Vintage Brown Sugar Fudge Recipe

This very delicious recipe comes from the 1975 edition of  'Candy Recipes and other Confections' by May B. Van Arsdale and Rush Parrish Casa Emellos. This book was compiled from recipe leaflets from the 1940's.

Brown Sugar Fudge

Large Recipe

Brown Sugar, 1 cup

Granulated sugar, 1 cup

Milk, 2/3 cup

Chocolate, 2 squares (2 oz. / 56g)

Butter, 2 tablespoons

Vanilla, 1 teaspoon

Small Recipe

Brown sugar, ½ cup

Granulated sugar, ½ cup

Milk, ½ cup

Chocolate, 1 squares (1 oz. /28g)

Butter, 1 tablespoon

Vanilla, ½ teaspoon

Break the chocolate into small pieces so that it will melt easily. Put the sugar, milk, and chocolate into a saucepan and cook slowly, stirring constantly, until the temperature (236° F. / 113° C) is reached.
Remove from fire, add butter without stirring, and set aside to cool. When the candy has cooled to 110° F. / 43°C (luke warm), add vanilla and begin beating. Continue beating until the fudge has lost its shiny look and a small amount dropped from the spoon will hold its shape.
Pour into greased pans.
When cold cut into squares.
Cold water test when candy reaches (236° F. / 113° C) soft ball.
Yield (large recipe): number of pieces - 36 (one inch square and at least one-half of an inch thick). 

Enjoy!

 
With love from,

 

Retro Valentines Cake Recipe

 

This Valentines Cake is truly delicious as it includes a mouth-watering Strawberry crème au beurre icing. This fabulous recipe comes from a 1976 recipe book called Woman’s Realm Cake Icing by Christine France. Spoil your Valentine or yourself with this 'retro' bake!

Retro Valentines Cake

1 quantity Genoese sponge mixture
1 1/2 quantities Strawberry crème au beurre
175g fresh strawberries
1 (25cm) heart-shaped or round cake board
75g plain dessert chocolate

Strawberry Crème Au Beurre (1 Quantity, adjust for extra 1/2)

75g castor sugar

4 tablespoons water

2 egg yolks

175g unsalted butter

50-100g strawberry purée 

Put the sugar and water in a heavy-based pan and dissolve over a gently heat, stirring occasionally without allowing the mixture to boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to a rapid boil and boil without stirring for 2-3 minutes until the temperature reaches 107C on a sugar thermometer. Beat the egg yolks lightly in a bowl and pour the hot syrup into them in a thin, steady stream, whisking hard all the time. Continue whisking until the mixture is thick and cold. Cream the butter until soft and beat into the mixture with the strawberry purée.

Genoese Sponge

40g unsalted butter

65g plain flour

1 tablespoon corn flour

3 large eggs

75g castor sugar

Melt the butter very gently and allow to cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile sift together the flour and corn flour.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl over a pan of hot water until light and creamy and the whisk, when lifted, leaves a ribbon trail for a few seconds into the mixture. Then remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking until cool. Fold in half the flour using a metal spoon. Pour the butter around the inside of the bowl while folding in the remaining flour as quickly as possible, as the sponge will soon lose volume after the butter is added.

Baking & Assembling

Set the oven at moderately hot (190C). Grease and base-line a 1.15 litre heart-shaped tin and bake the cake mixture in it for 20-25 minutes. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
Divide the crème au beurre into four equal portions. Slice the cake in half horizontally and spread one portion over the bottom half. Reserve two strawberries for decoration and roughly chop the rest.
Arrange the chopped strawberries over the layer of crème au beurre and sandwich the two halves together.
Place the cake on the board. Spread the top and sides of the cake with two more portions of crème au beurre, swirling in circles with a palette knife.
Melt the chocolate and dip each reserved strawberry into it until half-coated. Leave to dry.

Pour the remaining chocolate on a sheet of waxed or non-stick paper and allow to cool. Cut out small hearts with a heart-shaped aspic cutter.

Place the remaining crème au beurre in a piping bag fitted with a No. 12 shell nozzle and pipe a border of shell around the top edge of the cake.

Decorate with the strawberries and chocolate hearts. 

Enjoy!

 With love from, 

 

1965 Valentine's Cake Recipe

 The second in the Vintage Valentine's baking series is this delicious cake from Marguerite Patten's 'Cake Icing & Decorating' book dating from 1965.

Valentine Cake

First Cake:
2 eggs
pinc salt
2 oz. castor sugar [56g]
1 packet banana flavoured cornflour [from research I gauge 50g, use banana essence]
1/2 oz. cornflour [14g]

Second Cake:
2 eggs
pinch salt
2 oz. castor sugar [56g]
1 packet strawberry flavoured cornflour [from research I gauge 50g, use strawberry essence]
1/2 oz. cornflour [14g]

Butter icing
Glacè icing

Separate the eggs and beat the whites with the salt until they are stiff, then beat in the egg yolks. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is thick and creamy. Fold in the sieved cornflours and bake in a prepared 8-inch heart-shaped tin for 20-25 minutes in a moderately hot oven 400°F. [200°C].
When cooked, turn out and cool. Make a second cake in the same way, this time using the strawberry flavoured cornflour. Sandwich the cakes together with a little butter icing. Put the cake on a board and pour the glacè icing over, covering completely. Pipe an edging using a No. 8 pipe with butter icing.
Decorate with ribbons and flowers.

With love from,