but it was very crumbly and broke when I took it out of the cake tin! But it was WONDERFUL and we ate it with custard as a pudding.

I went through all my old vintage cookbooks and found many recipes for eggless cakes, all using vinegar and baking soda as the leavening agent.

I finally discovered a recipe from Norfolk WI for Norfolk Vinegar Cake, which I made and it turned out beautifully, as you can see from the pictures.

It’s still a very crumbly cake, and it breaks easily when cutting, but at least I was able to unmold it! And it tastes wonderful.

This is a fabulous recipe for those who have an egg intolerance or whose hens are no longer laying and are on strike!

You can’t taste the vinegar at all, and when the vinegar reacts with the baking soda, it creates carbon dioxide bubbles, which act as a leavening agent, giving the cakes a light, airy rise.

Try this lovely old recipe, it makes a delicious fruitcake that gets better with age, especially if made with butter instead of margarine.

Let me know if you make it, Karen

Ingredients

• 450 g (1 lb) plain flour

• 225 g (8 oz) unsalted butter or margarine

• 225 g (8 oz) caster sugar

• 450 g (1 lb) mixed dried fruit

• 275 ml (1/2 pint) milk

• 2 tablespoons malt vinegar or cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C (fan oven) / 350°F / thermostat 4.
2. Butter and line a 23cm (8″ or 9″) round baking dish with baking paper.
3. Place the flour in a bowl, add the butter or use a food processor.
4. Stir in the sugar and mixed fruit. Measure the milk. Scoop out a tablespoon of milk and pour it into a small bowl.
5. Add the malt or cider vinegar to the larger quantity of milk.
6. Stir the baking soda into the tablespoon of milk in the small bowl and make sure it is completely dissolved. Add it to the milk and vinegar mixture, waiting for a slight foam to form – let it grow when you choose your bowl.
7. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix gently but thoroughly.
8. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin, smoothing the surface. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 150°C/130°C/300°F/gas mark 2.
9. Bake for another hour or so until a skewer comes out clean. Check after 40 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if it browns too quickly.
10. Allow to cool in the mold before unmolding onto a rack.

Remarks

Original recipe above: from Anne Hackett, Mulbarton WI

Marguerite Patten’s Wartime Vinegar Cake Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

6 oz SR flour

3 oz margarine

3 oz sugar

1 tablespoon of vinegar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 pint of milk

3-4 oz dried mixed fruit

METHOD:

1. Sift the flour. Beat the margarine and sugar.

2. Pour the milk into a large basin, add the vinegar and baking soda; the mixture will rise and foam in the basin.

3. Mix the flour and liquid vinegar with the creamy margarine and sugar then add the dried fruit.

4. Place in a greased and floured 7-inch pan, bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour.

Nutritional information

Yield 12

Portion 1

Amount per serving

Calories 67Total fat 1 gSaturated fat 1 gTrans fats 0gUnsaturated fats 0gCholesterol 3 mgSodium 114 mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 1 gSugar 4gProtein 1 g