So the Hometown Chef decided to look up recipes from the time period and bring them to you. They are healthy, hearty, and most of all economical
1943 Victory Cake, American
2 cups enriched flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 ½ teaspoons allspice
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup shortening
1 ¼ cups water
1 ½ cups seedless raisins
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Sift flour, measure; sift again with baking powder, soda, salt, and spices. Combine sugar, shortening, water, and raisins in uncovered 2 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook rapidly 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Cool. Add flour mixture and nut meats. Mix thoroughly. Pour into well greased paper-lined square cake pan (8x8x2); bake in moderate oven (350˚) 45 minutes, or until done.
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This next one is when most of the men were at war and you were cooking for small families.
Nut Crust Ham Slice
One slice ham
½ cup peanut butter
brown sugar
1 cup soft white bread crumbs
¼ cup margarine, melted
1 cup milk
Place ham, large enough to serve 4, in well-greased flat baking dish, spread top of the slice with peanut butter, being sure it reaches all edges of the slice.
On top of peanut butter press in about ½ cup of brown sugar. On top of sugar, strew about 1 cup of soft white bread crumbs. Sprinkle melted margarine on top of crumbs.
Pour cup of milk over the whole. Bake about 45 minutes to 1 hour in a moderate oven (350˚F.).
When done, it has a crusty top, golden brown. The peanut butter gives a delicious flavor and the milk gravy tastes splendid on mashed potatoes. (Serves 4)
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It was hard getting sugar as was most food products during the war, so women saved what they could. Sugar Bank - Novel Idea For Saving. This describes what a sugar bank was.
You had to pass up that second spoonful of sugar for coffee: put fresh fruits for their natural sweetness atop your morning cereal; have honey on your grapefruit then immediately deposit the sugar you saved in a "sugar bank" made from the jar your real mayonnaise came in.
It makes a game of the sugar shortage and when your mayonnaise jar is filled to the brim with the sweet stuff bake a special cake for a special event. You could even send it to the USO or to your favorite soldier at camp!
Sugar Bank Cake
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ squares unsweetened
chocolate
½ cup vitaminized margarine
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup thick buttermilk
½ cup water
Sift together flour, soda and salt, Melt chocolate over hot water; cool. Cream margarine until soft and creaming until light and fluffy.
Add beaten eggs and beat mixture until smooth. Stir in vanilla and cooled chocolate. Combine buttermilk and water.
Add alternately with sifted flour to creamed margarine mixture, beginning and ending with flour and beating until smooth after each addition.
Line two 8-inch cake pans with wax paper and grease the sides; fill with batter. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) for 27 to 30 minutes.
Turn out onto cake racks and cool. When cool spread with any desired frosting.
Makes two 8-inch layers.
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This recipe makes clever use of carrots to provide the sweetness in the pudding and to keep it moist during cooking. Powdered cocoa gives this pudding its chocolate flavoring.
The pudding is cooked in a steamer. Circa 1945.
Sweet Pudding
2 oz margarine
1 oz sugar
1 cup grated carrot
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 heaped tsp cocoa
pinch of salt
½ pint of milk
a little vanilla essence
Peel, carrot, grate it. Cream margarine and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Stir in grated carrot, syrup and rest of dry ingredients
Add milk and a few drops of vanilla essence. Mix to a fairly stiff consistency
Grease basin and baking paper. Fold an overlap into the center of the paper. Put the mixture into a greased basin, cover with the greased paper. Tie the string around the basin firmly
Bring water in the steamer to boil. Carefully (the escaping steam will be very hot) put the basin in the top of the steamer and steam for 2 hours
Do not let the water in the bottom of the steamer boil dry
Serve hot.