Rough & Ready Bakes

Rough & Ready Bakes: Learning to bake by hunting through old newspapers, vintage cookbooks, and forgotten recipe clippings to rediscover baked goods of the past. Mistakes will be made. But so will yummy desserts. :)

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This rich, chocolaty Fudge Cake recipe was discovered in a newspaper dated April 25, 1936. The cake is vintage, but the icing is a modern take on a classic fudge cake frosting. The extra little kick from the espresso powder and the Dutch-processed cocoa powder makes for the perfect blend of new and old.

Peanut Butter Cookie recipe from 1934

This peanut butter cookie recipe appeared in the Stillwater Post-Messenger on April 26, 1934. All credit for these soft, chewy cookies goes to Meta Goetschel as the person who contributed the recipe to the paper.

Mahogany Cake recipe from 1916

I discovered this soft, moist mahogany cake in Mary Jane's Cook Book published in 1916.

Chocolate Molasses Cake recipe from 1941

This Chocolate Molasses Cake recipe is from a newspaper dated June 9, 1941*. It’s rich and very moist, with a fudgy molasses flavour. It can be enjoyed topped with whipped cream, icing sugar, or served plain.

Erimine Frosting recipe from 1961

Ermine frosting is an old-fashioned frosting that used to be the traditional frosting for red velvet cakes before cream cheese frosting staked its claim. Sometimes referred to as "flour buttercream" or "boiled milk frosting", ermine is smooth, fluffy, and perfect for rich cakes like chocolate, red velvet, or golden vanilla cakes. It's the preferred icing anyone who finds modern buttercream frostings too sweet.

German Chocolate Cake recipe from 1958

This German Chocolate Cake recipe appeared in the Jackson Advocate on May 10, 1958.