Tag: Brand Name Recipe

Maple Syrup Layer Cake

Maple Syrup Layer Cake

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 2 Comments

A Recipe from 100 Prize Winning Recipes from Pillsbury’s 5th Grand National Recipe & Baking Contest (1954)

About the Recipe

This cake is like a fluffy, maple cloud of crumbly goodness. I was a little bit skeptical about it, as on paper it sounds like it will be very sweet. I used real maple syrup and the balance was *just right*. The frosting is like a maple marshmallow, and the walnuts are just the right crunch to balance it out. This is the perfect cake for someone who likes something a little bit different.

Oh and pro tip – when it started getting a little bit stale, I crumbled over vanilla ice cream for a treat – YUM!

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

Another one of the originals of my Pillsbury collection, I absolutely love this book. It’s published in 1954 and it feels like folks were starting to experiment a little bit more. Your standard biscuits and pies just don’t cut it for this contest, and the group of cooks gets a bit creative. Definitely one to grab if you find it.

About the glassware

I feel like a fraud again! I only have one cake stand, and this is it. I did select it for the lovely dome which keeps things fresh and delicious.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 t double-acting baking powder
3/4 t soda
1/4 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup maple-flavored syrup
1/2 cup hot water
2 T walnuts, chopped

Fluffy Maple Frosting:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup maple-flavored syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 t Cream of Tartar
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, ginger, and salt. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Blend in maple syrup gradually.

Add hot water alternately with the dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Blend thoroughly after each addition. With electric mixer use low speed.

Turn into two well-greased and lightly floured 8-inch round layer pans, at least 1 1/4 inches deep. Bake in moderate oven (350*F) for 30-35 minutes. Cool and frost. Garnish with walnuts.

Fluffy Maple Frosting:
Combine egg whites, syrup, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in top of double boiler. Cook over boiling water, beating constantly with rotary beater or electric mixer until mixture stands in peaks. Remove from heat. Add vanilla; continue beating until thick enough to spread.

Down East Crabmeat Pie

Down East Crabmeat Pie

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from 100 Prize Winning Recipes from Pillsbury’s 4th Grand National Recipe & Baking Contest (1953)

About the Recipe

What an absolutely delightful way to kickoff my Pillsbury Challenge. This recipe was a bit like eating a crab cake pie. It made me think of afternoons picking crabs and drinking beer in the Baltimore Inner Harbor – basically a perfect afternoon.

It took some looking around to find the right “chili sauce” which nowadays means any sauce made from a chili and can range from sriracha to habanero sauce to regular old Heinz. Research notes that in the ’50s this would have been a plain old jar of Heinz so that’s what I went with. Quick note here – I would definitely sub out half of the plain chili sauce for something a little bit more spicy and exciting to give it more of a kick. While this pie is far from bland, it would be served well by a little something extra.

For more recipes in the Pillsbury Challenge, click here!

About the book

Published in 1953 for Pillsbury’s 4th Grand National contest, this book was one of my first, and is still one of my favorites. The recipes are so indicative of the time – lots of “pre-bake” or “freeze for later” notes from the cooks. If you ever see one of these books in the wild, grab it. You won’t be sorry.

About the glassware

Unfortunately, this pie pan is a fraud – a modern pan to accommodate a large pie. With the pandemic, I’m separated from my vintage pie pans, but this one is still lovely and was a gift from a close friend.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1/3 cup Homogenized Spry (Crisco)
3-4 T water
2 cups (two 6.5 oz cans) crabmeat or other seafood
2/3 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup cooked green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup cooked celery, chopped
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t grated onion

For the Cheese Sauce:
3 T butter or margarine
3 T flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated processed cheese

Directions:

Sift together the flour and salt. Cut in the Spry until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle water over mixture, tossing lightly with fork until dough is moist enough to hold together. Form into a ball.

Roll out on floured pastry cloth or board to a circle 1 1/2 inches larger than inverted 9-inch pie pan. Fit pastry loosely into pie pan. Fold edge to form standing rim; flute. Prick crust with fork. Bake in hot oven (450*F) for 10 minutes.

Combine crabmeat, chili sauce, green pepper, celery, salt, and onion. Blend well. Turn into partially-baked pie shell. Pour cheese sauce on top. Bake in moderately hot oven (400*F) for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

CHEESE SAUCE:
Melt butter or margarine in top of double boiler over boiling water. Blend in flour, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and milk. Cook until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly. Blend in processed cheese.