Dutch Cherry Cake - 1937

1/4 cup margarine, melted
2 cups canned red cherries
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons baking powder

Drain cherries, saving juice. Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of sugar and sift together three times. Beat egg yolks and combine with milk, vanilla and melted margarine. Add liquids to flour all at once and beat until smooth. Fold in cherries and egg whites which have been beaten until stiff, but not dry, with remaining sugar. Bake in well buttered pan 7 x 11 x 1 1/2 inches in moderate oven (350) 50 minutes or until done. Serve either hot or cold with hot Cherry Sauce on top of cake. Serves 10 to 12.

Cherry Sauce

1 Tablespoon margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup juice from cherries
1 cup cherries

Bring cherry juice to a boil. combine cornstarch, sugar, and cold water and add to hot juice. Stir constantly until sauce boils. Remove from heat and add margarine, almond extract, and cherries. Serve over cake.

Source: Cakes and Cookies With Personality, copyright 1937, by The Best Foods, Inc., New York, NY

Prince of Wales Cake - 1930

1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs (keep whites of 2 for frosting)
1 cup sour cream
2/3 pound of raisins
1 tsp soda
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 cup oil

Wash the raisins well in warm water, first dividing them and keeping one-third apart from the rest. Dry them with a cloth and spread out for a few minutes. Then put them through a food chopper, the two portions separately, putting aside the one-third for the frosting.

Mix together the brown sugar, yolks of 3 eggs and white of 1 egg. Add the sour cream and the larger portion of raisins. Stir in the dry ingredients which have been sifted together and add the oil. Bake in a moderate oven (350) in a loaf pan for 50 minutes, or in a shallow one for 35 minutes. Cover with a boiled frosting to which 1/3 pound of chopped raisins has been added.

Source: Everyday Recipes, copyright 1930, The Wesson Oil People, New Orleans, LA

How To Bake Cakes - 1937

Source: Cakes and Cookies With Personality, copyright 1937, The Best Foods Inc.

Coffee Layer Cake - 1930s

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1/2 cup cold coffee
1/2 cup Grandma's Molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder

Cream the butter until smooth and then cream in the sugar until the mixture is white and fine grained, add the egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy, stir in the molasses. Mix and sift the dry ingredients 3 times and add 1/2 cup to the molasses mixture and add the remainder alternately with the cold coffee; then fold in the stiffly beaten egg white. bake in two 8" layer cake pans in moderate oven (375) for 20 to 22 minutes. Fill and frost with 7 minute frosting, sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Recipe taken from: Grandma's Old Fashioned Molasses Recipes, Boston Molasses Company

Orange Loaf - 1936

2 cups pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon Arm & Hammer or Cow Brand Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, or other shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Grated rind of 1 orange
3/4 cup orange juice, strained

1. Sift, then measure the flour. Sift three times with the baking soda and salt.
2. Cream the butter until light and lemon colored. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition.
3. Slowly add the eggs which have been beaten until they are almost as stiff as whipped cream.
4. Add the orange rind. Alternately add the dry ingredients and orange juice, beating until smooth after each addition.
5. Turn into a greased paper lined 6 x 10 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.
6. When cool, frost with Coconut Orange Frosting.

Orange Coconut Frosting

3 tablespoons butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup grated coconut

1. Cream butter until very soft.
2. Add sugar gradually, thinning with orange juice to spreading consistency. Beat until smooth.
3. Beat coconut into frosting.

Amount: 1 1/2 cups

Recipe taken from Successful Baking for Flavor and Texture by Martha Lee Anderson, copyright 1936, Church & Dwight Co.