Vintage Recipes for the Weekend

Every Friday I seem to dream my way through the daylight hours, making plans for my weekend. And I know I'm not alone! With finishing making my first cake stand last Sunday, and my eager mass-consumption of fruit all this week to keep the dreaded flu bugs from my door all I can think about for my weekend is, well... cake!

Luckily I met a lovely lady named Amy Alessio via Twitter this week, and she has kindly shared with me some yummy vintage recipes from her vintage cookbook collection. I've been drooling ever since. With many strings to her bow, you can read all about Amy here - and pick up some more recipes to try while you're at it.

These recipes are all at least forty years old. For conversion to British measurements and oven temperatures, just click here.

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Shortening = fat (lard as would be used then, or butter/marg today)
Pan = cake/pie tin
Frosting = icing
Semi-sweet chocolate = dark
c. = cup (See link above to be taken to conversion chart)

Black Bottom Lemon Pie

Bake 9” pie shell

2 oz. semisweet chocolate

4 eggs, separated

¼ c. lemon juice

3 tblsp. water

1 tsp. lemon peel

1 c. sugar

Melt chocolate over hot water.  Spread evenly over bottom of cool pie shell.  In top of double boiler, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored.  Add lemon juice and water, mix well. Then stir in lemon peel and ½ c. sugar. Cook over hot (not boiling) water, stirring constantly, until thick, about 12 minutes.  Remove from hot water.  Beat egg whites until frothy.  Add remaining ½ c. sugar gradually, beating constantly until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Fold half of this mixture into egg-yolk mixture.  Pour over chocolate in pie shell.  Spoon remaining egg-white mixture into pastry tube and make a lattice design on top of filling.  Bake in slow oven (325F) 10 – 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.



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Peaches ‘n’ Cream Pie

Pastry for 1-crust 9-inch pie

3 egg whites

¼ tsp. cream of tartar

½ cup sugar

4 or 5 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

1 pt. ice cream (vanilla, peach, or coffee), frozen hard

Line pie pan with pastry; bake and set aside on rack to cool.  Beat egg whites and cream of tartar together until frothy.  Add sugar gradually, beating until stiff peaks are formed.  Line pastry shell with sliced peaches, sweetening them slightly, if desired.  Cover fruit with slices of ice cream.  Pile meringue over filling, sealing it to edge of crust. Bake at 425F about 5 minutes, or until meringue is delicately browned.  Serve immediately.

Baked Bananas in Orange Juice

6 – 8 medium bananas

1 medium orange, peeled and cut in chunks

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

Dash cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325F. Peel bananas (use slightly underripe ones – green-tipped or yellow, not flecked with brown). Arrange in shallow baking dish.  Add remaining ingredients. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until bananas are golden and tender. Serve hot. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Kona Sunset

For each serving, roll a large scoop of vanilla ice cream in fresh grated or flaked coconut; coat well.  Then place ice cream in a chilled sherbet dish.  Tint coconut syrup with a few drops of yellow food coloring, then drizzle the syrup over coconut-coated ice cream. Top each serving with a mandarin-orange section and maraschino cherry.  Trim each with two butter cookies.

Campbell’s Tomato Soup Cake Recipe

2 ¼ cups cake flour or 2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 ½ tsp. allspice

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cloves

1 can (10 ¾) oz. condensed tomato soup

½ cup hydrogenated shortening

2 eggs

¼ cup water

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Generously grease and flour two round layer pans.  Measure dry ingredients into large bowl.  Add soup and shortening.  Beat at low to medium speed for 2 minutes (300 strokes with a spoon)  Scraping sides and bottom of bowl frequently.  Pour into pans.  Bake 35 – 40 minutes.  Let stand in pans 10 minutes.  Let stand in pans 10 minutes; remove and cool on rack.  Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting or favorite white frosting. 

McCall’s Best Red Devil’s Food Cake

1 ¾ cups sifted cake flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1/3 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa

1 ¼ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

½ cup soft shortening

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F .  Grease well and flour two 8x1 ½-inch layer-cake pans, or a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.  Into large bowl of mixer, sift flour with sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Add shortening and buttermilk. (To sour milk:  Place 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in measuring cup.  Add milk to measure 1 cup.  Let stand a few minutes before using.)  Add eggs and vanilla;  beat 2 minutes longer.  Pour batter into prepared pans; bake layers 30 – 35 minutes; oblong 40 – 45 minutes; or until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertip.  Cool in pans 10 minutes.  Remove from pans; cool thoroughly on wire racks.  Fill and frost as desired.

You can sign up for Amy's crafts and vintage cookbook newsletter at www.amyalessio.com.

Enjoy!