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Old-Fashioned Raisin Cake

This Old-Fashioned Raisin Cake is a trip down memory lane, packed with warm spices, juicy raisins and crunchy walnuts. Raisin cake is the ultimate tea-time cake.

Slab of baked raisin cake cut into squares and sitting on white marble board next to knife.

With its vintage charm and moist crumb, this old-fashioned raisin cake is a time-honored recipe.

Traditional cakes like date loaf or the seasonal favorite, Christmas fruit cake evoke a sense of nostalgia.

It’s kept classic by first boiling the raisins in water and mixing through the butter.

Followed by the remaining ingredients including cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, the luscious batter comes together to produce an aroma reminiscent of a cozy holiday kitchen.

It’s baked in a square cake tin that’s as visually appealing as it is scrumptious. Making it ideal for slicing into squares that are easy to serve and share.

Close view of one slice of cake with more slices behind.

Its moist texture is a dream, striking that perfect balance between fluffy and dense.

To finish off the baked raisin cake, you can keep it plain or add a dusting of powdered sugar over top.

Or serve a slice with a spread of butter, delicious!

Baked cake sliced into squares sitting on white platter.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

  • Easy, beginner-friendly cake.
  • Old-fashioned raisin cake.
  • Soft and moist.
  • Perfect tea time cake.
  • Loaded with plump raisins.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

A comprehensive recipe card featuring all the ingredients can be found at the end of this post.

Individual ingredients laid out needed to make raisin cake are raisins, all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, water, salt, brown sugar, walnuts, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, eggs, and baking soda.
  • Raisins: No need to chop them smaller. Can be substituted with sultanas.
  • Water: Needed to boil the raisins.
  • Unsalted butter: Use butter that comes in a block. Can be substituted with salted butter. If using salted butter, omit the 1/4 teaspoon of additional salt later in the recipe.
  • Brown sugar: Use light brown sugar.
  • Eggs: Must be at room temperature and lightly beaten before adding.
  • Cinnamon: Use ground cinnamon. Either Ceylon or Cassia cinnamon.
  • Ground Nutmeg
  • Ground AllSpice
  • Salt: Any fine salt will do.
  • Walnuts: Either use whole walnuts and chop them small or purchase pre-chopped walnuts.
  • Powdered sugar: Optional, to dust over finished baked cake. Also known as icing or confectioners sugar.

Step By Step Instructions (with photos)

There is a full and detailed recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step one: Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF) fan-forced. Line a square 9-inch x 9-inch (22cm x 22cm) baking tin with parchment paper and set aside.

Step two: In a medium-sized pot, add raisins and water. Place over a high heat and bring to a boil. 

Boil for 1 minute, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, then remove it from the heat.

Raisins and water in pot ready to boil.

Step three: Add the cubed butter to the raisins and stir until completely melted.

Stirring cubed butter through boiled raisin mixture in pot.

Step four: Pour mixture into a large clean mixing bowl and allow mixture to cool for 15-20 minutes, just until it’s not too warm, you don’t want your eggs to curdle when you add it.

Step five: Add sugar and beaten eggs. Mix until well combined, about 30 seconds. 

Mixing through beaten egg and brown sugar to boiled raisin mixture.

Step six: Sift over the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add the salt then gently fold until incorporated, do not over-mix, just until no streaks of flour remain.

Step seven: Fold through the chopped walnuts.

Sifting flour, baking soda and spices over batter.
Folding walnuts through batter.

Step seven: Pour batter into the prepared tin, spreading it out evenly. 

Step eight: Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Cake batter in lined tin before baking.

Step nine: Remove from oven and cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

Expert Tips

  • Use a non-stick baking tin: For a smooth-sided cake, grease the tin with butter, line the base with parchment paper, dust the sides with flour and tap out the excess.
  • Cool Raisin Mixture: After boiling the raisins in the water and mixing through the butter, you must allow it to cool down before adding the eggs otherwise they will curdle.
  • Do not over-mix the cake batter: It will result in a tough and dense textured cake after baking. 
  • How to check the cake is baked: Test the cake’s doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it’s clean or has a few crumbs, you’re good to go!
Cake sliced into square sitting on platter.

Serving Suggestions

  • A dusting of Powdered Sugar: Simple, classic and elegant.
  • Ice Cream: Warm up a slice of cake and serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
  • Drizzled Caramel or Honey: A drizzle of caramel or honey turns your cake into a delicious dessert.
  • Coffee or Tea: For afternoon tea or as a relaxing dessert after dinner, enjoy it with a hot cup of tea, coffee or gingerbread latte.
Cake cut into squares with one slice facing upwards to see the texture inside.

Troubleshooting

This can be caused by too much flour or overbaking. Both can leave you with a cake that’s more Sahara than succulent. Measure carefully and keep an eye on your oven timer.

Inaccurate measuring, oven temperature and baking times can be the culprits to a cake that still has wet batter in the center. Next time, measure correctly, bake a tad longer and test for doneness using the toothpick method.

Did you forget to line or grease the sheet pan? Next time, don’t skip this step, trust me!

The main reasons why this happens often stem from wrong measurements, expired leaveners, a small baking tin, or a cold oven. So measure accurately, check expiry dates, and verify your oven’s temperature with a thermometer.

Hot spots in the oven are real. Rotate the cake halfway through baking to even out the baking love. Also, make sure to bake your cake in the center of the oven so the heat is evenly distributed throughout the baking.

Close view of one slice of raisin cake.

Storage Instructions

Store: Once cooled, store your raisin cake in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 4-5 days.

How To Freeze

  1. Freeze the cake either in individual slices or as a whole cake.
  2. Wrap the whole cake/slices in one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of foil.
  3. Label the wrapped cake with the date of freezing for easy reference.
  4. Store the cake in the freezer for 2-3 months.

How To Thaw

Refrigerator Thawing:

This gradual thawing process helps retain the cake’s moisture and texture.

  1. Remove the wrapped cake from the freezer.
  2. Place the cake in the refrigerator, keeping it completely wrapped.
  3. Let the cake thaw slowly for several hours or overnight.

Room Temperature Thawing:

This quick thawing method ensures the cake softens fast.

  1. Keep the cake wrapped in plastic wrap and tin foil.
  2. Let it sit at room temperature for a few hours until softened.

Partial Thawing for Slicing:

If you freeze the entire cake but want only one or a few slices, this process allows you to enjoy individual slices while keeping the rest fresh for later.

  1. Remove the cake from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to an hour.
  2. Allow it to partially thaw until it softens enough to be easily sliced.
  3. Slice the desired portions.
  4. Refreeze any remaining cake portions you don’t plan to serve immediately.

Recipe FAQ’s

You can try using a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend perfect for baking, such as a 1:1 flour blend. Although I haven’t tested this recipe myself using gluten-free flour.

Yes! I recommend using a 9-inch round cake tin for this. Keep in mind your raisin cake may be slightly taller than the rim of the tin.

Absolutely! Swap the raisins with sultanas using the same measurements.

Certainly! Simply do not add the walnuts to the recipe and it will still be delicious and nut-free!

If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it’s much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x

Raisin cake sliced into squares sitting on platter.

Old-Fashioned Raisin Cake

Samantha Pickthall
This Old-Fashioned Raisin Cake is a trip down memory lane, packed with warm spices, juicy raisins and crunchy walnuts. Raisin cake is the ultimate tea-time cake.
4.34 from 3 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Resting time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 squares
Calories 210 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup water
  • 125 g unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar, how to pack
  • 2 large eggs, beaten, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups (225g) all-purpose flour, scoop & leveled
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF) fan-forced. Line a square 9-inch x 9-inch (22cm x 22cm) baking tin with parchment paper and set aside. If using a non-stick tin, grease well with butter, line the base with parchment, and lightly flour the sides, tapping out excess flour. This ensures smooth cake edges.
  • In a medium sized pot, add raisins and water. Place over a high heat and bring to a boil.
  • Boil for 1 minute, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, then remove it from the heat.
  • Add cubed butter to the raisins and stir until completely melted.
  • Pour mixture into a large clean mixing bowl and allow mixture to cool for 15-20 minutes, just until it’s not too warm, you don’t want your eggs to curdle when you add it.
  • While it’s cooling down, roughly chop your walnuts into small pieces.
  • Add sugar and beaten eggs. Mix until well combined, about 30 seconds.
  • Sift over flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add the salt then gently fold until incorporated, do not over-mix, just until no streaks of flour remain.
  • Fold through chopped walnuts.
  • Pour batter into prepared tin, spreading it out evenly.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes or until until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The cake should also spring back when lightly pressed in the middle.
  • Remove from oven and cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
  • Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Optional: Dust with powdered sugar.
  • Cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • Make it Dairy-Free: Use a block of dairy-free butter.
 
  • Cool Raisin Mixture: After boiling the raisins in the water and mixing through the butter, you must allow it to cool down before adding the eggs otherwise they will curdle.
 
  • Store: Once cooled, store your cake in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 4-5 days.
 
  • Freeze: By cooling it completely after baking and wrap it plastic wrap then in foil. Label with the date and store for 2-3 months in the freezer. Please refer to above blog post for detailed storing, freezing and thawing instructions.
 
  • Thaw: the frozen cake by choosing either refrigerator thawing (slow, several hours) or room temperature thawing (quick, a few hours).

Nutrition

Calories: 210kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 87mgPotassium: 133mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 227IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 1mg
Keyword raisins
Tried this recipe? Let us know how it was!

First published in June 2021, this recipe was updated in January 2024 to include new step-by-step images, expert recommendations, storage guidelines and more.

8 Comments

  1. Hello, we made your cake and it was delicious! I did alter it a little to stop the crumbling though. We have noticed with a lot of gluten free recipes that they are crumbly – not because of the raisin/nuts. To rectify this, we add one extra egg and a teaspoon of Guar Gum/Xanthan Mix (I found mixing these two gives me a better result).
    Thank you for the recipe, it is the second cake my partner has made and it came out beautifully – his first failed years before- I may get more baking from him now!

    1. Hi Vanessa! That’s wonderful to hear! I agree with the crumbly cake texture with gluten free baking. I have found a fantastic flour blend though recently from Bobs Red Mill, it’s his ‘Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour’. Still experimenting with my own blend for the very best gluten free baked goods. I’ll try your suggestion too, thank you! I hope you get to enjoy many more delicious cakes from your partner! xx

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