WAR CAKE MUFFINS

"M.F.K. Fisher resurrected one of many surviving recipes for the World War I-era War Cake in her 1942 book "How to Cook a Wolf." It's an economical spice cake, low in rationed food points and very dense. It's made without eggs, butter, white sugar or milk. Fisher's version of the recipe called for a half-cup of shortening, which could even be bacon fat.

The adaptation provided here is a contemporary version, which requires only 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Today's cooks might be more inclined to call it a vegan or low-fat recipe. The original recipe was baked in a loaf pan, but because of its muffin texture, it seems preferable to bake it in muffin tins. This also reduces the cooking time.

The recipe seems to cry out for cream cheese icing, but that wouldn't be in the spirit of War Cake. "

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup raisins
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

Preliminaries: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.

Preparation: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a medium-size saucepan over me dium heat, bring the water, canola oil, spices, raisins and brown sugar to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer mixture for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and allow mixture to cool completely.

When boiled mixture has completely cooled, add it to dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon or spatula, stir until all dry ingredients have been moistened and are well-incorpo rated.

Add batter to the prepared muffin tins, filling about two-thirds of each tin. Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, or un til tops of muffins are firm to the touch.

Makes 12 muffins
Source: The Plain Dealer, September 19, 2007