Depression cake is a type of

cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

that was commonly made during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The

ingredient In a general sense, an ingredient is a substance which forms part of a mixture. In cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a dish, and the term may also refer to a specific food item in relation to its use in different re ...

s include little or no

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

, or

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

, because the ingredients were then either expensive or hard to obtain. Similar cakes are known as "War Cake", as they avoided ingredients that were scarce or were being conserved for the use of soldiers. A common depression cake is also known as " Boiled Raisin Cake", "Milkless, Eggless, Butterless Cake", or "Poor Man's Cake". "Boiled" refers to the boiling of raisins with the sugar and spices to make a syrup base early in the recipe. However, some bakers do include butter. Boiled raisin-type cakes date back at least to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

History

Depression cake has been referred to as "War Cake" by texts dating back to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In a pamphlet distributed by the

United States Food Administration The United States Food Administration (1917–1920) was an independent federal agency that controlled the production, distribution, and conservation of food in the U.S. during the nation's participation in World War I. It was established to prev ...

in 1918 entitled "War Economy in Food", War Cake is listed under "Recipes for Conservation Sweets". The United States Food Administration stressed the importance of reducing sugar consumption during the war and offered molasses, corn syrup, and raisins in its place. When the

hit America following the Stock Market Crash of 1929, families were forced to stretch their budgets and "make do" with minimal and cheap ingredients when it came to cooking. Some women had to feed their families on $5 per week. Dessert became a luxury for most, and depression cake was a more affordable alternative to other cakes that used milk, eggs, and butter. Affordability was achieved through ingredient substitution. For example, shortening was substituted for butter, water was substituted for milk, and baking powder was substituted for eggs. Depression cake is just one of many examples of ingredient substitution during the Great Depression, as some women took full advantage of the practice by making mock foods such as mock

apple pie An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...

and mock fish. Radio shows and women's periodicals played a large role in circulating the recipe for depression cake during the Great Depression.

Betty Crocker Betty Crocker is a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. The character was created by the Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921 to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. In 1954, Gener ...

's Cooking Hour was one such show that provided women with budget-friendly recipes.

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

, owner of Betty Crocker, employed nutritionists and cooks to experiment with different ways of "ruining" a cake, such as ingredient omission. Loring Schuler's ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th centur ...

'' was a publication that also offered baking tips during the Great Depression, recommending replacing eggs with baking powder and using inexpensive grains and produce. A recipe titled "War Cake" was published in

M.F.K. Fisher Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher Parrish Friede (July 3, 1908 – June 22, 1992), writing as M.F.K. Fisher, was an American food writer. She was a founder of the Napa Valley Wine Library. Over her lifetime she wrote 27 books, among them '' Consider th ...

's book '' How to Cook a Wolf'' and republished in her '' The Art of Eating''; it uses

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

grease on the premise that

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s will mask its taste. Praised for its practicality and declared to be "the most worthwhile cake ever made," depression cake was still baked in America as of the late 20th century."Depression Cake Still Popular." The Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa, May 30, 1973, 128 edition. The recipe for it has been featured in an array of publications such as ''

The Telegraph-Herald The ''Telegraph Herald'', locally referred to as the ''TH'', is a daily newspaper published in Dubuque, Iowa, for the population of Dubuque and surrounding areas in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in ...

'', ''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'', formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'', was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popul ...

'', and ''

The Modesto Bee ''The Modesto Bee'' is a California newspaper. It has about 70 employees and is delivered throughout central California, reaching places such as Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale, Ceres, Patterson and Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y ...

''."Raisin Cake Outlives 'Depression' Label." The Modesto Bee. Modesto, CA, November 17, 1976, sec. C.

References

{{reflist, 2 Historical foods American cakes

History

See also

References