Description
Follow our step-by-step, photo illustrated instructions to make our version of the old fashioned, A&P Spanish Bar Cake. We’ve stepped back in time to recreate one of your favorite tastes from the past with this very special spice cake recipe. We’ll share the cake recipe, and the frosting recipe, so you can make this wonderful dessert right in your own kitchen.
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoon Dark Cocoa
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1 teaspoon Allspice
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ cup Crisco Shortening
- 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Molasses
- 2 Eggs
- ¼ cup Evaporated Milk
- ½ cup Applesauce
- 1 cup Raisins, soaked in warm water until plumped, then drained.
Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- ½ tsp pure vanilla
- 3 Tablespoons Evaporated milk, more if needed
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13 pan.
- Soak raisins in hot water until plump, drain.
- Place flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Add baking powder.
- Add salt.
- Add cocoa.
- Add cinnamon.
- Add ground ginger.
- Add cloves.
- Add nutmeg.
- Add allspice
- Whisk dry ingredients well to combine.
- SIFT the dry ingredients mixture three times, set aside.
- Place shortening and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, on low speed, cream the shortening and sugar together.
- Add Molasses, mix until combined.
- Add eggs. Mix just enough to incorporate into mixture.
- Add milk, mix briefly.
- Add Applesauce, mix again, just until combined.
- Add flour mixture, to wet mixture, in three additions, stirring after each to combine.
- Fold in plumped raisins.
- Prepare your baking pan by coating with shortening and flour, or use a baking spray with flour.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Batter will be thick, so use a spoon to spread it out evenly in the baking pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until done.
- Remove cake from oven, and place on a wire rack to cool.
- Frost as desired with frosting recipe included here.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Slice the sheet cake in half, and stack into layers, placing frosting in middle and on top. Use the tines of a fork to place a design on the top layer like the original A&P Spanish Bar Cake had.
Keywords: Spanish Bar Cake, A&P, Jane Parker, Our State, Taste of Southern