A chewy bar cake made with raisins. I remember my Mother making this every week for us six children.
I love this recipe! I used to find a Spanish Bar cake at my local grocer, then, of course, no more. Their's had a frosting, and I knew it had spice in it, so when I make it, I top it with another recipe I found at this sight called Allspice Cream Cheese Frosting, combine the two together, you have one great cake that even cake haters love! (my son Mike love's this cake, he's not a cake eater) lol
Read MoreNot bad but it was way too moist!! must have been all the water, and cooking the raisins is the water for 10 mins was too long, they absorbed alot of water, the cake seemed to get wetter the longer it took to cool! and the raisins just seemed wet rather than being juicy. I will try again using less water and some brown sugar and wheat flour as this is how the A&P one is made. It also needs a frosting, I used butter icing sugar vanilla and milk.
Read MoreI love this recipe! I used to find a Spanish Bar cake at my local grocer, then, of course, no more. Their's had a frosting, and I knew it had spice in it, so when I make it, I top it with another recipe I found at this sight called Allspice Cream Cheese Frosting, combine the two together, you have one great cake that even cake haters love! (my son Mike love's this cake, he's not a cake eater) lol
i made a half recipe as a birthday cake for my boyfriend, rounded off my spices & baked the cake in a 4"x8" loaf pan for 40 minutes because the spanish bar i grew up with was loaf (bar) shaped. i then trimmed away the bottom & side edges, cut the bar into 2 layers & iced it with the outstanding "allspice cream cheese frosting" from this website. the combination was a knock out! thanks for your recipe janice!
A great cake -- and easy to make I WAS HAPPY TO FIND THIS OLD RECIPE AGAIN
Not bad but it was way too moist!! must have been all the water, and cooking the raisins is the water for 10 mins was too long, they absorbed alot of water, the cake seemed to get wetter the longer it took to cool! and the raisins just seemed wet rather than being juicy. I will try again using less water and some brown sugar and wheat flour as this is how the A&P one is made. It also needs a frosting, I used butter icing sugar vanilla and milk.
I don't like spice cake, but this was an awesome recipe! My mom mentioned how much she loved Spanish Bar Cake, so I made this for her birthday. She said it was very close to the original (A&P) version. Used the Allspice Cream Cheese Icing from this site. Wow! REally added to it. I cut the water for the raisins down to 3 1/2 cups, added extra allspice (didn't have cinnamon), 1 1/2 cups walnuts and used self-rising flour. The result was a deliciously moist cake that I'm planning to take to my in-laws for Thanksgiving. Mom also suggested adding a can of apple pie filling to the bottom of the pan before adding the batter over top. Baked for 40-45 minutes.
This is wonderful. I made it last night for a Cinco de Mayo dinner, and everyone loved it. I iced it with the Allspice Cream Cheese Frosting here on the site, and it just complimented it perfectly. Tasted like a bakery cake. I followed the recipe, except I did put my raisins through my food processor, just to chop them up a little bit, and then, I thought that was just a bit too much batter for a 9X13 pan, so I used a 10X16 and it worked out just great. If you do use a bigger pan, adjust your time down about 6 minutes or so.
I made it just by this receipe and my family loved it. I iced it with cream cheese icing. It is a keeper. The next time I make it I will substitute 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of brown sugar but it was great.
I found this recipe very unsucessful to make. There is to much water and the cake is very soft inside I tried this recipe, twice with the same results , cooking longer each time.It is not the A & P cake of my childhod.
I made this for my Spanish class fiesta... everybody was asking me for the recipe! I loved it, and so did anyone who ate it.
I needed a "Spanish Dish" for my daughter's class (50 extra points) so came here. This cake is SO moist and flavorful ... I didn't use icing, but will try the one suggested by the other reviews next time - though it doesn't need any more flavor. I didn't use the nuts at my daughter's request ... may try them next time, this recipe is definately a keeper.
A&P used to sell this with cream-cheese frosting. I loved when our mother would bring it home.
Pretty good, too many raisins though! I cut them back to a cup and a half and that seemed like a little too much. This is a good cake in general, very moist too.
This was good but tasted more along the lines of a spice cake than the spanish bar cake (store bought)that were use to but good and I would definately suggest you try...if you grew up with it as a family recipe than the store ones.Was worth the effort...thanks.
This is exactly like hte Spanish Bar cake my Mom used to by at the local grocery store. So glad to have found it! I did ice itwith a combination of regular icing with a dollop or two of cream cheese.
I didn't have raisins, so used chopped fresh cranberries, and a chopped fresh apple. Came out great, . Back in the late 40's my Mother used to buy a cake called "Spanish Bar Cake" from the Acme Markets, however that cake did not have raisins in it.
Most of the recipes I've found claim to be better. I don't want better I want a replica. I don't remember cream cheese icing or walnuts. Is there a recipe for the exact icing..it was kinda waxy and not too sweet. I'm going to omit the nuts. I submitted rating only because I had to to post.
The cake is good, but not like the cake from my childhood. Actually reminds me more of the flavor of my mom's rice pudding. Mine came out pretty dense and I did have to increase the cooking time. Definitely check doneness. I agree with other reviewers; if I make it again, I will not add as many raisins, won't soak as long, and may cut back in sugar/switch to brown. Thanks for sharing!
Wish I could rate this higher! My whole family enjoyed this recipe and reminded us of a much loved spanish bar cake we used to find in the grocery store. I frosted it with another recipe from this site, Allspice Cream Cheese Frosting which another reviewer had suggested.
I made this recipe for my dad because he was missing the old A&P Spanish bar. He loved it! And even better, he actually found a Spanish bar cake at a local grocery store recently, and was so excited to eat it...but afterward he called to tell me he was disappointed because it wasn’t nearly as good as this recipe!! It’s moist, but everyone in my family loved it. I used golden raisins, half a tsp of cloves and added a tsp of vanilla, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. It also required a lot more baking time than the recipe states.
This the taste I remember from years ago. Spicy and dense. I topped it with cream cheese frosting and it was great. Only complaint is that the cake became overly moist after a couple of days. Probably because of the boiled raisins. I will definitely make this again. My husband loved it. However next time I will probably reduced the water a little to see if the cake gets a little less moist with time. Great recipe overall.
