Who doesn’t love a “deco”dent dessert after a delicious meal?  If you’ve read our prior party blogs, you’ll know that a party was not all fun and games. Yummy treats were a must. The 1920’s was especially important to the development and practicality of such ubiquitous desserts as ice cream and Jell-O.

Prior to the 1920’s, most homes had an ice box which provided some stabilization to perishable foods. Ice boxes could extend the “shelf life” up to 3 whole days! The exception, of course, were the very wealthy who could afford more advanced but still rudimentary refrigeration.

There were two major developments that changed the face of dessert in the 1920’s. Affordable refrigeration and tinned fruits were now available to the masses. Suddenly, you didn’t need to leave your home for ice cream, you just went to your kitchen. Jell-O, which required refrigeration to set, became an easy, economical, and convenient treat that soon developed into a main meal. Exotic and non-exotic tinned fruits were available year round.

To make it clear, ice cream had been around for a long time – just not in the average home. There was simply no way to keep it from melting. Fruit was seasonal. Try to get strawberries in the winter or a reasonably priced pineapple anywhere on the east coast!

The 1920’s:

Gelatin dates back to medieval Europe. Jell-O, processed and packaged for easy use, was invented in 1897 and by the 1920s was termed “America’s most favorite dessert.”  If you have the opportunity, and in the area, you should visit the Jell-O Museum in Leroy, New York. You can learn about the history as well and some interesting flavors that briefly did (coffee flavored), and should not have (cod liver oil) make it to market.

Soon, enterprising women started to add a multitude of eatables to the easy to make and versatile Jell-O. Fruit molds were a relatively heathy, cool and refreshing way to end a meal. Taking it one step further, adding shredded meats and vegetables made Jell-O molds not only a tasty dessert but also delicious (yes, really) and sometimes dubious main courses.

Charlottes, or ice box cakes, became popular at this time, too. Essentially they are a layered dessert of bread or cake with custard and fruit chilled until firm. Because the liquid from the fruit would permeate the bread layers, it was ideal way to use up stale bread. Waste not want not!

Cake bites became popular and were similar to petit fours. They are comprised of any cake, usually angel food or devils food cake, cut into small – wait for it – bite size pieces. Bet you didn’t see that one coming. It was more about presentation of dessert than anything else

A bit of questionable history here. Most of us are familiar with fruit cocktail. The real history of where this term came from is dubious. One theory is that during prohibition, restaurants served mixed fruit in the stemmed glasses that would otherwise serve no purpose. Hence, you received a non-alcoholic “fruit cocktail”.

And now, some actual history. James Dole started a cannery in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1906. His invention could to peel, cut, and pack pineapples rings in tins. Heavily promoted in 1920’s cookbooks and magazine recipes, this exotic fruit helped his company become the largest pineapple packer in the world by 1926.

Stepping back a bit, the Hawaiian Pineapple Company ran a recipe contest in 1925 to promote the product. Housewives were asked to submit recipes featuring the pineapple. With over 60,000 entries, 2500 were for “pineapple upside-down cake”.

Skillet cake with fruit and sugar in the bottom had been around for years. This is a variation of that cake but what makes it special is the pineapple, of course, and another newly re-invented product, the maraschino cherry. Luckily, the winning recipe survives today!

Speaking of Maraschino cherries: when the Croatian Marasca cherry is pickled and preserved in  maraschino liqueur, the result is the original Maraschino cherry. However, the limited harvest made these preserved fruits available only to the wealthy through most of the late 19th century and early 20th century. With the advent of prohibition, newer and non-alcoholic brining and chemical preservation produced what we know as the Maraschino cherry. Salt and chemicals – Yum! Fear not, genuine ones are still available online.

The chiffon cake made its’ appearance in 1927. Using less butter than a traditional cake, it gains moisture from the use of vegetable oil.  A Californian insurance salesman named, ironically, Harry Baker, invented this distinctly American cake.

The 1930’s and 1940’s:

As the depression gripped the nation, the 1930’s ushered in a slew of ingenious cakes. Containing no eggs, butter or milk, these became quite popular during the time for obvious reasons. Housewives tried to contribute to household income by making and selling baked goods to their neighbors. Green grocers desperate to sell overripe bananas offered them at a deep discount along with recipes for their use. Enter the common, but not particularly popular, eggless and butterless Banana Cake.

In my research for this article, I ran across The Clara Project. The author highlights a vintage recipe which sounds delicious – hot fudge pudding cake. A cake with a steamed pudding swirl all made at the same time. I haven’t tried it but I’d be anxious to hear from any of you that do.

Mystery Cakes became popular at this time, too. Homemakers would use whatever was available to flavor the cake and have fun as the guests tried to guess the mystery ingredient. One such cake is Tomato Soup Cake. If you’re adventurous, you can find the recipe at Premeditated Leftovers.

A bit of personal history. My mother swore that as a child she “remembered” a cookie recipe she saw on the back of something-or-other. It is a family favorite that she would only make at Christmas. I have conducted a lot of online research and have never found this recipe. So, here is my mother’s 1930’s vintage recipe for:

Marion’s Christmas Cookies

 

 

6 cups cornflakes (plus 1 cup in reserve)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup each (more or less to taste) – shredded coconut, chopped walnuts*,  raisins**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon until everything is evenly coated. If the “batter” looks too gooey, add additional cup of cornflakes. Drop by heaping tablespoon full onto a non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes until edges are golden brown. These cookies burn VERY quickly. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet until the pan can be comfortably handled. While cookies are still warm, remove with a wet spatula. The bottoms should be golden in color. If they aren’t, you can put them back in to bake for another minute or two. Total prep / cooking time 1 hr. Yields 6-7 dozen.

*Unsalted nuts, pecans, almonds, or macadamia, can be substituted

**Substitute a half mix of raisin and crasins for a bit of tartness

Another delicious sounding recipe from the 1940’s is the Lazy Daisy Cake. It is described as a buttery yellow cake topped with brown sugar and coconut; lightly broiled to caramelize the sugar.

So the next time you see a pineapple or a maraschino cherry, Jell-O or ice cream, remember you are enjoying a piece of deco history. Have to go, I’m suddenly craving something sweet!

Chris (1/2 of The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys)