The elegance of the hedgehog themesThe elegance of the hedgehog themes
About cake The history of cake dates back to ancient times. The first cakes were very different from what we eat today. They were more bread-like and sweetened with honey. Nuts and dried fruits were often added. According to the food historians, the ancient Egyptians were the first culture to show evidence of advanced baking skills. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the English word cake back to the 13th century. It is a derivation of 'kaka', an Old Norse word. Medieval European bakers often made fruitcakes and gingerbread. These foods could last for many months. According to the food historians, the precursors of modern cakes (round ones with icing) were first baked in Europe sometime in the mid-17th century. This is due to primarily to advances in technology (more reliable ovens, manufacture/availability of food molds) and ingredient availability (refined sugar). At that time cake hoops--round molds for shaping cakes that were placed on flat baking trays--were popular. They could be made of metal, wood or paper. Some were adjustable. Cake pans were sometimes used. The first icing were usually a boiled composition of the finest available sugar, egg whites and [sometimes] flavorings. This icing was poured on the cake. The cake was then returned to the oven for a while. When removed the icing cooled quickly to form a hard, glossy [ice-like] covering. Many cakes made at this time still contained dried fruits (raisins, currants, citrons). It was not until the middle of the 19th century that cake as we know it today (made with extra refined white flour and baking powder instead of yeast) arrived on the scene. A brief history of baking powder. The Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book [London, 1894] contains a recipe for layer cake, American (p. 1031). Butter-cream frostings (using butter, cream, confectioners [powdered] sugar and flavorings) began replacing traditional boiled icings in first few decades 20th century. In France, Antonin Careme [1784-1833] is considered THE premier historic chef of the modern pastry/cake world. You will find references to him in French culinary history books. Cake recipes, Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cook Book [1918] What is the difference between cake, gateau and torte? Gateaux is a French word for cake. It generally denotes items made with delicate ingredients which are best consumed soon after the confection is made (gateaux des roi). Cakes can last much longer, some even improving with age (fruit cake). Torte is the German word for cake, with similar properties. When tortes are multilayerd and fancifully decorated they are closer to gateaux EXCEPT for the fact they can last quite nicely for several days. Cake & gateau: definitions & examples "Cakes and gateaux. Although both terms can be used for savoury preparations (meat cakes or vegetable gateaux) their main use is for sweet baked goods. Cakes can be large or small, plain of fancy, light or rich. Gateau is generally used for fancy, but light or rich, often with fresh decoration, such as fresh fruit or whipped cream. Whereas a cake may remain fresh for several days after baking or even improve with keeping, a gateau usually includes fresh decoration or ingredients that do not keep well, such as fresh fruit or whipped cream. In France, the word 'gateau' designates various patisserie items based on puff pastry, shortcrust pastry (basic pie dough), sweet pastry, pate saglee, choux pastry, Genoese and whisked sponges and meringue...The word 'gateau' is derived from the Old French wastel, meaning 'food'. The first gateau were simply flat round cakes made with flour and water, but over the centuries these were enriched with honey, eggs, spices, butter, cream and milk. From the very earliest items, a large number of French provinces have produced cakes for which they are noted. Thus Artois had gateau razis, and Bournonnais the ancient tartes de fromage broye, de creme et de moyeau d'oeulz. Hearth cakes are still made in Normandy, Picardy, Poitou and in some provinces in the south of France. They are variously called fouaces, fouaches, fouees or fouyasses, according to the district...Among the many pastries which were in high favor from the 12th to the 15th centuries in Paris and other cities were: echaudes, of which two variants, the falgeols and the gobets, were especially prized by the people of Paris; and darioles, small tartlets covered with narrow strips of pastry...Casse-museau is a hard dry pastry still made today'...petits choux and gateaux feuilletes are mentioned in a charter by Robert, Bishop of Amiens in 1311." ---Larousse Gastronomique, completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 198- 199) "Cake. The original dividing line between cake and bread was fairly thin: Roman times eggs and butter were often added to basic bread dough to give a consistency we would recognize as cakelike, and this was frequently sweetened with honey. Terminologically, too, the earliest English cakes were virtually bread, their main distinguishing characteristics being their shape--round and flat--and the fact that they were hard on both sides from being turned over during baking...in England the shape and contents of cakes were graudally converging toward our present understanding of the term. In medieval and Elizabethan times they were usually quite small...Cake is a Viking contribution to the English language; it was borrowed from Old Norse kaka, which is related to a range of Germanic words, including modern English cook." ---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 52) "Gateau. English borrowed gateau from French in the mid-nineteenth century, and at first used it fairly indiscriminately for any sort of cake, pudding, or cake-like pie...Since the Second World War, however, usage of the term has honed in on an elaborate 'cream cake': the cake element, generally a fairly unremarkable sponge, is in most cases simply an excuse for lavish layers of cream, and baroque cream and fruit ornamentation...The word gateau is the modern French descendant of Old French guastel, 'fine bread'; which is probably of Germanic origin. In its northeastern Old French dialect from wasel it as borrowed into English in the thirteenth century, where it survived until the seventeenth century." ---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 138) "The word 'gateau' crossed the Channel to England in the early 19th century...In Victorian England cookery writers used 'gateau' initially to denote puddings such as rice baked in a mould, and moulded baked dishes of fish or meat; during the second part of the century it was also applied to highly decorated layer cakes. Judging by the amount of space given to directions for making these in bakers' manuals of the time, they were tremendously popular...Most were probably rather sickly, made from cheap sponge filled with 'buttercream'...and coated with fondant icing. Elaborate piped decoration was added. Many fanciful shapes were made...The primary meaning of the word 'gateau' is now a rich and elaborate cake filled with whipped cream and fruit, nuts, or chocolate. French gateau are richer than the products of British bakers. They involve thin layers of sponge, usually genoise, or meringue; some are based on choux pastry. Fruit or flavoured creams are used as fillings. The later are rarely dairy cream; instead creme patissiere (confectioner's custard--milk, sugar, egg yolks, and a little flour) or creme au buerre (a rich concoction of egg yolks creamed with sugar syrup and softened butter) are used. Gateau has wider applications in French, just as 'cake' does in English...it can mean a savoury cake, a sweet or savoury tart, or a thin pancake." ---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 332) Related foods? Choux/ puff paste, sponge, French cremes, Gateau St. Honore, Gateau des roi Why are cakes round? Excellent question! Food historians offer several theories. Each depends upon period, culture and cuisine. Generally, the round cakes we know today descended from ancient bread. Ancient breads and cakes were made by hand. They were typically fashioned into round balls and baked on hearthstones, griddles, or in low, shallow pans. These products naturally relaxed into rounded shapes. By the 17th century, cake hoops (fashioned from metal or wood) were placed on flat pans to effect the shape. As time progressed, baking pans in various shapes and sizes, became readily available to the general public. Moulded cakes (and fancy ices) reached their zenith in Victorian times. "For the cakes of the seventeenth century onwards tin or iron hoops were increasingly used and are mentioned with great frequency in the cookery books. These hoops were similar to our modern flan rings but much deeper...The hoop was placed on an iron or tin sheet, and a layer or two of paper, floured, was put at the bottom. The sides of the hoop were buttered, These or similar directions offer over and over again in E. Smith's The Compleat Housewife, first published in 1727, which gives recipes for forty cakes, the large ones nearly all being yeast-leavened. In her preface this author says that her book was the fruit of upwards of thirty years' experience, so her recipes and methods must often date well back into the previous century, for quite often the reader is directed to bake the cake in a 'paper hoop'--and paper was a feature of the kitchens of those days. Wooden hoops were also fairly common. Some cooks, the seventeenth-century Sir Kenelm Digby among others, evidently preferred them to tin, perhaps because they didn't rust, and so were easier to store. Probably they would have been rather like the frames of our present-day drum sieves. Writing a century after Digby, Elizabeth Raffald calls them 'garths' and advises her readers that for large cakes they are better than 'pot or tin', in which the cakes, so Mrs. Raffald found, were liable to burn more easily. Alternatively, spice cakes were baked like bread, without moulds." ---English Bread and Yeast Cookery, Elizabeth David, American edition with notes from Karen Hess [Penguin:Middlesex] 1979 (p. 212) What do cakes mean? Ancient breads and cakes were sometimes used in religious ceremonies. These were purposely fashioned into specific shapes, according to the observance. Round & circle shapes generally symbolize the cyclical nature of life. Most specifically, the sun and moon. Cakes baked in molds could be shaped and decorated to look like animals (Easter lambs), castles & crowns (Bundt & Turk's head) or fancy jewels. Enriched yeast breads share the same place at holiday tables. Think: Kulich (Russia, Easter), Colomba (Italy, Easter) and Twelfth Night Cake (England & France, Christmas--Mardi Gras) On the human level? Cakes are served at special occasions (birthdays, weddings, holidays, funerals) because they represent our best culinary offering honoring our most loved people. In "olden times" when refined sugar, spices, nuts, and dried fruit were expensive, it was an honor to be honored with cake. Today cake isn't super expensive and we have many choices (store bought, box mix, scratch, bakery special order) but the message remains constant. Cake says: you're important and we love you. "People have consumed cakes of all kinds throughout history and at all sorts of ceremonial occasions. In today's world, people traditionally serve cakes at holidays, birthdays, weddings, funerals, and baptisms--in short, at all significant times in the cycle of life. The tradition of eating cake on ceremonial occaisions has its basis in ancient ritual. Cakes, in the ancient world, had ties with the annual cycle, and people used them as offerings to the gods and spirits who exercised their powers at particular times of the year...The Chinese made cakes at harvest time to honor their moon goddess, Heng O. They recognized that the moon played a crucial role in the seasonal cycle, so they made round cakes shaped like the moon to reward the lunar goddess, with an image of the illustrious Heng O stamped on top... "The Russians traditionally pay their respects in spring to a deity named Maslenitsa by making blini, thin pancakes they call sun cakes...The pagan Slavs were not the only people to make round cakes to celebrate the spring sun. The ancient Celts, who celebrated Beltane on the first day of spring, baked and ate Beltane cakes as a important part of their celebration...At the Beltane festival, the ancient Celts also rolled the cakes down a hill to imitate solar movement. Rolling the cakes, they hoped, would ensure the continued motion of the sun. This activity also served as a form of divination: If the cake broke when it reached the bottom of the hill, the Celts believed that whoever rolled it would die within a year's time; but if the cake remained intact, they believed that person would reap a year's good fortune...Agricultural peoples around the globe made offerings of cakes prepared from the grains and fruits that arose from the soil. The types of ingredients used to make these cakes contributed to their symbolism...The cake's size and shape were equally symbolic of its ritual purpose...round cakes symbolized the sun or the moon...All of these cakes had definative links to the myths the people embraced." ---Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology, Tamra Andrews [ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara CA] 2000 (p. 52-54) Ring-shaped cakes, such as Twelfth Night cakes (aka King Cakes), are also full of history and symbolism. Recommended reading Cake: A Global History, Nicola Humble...Basic overview with footnotes. Popular read. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz editor, William Woys Weaver, associate editor..."Cake and pancakes," (p. 288+) English Bread and Yeast Cookery, Elizabeth David..."Regional and Festival Yeast Cakes and Fruit bread," (p. 424-472) The History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (p. 223-246)..."History of bread and cakes," includes baking methods, symbolism, and special cakes (holidays/religion/ethnic cuisine). Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology, Tamra Andrews (p.52-54)...The history of cake as religious offering The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson (p. 122-124)....Short history from ancient times to the present. Separate entries for specific kinds of cakes (chiffon, devil's food, fruitcake, gingerbread etc.) are most helpful. Cake mixes Dry baking mixes of all sorts were a product of the Industrial Revolution. They were promoted by companies as convenience foods. The first dry mixes (custard powders) were produced in England in the 1840s. Packaged mixes for gelatin (Jell-O, Royal, Knox) were introduced in the late 19th century. Pancake mixes (Aunt Jemima) were available in the 1890s. Our sources indicate packaged mixes for cake were introduced in 1920's. Packaged mixes for biscuits (Bisquick/General Mills) were introduced in the 1930s. Betty Crocker/General Mills made them famous in the late 1940s. Now we have mixes for Tiramasu, Pineapple-Upside-Down-Cake and even more complicated items. Betty Crocker "General Mills, firmly rooted in grain products--Gold Medal Flour, Bisquick, Softasilk, Wheaties, and Cheerios--embraced cake mixes, but Betty was a late arrival to the party. O. Duff and Sons, a molasses company, pioneered the "quick mix" filled by marketing the first boxed cake mix in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Continental Mills, the Hills Brothers Company under the Dromedary label, Pillsbury, Occident, Ward Baking Company, and the Doughnut Corporation all produced versions of cake mixes before World War II. But problems of spoilage and packaging abounded, keeping mixes from widespread consumption and acceptance. In November 1947, after four years of cake mix research and development, General Mills' test markets were exposed to the "Just Add Water and Mix!" campaign for Betty Crocker's Ginger Cake. After a final assurance from the corporate chemists that the boxed ingredients would indeed perform as advertised, the mix was made available for limited distribution on the West Coast. Within a year it made a national debut that excluded the South (presumably, product testing there proved futile). While Ginger Cake required a nine-inch-square pan, designers projected that the PartyCake line, already in development, would offer home bakers a choice of using either two square pans or one 9-inch-by-13-inch rectangular pan, a size and shape that were becoming popular. As layer cakes are a uniquely American creation, they seemed a fitting choice for PartyCake, the next wave of Betty Crocker mixes. The layered butter PartyCake mixes--in Spice, Yellow, and White cake varieties--and Devils Food Cake Mix were priced at $.35 to $.37 per red-and-white box. "High impact" colors were essential to entice "the ladies who trundle their little shopping wagons among the shelves and tables" of the supermarket...The postwar quest for cake mix supremacy unfolded much like the flour wars of the 1920s. In 1948 Pillsbury was the first to introduce a chocolate cake mix. Duncan Hines stormed the market in 1951 with "Three Star Surprise Mix," a three-flavor wonder in that in three weeks captured a 48 percent share." ---Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food, Susan Marks [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2005 (p. 166-8) [NOTE: more information on Duncan Hines brand mix.] "Betty Crocker had always stood for quality in the minds of consumers, but during the first half of the twentieth century, convenience foods were not associated with good eating. All that changed in 1947, when the first Betty Crocker cake mixes hit America's shelves. The debut mix was labled Ginger Cake but would soon evolved into Gingerbread Cake and Cookie Mix. Devil's Food Layer Cake and Party Layer Cake Mix-products that offered an alternative to the time-consuming process of baking a cake from scratch-soon followed. The early mixes bearing the Betty Crocker label eventually yielded more than 130 cooking and baking products." ---Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands, Janice Jorgensen, editor, [St. James Press:Detroit MI] 1994, Volume 1: Consumable Brands "Betty Crocker" (p. 53-56) [NOTE: The Betty Crocker trade name is owned by General Mills] Duff brand The earliest print evidence we find for a Duff brand baking mix is from 1932: "Duff's Ginger Bread Mix, delicious, ready to bake, 14 oz tin....21 cents." Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1932 (p. A2). The oldest print reference we find for a commercially prepared item titled "cake mix" is this Dromedary ad published the same year : "Dromedary Brand Dixie Mix, Southern Fruit Cake Mixture, 35 cents/pkg" ---New York Times, December 21, 1932 (p. 12) Who invented Duncan Hines brand cake mixes? Mr. Arlee Andre, food chemist, 1952. Notes here: "Arlee Andre, creator of the original Duncan Hines cake mixes, died Monday. He was 89 years old...Mr. Andre was a cereal chemist testing flour for Nebraska Consolidated Mills in Omaha in 1952 when he decided to develop a cake mix with better flavor and uniformity than the two mixes then available. He researched the best ways to make yellow cake, white cake, chocolate cake and angel food cake. When the mixes were ready to be marketed, Nebraska Consolidated Mills paid Duncan Hines, the food and drink connoisseur, a penny a box to use his name. The mixes quickly became popular and were sold to the Proctor & Gamble Company in 1956. Mr. Andre also moved to Procter & Gamble and retired in the mid 1960s." ---"Arlee Andre, 89, Dies; Creator of Cake Mixes," New York Times, September 9, 1989 (p. 9) "A few weeks ago local newspapers carried full page color ads announcing that Duncan Hines cake-mixes were being introduced to the Chicago market. Simultaneously, on tables in restaurants throughout the city, there appeared small placards which read, "Welcome to Chicago, Mr. Hines." Dunring the week, the gentleman himself, known to American travelers as the author of "Adventures in Good Eating," appeared on 13 radio and TV broadcasts here, and one evening he entertained 400 retailers at supper in the plush Mayfair room of the Hotel Blackstone. Members of the flour-milling industry might well cock an eye at such ballyhoo and goings-on. Per capita flour consumption in the U.S. is 133 pounds, and has hovered at that low point for the past three years. In view of such statistics, many a miller would give his eye teeth to hit on a success formula like the one now setting sales records for Nebraska Consolidated Milling Co....Sixteen months ago, this Omaha milling company was just another of the many medium-sized companies in the industry, struggling to maintain sales. At the end of its fiscal year in June, 1951, the company had sales of $26 million. My the next fiscal-year-end, June 1952, it had chalked up sales of $20 million, of which over $3 million were in cake-mixes alone. Currently, it's selling about $9.5 million a har in cake-mixes. Furthermore, it's nipping at the heels of the "big three" in the cake mix field, Pillsbury, General Mills and General Foods, which combined do almost 90% of the business. Consolidated now ranks fourth, doing most of the remaining 10%, although it sells in only 30 states. J. Allan Mactier, Consolidated's 30-year-old vice-president...explains the management's success formula thus: 'Make sure you have a good product, pick a sure-fire brand name, and pour on the merchandising.' Consolidated chose the Duncan Hines label which is uses through a a franchise with Hines Park Foods, Inc. of Ithaca N.Y. because it felt it would be a sure-fire' seller. Mr. Hines himself makes his headquarters in Bowling Green, Ky. The company believed Mr. Hines' already established reputation as a connoisseur of good food would do the trick... What usually results is a flood of publicity which supplements the company's own concentrated advertising in the local market...Consolidated literally blitzes a town when it moves in. Color ads, so necessary in food promotion, are splashed on billboards and in local papers. Many radio and TV spots are used, as well as redemption coupons. Consolidated uses its quality claim as part of its selling technique. Unlike many cake mixes which contain powdered eggs in this mix, Duncan Hines mixes call for the additon of two fresh eggs. Mr. Hines insisted on this, stating it would make a better cake and would pay off in the long run. Duncan Hines brand mixes sell at competitive prices with other mixes, and the firm tries to turn the added expense of two fresh eggs to a selling advantage by telling the housewife 'this will make a better cake,' because Mr. Hines, the food authority, says so... The company is shooting for national distribution sometime next year." ---"Adventures in Good Selling--or Ballyhoo Blitz for a Cake-Mix," Felicia Anthenelli, Wall Street Journal, December 17, 1952 (p. 1) "The Duncan Hines line of prepared mixes includes a variety of cake mixes, a pancake mix, a muffin mix, brownie mix and several other mix products. They are among the sales leaders in the 30 midwestern and Pacific Coast states where they are now sold...Mr. Hines, who edits the guidebooks bearing his nane and has concerned himnself primarily with quality standards of the licensed products, will continue in his present capacity." ---"Proctor-Gamble To Market Mix Products Soon," Newark Advocate [Newark OH], August 23, 1956 (p. 22) Who was Duncan Hines? Salesman, connosieur, entrepreneur, author, critic, philanthropist, culinary personna extroadinare! He did not, however, invent the cake mixes that bear his name. He and his wife were not professional cooks, but they did try out many of the recipes they were given. What was Duncan Hines favorite food and did he look like? "Two or three times a week during the tourist season, travelers pull up in front of a neat, Colonial house on the edge of [Bowling Green, Kentucky] and inquire. 'How soon will dinner be ready?' They're attracted by a sign on the lawn: 'Home Office, Duncan Hines.' Mr. Hines who has built a nationwide reputation by telling people where to dine, doesn't serve any meals at his combination office and home here. But he concedes it is flattering that people think of him when they are hungry. 'Every day in this country, more than 70 million people eat out,' he explains. Helping them decide which restaurants to choose is the foundation for a prospering enterprise that first started in 1936. In that year, Mr. Hines compiled his first directory of recommended restaurants throughout the U.S., 'Adventures in Good Eating.' Since then the book has become a sort of Baedeker of American Cuisine. Through the years Mr. Hines has added three other guides--'Lodging for a Night," "Adventures in Good Cooking," and 'Vacation Guide.'...Much of his time is spent in updating the guides to eliminate establishments that have fallen below his standards. He adds new discoveries when he runs across them. To help him keep track of the 2,500 eateries...on his recommended list, he enlists a corps of 600 friends scattered across the country. When a place changes hands, they report whether it still qualifies for a Hines approval. So far, Mr. Hines hasn't found any eating place in his native Bowling Green that he can recommend. He hasn't endeared himself to fellow Kentuckians by his comment that much of the locality is cursed with 'greese cooking.'...A public eating place, to get on the Hines list, must pass a rigorous inspection. He admires well-polished silver and white table cloths in the dining room. Often he insists on visitng the kitchen to inspect garbage disposal and dishwashing. Mr. Hines got to know the good and bad of roadside hashing when he was a salesman of printing and advertising for Rogers & Co., of Chicago. Friends began asking him for recommendations. Mr. Hines mailed out a printed list of his favorites as a gift before he realized the project might have commercial possibilities. Books are only a part of the present-day enterprise. Perhaps the biggest moneymaker is a line of 150 foods which bear his name. Hines-Park Food, Inc., of Ithaca, N.Y., packages the victuals. Mr. Hines receives a royalty on each package sold. He's looking for sales of around 24 million packages of Duncan Hines cake mix this year and will collect one-half cent royalty on each. Under a separate agreement, some 94 firms make Duncan Hines ice cream. Mr. Hines maintains a testing laboratory at Bowling Green to keep it up to specification...The money from all his books goes into the Duncan Hines Foundation which provides scholarships for seniors taking courses in restaurant and hotel management at Cornell University and Michigan State College. The National Sanitation Foundation also shares in book profits." ---"Duncan Hines' Love of Good Food Becomes Publishing, Cake Mix, Ice Cream Business," James Garst, Wall Street Journal, November 5, 1952 (p. 7) [NOTES: (1)"Baedeker" was a popular hotel/travel rating guide. (2) FoodTimeline library owns a copy of Adventures in Good Cooking.] In Mr. Hines' own words: "My interest in Wayside inns is not the expression of a gourmand's appetite for fine foods but the result of a recreational impulse to do something 'different,' to play a new game that would intrigue my wife and give me her companionship in my hours of relaxation from a strenuous and exacting business. Upon purchasing our first car, we decided to see as much of America as possible, to test its outstanding food, to met interesting people along the way and bring home with us from each trip a lot of pleasant memories that we could keep stored away in our minds to feast on in later years. The idea appealed to Mrs. Hines for she apparently liked to 'go places' with her husband better than anything else...My first discovery was that the highways were crowded with gasoline pilgrims whose main interest seemed to be the relative merits of inns. They fairly oozed informatino about the places we ought not to miss. Of course, I took careful notes on this information--that being a part of the game we were playing for our own amusement. Most of these tourists produced private lists of 'best places' and nearly all of them remarked that there ought to be a reliable directory of the most desirable inns available to discriminating motorist. This idea intrigued me. After years of travel over the highways I found I had the names of several hundred inns, scattered over the country, the desirablility of which was enthusiastically vouched for by those who had patronized them. So we set out to visit as many as possible to check up on reports given us, for you know there is not accounting for tastes in food any more than there is in clothing, printing or marriage." ---Adventures in Good Eating, A Duncan Hines Book [Adventures in Good Eating Inc.:Bowling Green KY] 1939 (p. vii) Did Duncan Hines and his wife also cook? Yes! Several of their recipes appear in Adventures in Good Cooking and the Art of Carving in the Home: Tested Recipes of Unusual Dishes from America's Favorite Eating Places. Sample here: 520. Fudge Squares. Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 2 oz. bitter chocolate or 1/3 cup cocoa plus 1 tablespoon butter...Melt Butter and chocolate 1/2 cup cake flour 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt...Sift twice and add to above 3 eggs--beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)...Stir into mixture and bake in 350 F. to 375 F. oven for 25 minutes. ---Duncan Hines, Bowling Green Kentucky, Adventures in Good Cooking and the Art of Carving in the Home, Duncan Hines, recipes from the original 1933 edition edited by Louis Hatchett [Mercer University Press:Macon, GA] 2002 (unpaginated). What was Duncan Hines' favorite food? "What is my favorite food? Well I think that my day-in, day-out favorite is ice cream which I sometimes enjoy for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. There are times, of course, when I much prefer other good things to eat, but over the long run, ice cream remains my all-time preference." ---Duncan Hines' Food Odyssey, Duncan Hines [Thomas Y. Crowell Co.:New York] 1955 (p. 252) [NOTE: Mr. Hines does not express his favorite flavor or type of ice cream dish in this book.] "The best meal I ever ate was an order of ham and egs in a frontier cafe where the click of the roulette wheel in the back mingled with the clatter of dishes at the front counter. That was in Cheyenne Wyoming, about 1899, and no gustatory experience that I have had since that time has dislodged that platter of ham and eggs from its secure position as my best remembered dinner." ---ibid, (p. 1) [NOTES: (1) The restaurant serving this meal was Harry Hynds's Restaurant. (2) The story behind this meal is a great read. Happy to scan/send upon request.] The Food Timeline library owns these books authored by Duncan Hines. Happy to share recipes; let us know what you need. Adventures in Good Cooking, facsimile 1933 edition (2002), original 1939 & 1952 editions The Duncan Hines Dessert Book (1955) Duncan Hines' Food Odyssey (1955)..autobiography with selected recipes. Fun read! Py-O-My brand baking mixes According to the records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Py-OMy brand baking mixes were introduced to the American public by Kitchen Art Foods [Chicago,IL], December 9, 1936. Record here: Word Mark PY-O-MY Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: BAKING MIXES FOR MAKING [ PIE CRUST, HOT ROLLS, ] COFFEE CAKE, [ COOKIES, TARTS, TURNOVERS, COBBLERS, MEAT PIES, CHEESE STRAWS ] AND CAKES. FIRST USE: 19361209. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19361209 Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM Design Search Code Serial Number 71532463 Filing Date August 26, 1947 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Change In Registration CHANGE IN REGISTRATION HAS OCCURRED Registration Number 0558182 Registration Date April 29, 1952 Owner (REGISTRANT) KITCHEN ART FOODS, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE 2320 NORTH DAMEN AVENUE CHICAGO ILLINOIS (LAST LISTED OWNER) GILSTER-MARY LEE CORPORATION CORPORATION ASSIGNEE OF MISSOURI 1037 STATE STREET CHESTER ILLINOIS 62233 Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED Attorney of Record SIMOR L. MOSKOWITZ Prior Registrations 0351946 Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL-2(F) Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECTION 8(10-YR) 20010922. Renewal 3RD RENEWAL 20010922 Live/Dead Indicator LIVE Gilster-Mary Lee Corporation is still in business. They still sell PY-O-My coffee cake mix (only) Our survey of ads placed in major US papers identifies these Py-O-My brand products: Cake Mixes (white, yellow, Devil's food) Ice Box Pie Mix (lemon chiffon, lemon, chocolate, strawberry & butterscotch) Pie Crust Mix Puddin' Cake Mix (vanilla, chocolate, caramel pecan & lemon) Rice Feast (Spanish Rice Dinner) Apple Thins Brownie Mix Blueberry Muffin Mix (promoted by large company ads, mostly in the 1950s) Pineapple Upside Down Cake Mix Coffee Cake Mix Pudding Mix (vanilla, chocolate & caramel) Frosting Mixes (chocolate & white) Instant Potato Mix Pancake Mix Selected snippets from company ads & articles: "Blueberry Muffins! Bake'Em Quick! Py-O-My Bluebery Muffin Mix includes a can of blueberries and a set of paper baking cups and a sealed bag of muffin mix. Makes about 10 large delicious muffins--up to 16 small ones. ..So simple and economical to make...just ad water, one egg, then bake! Nothing adds mroe to a meal, a snack, or dessert--than mouth-watering blueberry muffins. The can of blueberries, right in the package, has plenty of berries...New Py-O-My Pineapple Upside Down Cake Mix includes a can of perfectly blended pineapple, brown sugar and cherries." ---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1951 (p. G4) "My Magic Fornula for making best-you-ever-had Blueberry Muffins is simple...I just use Py-O-My Blueberry Muffin Mix. It takes only 3 1/2 minutes from package to oven, too...for each package contains a can of juicy blueberries, a bag of specially blended mix and a set of handy baking cups! And they taste simply heavenly...thanks to a treasured old New England recipe 'charmed' with the tempting, tangy-sweet flavor of choice northern berries. That's why these luscious muffins are wonderful for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner...and why Py-O-My Blueberry Muffin Mix also makes delicious loaf cake, pancakes, scones and the like. Try it...soon!" ---"Buy-Lines," Nancy Sasser, Los Angeles Times, November 20, 1953 (p. B3) "A new dessert-mix called Py-O-My pudding is being introduced by Kitchen Arts Foods of Chicago in chain stores here, including Bohacks, King Kullen and Peter Reeves. Requiring no more than thirty minutes for preparation, including cooking time, the packaged product comes in three flavors, vanilla, chocolate and caramel. Such convenience, of course, means some sacrifice in quality. The pudding is a bit too coarse-grained to meet the standards of really fine cookery. But the flavor is pleasing, especially in the caramel and chocolate puddings. Topped with whipped cream, the dessert is exceedingly appetizing. And the preparation is easy. Contents of the larger of two paper bags are emptied into a bowl. A third of a cup of milk is added, the mixture is beaten for one minute and poured into a casserole or other baking dish. After sprinkling the dry 'sauce' of the smaller bag over the batter, one and one-quarter cups of water are poured over the mixture. No further stirring is necessary; the dish goes immediately into a 450-degree oven. Directions on the package suggest baking for twenty minutes, but in The New York Times' test kitchen we got better results by allowing another five minutes of cooking." ---"News of Food: dessert mix is offered," New York Times, April 27, 1954 (p. 34) "Meet the family of Py-O-My mixes. You'll enjoy all five as much as those you've tried...Blueberry Muffin Mix makes naturally sweet blueberry muffins. A can of blueberries and paper baking cups right in the package! 'Round-the-clock favorite...Coffee Cake Mix makes so many things. Makes two 9-inch rings! Makes pecan rolls and raised doughnuts. Also cinnamon rolls, stollen and kuchen...Ice Box Pie Mix makes a complete chiffon ice box pie without baking! Graham cracker crust and chiffon filling in the package. Four popular year 'round flavors: lemon, chocolate, strawberry, butterscotch...Puddin'Cake Mix brings you this new dessert idea. Cake with sauce--baked together! Four favorite flavors...vanilla, chocolate, caramel pecan and lemon. Kids love 'em!... Brownie Mix comes in the handy aluminum baking pan! They're tops with youngsters to make and eat--anytime!" ---Display ad (large, with pictures of the products), Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1956 (p. N49) "Another excellent label is the Py-O-My lemon chiffon ice-box pie. On the front side, the one you face as it stands on the market shelf is the information that it contains two bags--in one is the graham cracker crust mix and in the other the filling mix-'no baking is required, just mix and chill. Add only milk or water.' A glance at the label answers your questions about what it is and how to use it. Clear, concise directions for preparing the pie are printed on the back. Further evidence of the integrity of the label is the important hint printed below the label, 'mix contains fresh milk so be sure to refrigerate leftovers.'" ---"Read the Label: It Tells You What You're Getting for Your Money," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, May 22, 1957 (p. A8) "This Message Made a Million Friends! Dear Friend, May we ask you a big favor? If you enjoy this quality product as much as we believe you will, won't you tell 3 of your friends about it and where you bought it? After all, there's nothing better than an enthusiastic customer's recommendation to her friends. We will appreciate this favor. Cordially yours, Py- O-My. Printed on the bag inside every package of Py-O-My Baking Mixes is the message above. Many Py-O-My users write they have shared their discovery with 3 friends--and more! Share their discovery too! Please try Py-O-My Baking Mixes including these. Blueberry Muffin Mix. Package contains can of juicy wild blueberries, mix, and paper baking cups. So many uses, including Sunday breakfast! Apple Thins Mix. Includes can of juicy, spiced apples, crunchy crust, and tempting butter crumb topping. So easy to fix-you don't even mix!" ---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 1958 (p. K36) Consumer reaction According to the food historians, early baking mixes were not readily accepted. Why? Two reasons: (1) They were not reliable and they produced inconsistent results. (2) Home cooks had a difficult time reconciling modern convenience with traditional expectations. When food companies make things too simple their products are summarily rejected. Even in today's culture of ultra- convenience, this holds true. The "Snack'n Cake" lesson. What Pillsbury/Betty Crocker hoped to achieve after World War II initally backfired because home cooks felt compelled/obligated to return to the way things were. Like mom used to cook. They say good salesmen don't take "no" for an answer. America's largest food concerns obviously hired these men. Despite the fact that early mixes often produced less than satisfactory results and invoke a complicated set of psycho-social baggage, they prevailed. Eventually mixes were accepted. Today? Most people who make cakes for people they love regularly employ mixes (universally perceived as home-made, as in "made in the home") instead of buying a premade "cake in the box." The real "scratch cake" is very nearly lost. "The very marketable premise behind cake mixes was, and still is, the ability to have a fresh, "home-made" cake with very little time and effort. Though Betty Crocker--like her competitors--promised that cake mixes offered freshness, ease, and flavor in a box, the market was slow to mature. Puzzled, marketers reiterated the message that homemakers need only drop this scientific marvel into a bowl, add water, mix, and bake. But that was still a little too good to be true for Mrs. Comsumer America. Certainly, cake mixes sold, but--compared with the early performance of Bisquick or Aunt Jemima pancake mix--not up to industry expecations. The "quick mix"...industry, eager to correct the shortfall, conducted research even as the development of new mixes continued. General Mills considered the market research of the business psychologists Dr. Burleigh Gardner and Dr. Ernest Dichter to explain the mediocre sales of cake mixes. The problem, according to the psychologists, was eggs. Dichter, in particular, believed that powdered eggs, often used in cake mixes, should be left out, so women could add a few fresh eggs into the batter, giving them a sense of creative contribution. He believed...that baking a cake was an act of love on the woman's part; a cake mix that only needed water cheapened that love. Whether the psychologists were right, or whether cakes made with fresh eggs simply taste better than cakes made with dried eggs, General Mills decided to play up the fact that Betty Crocker's cake mixes did not contain...dried eggs of any kind...Before long, cake mix started to gain some acceptance and notoriety; even Mamie Eisenhower instructed her cooking staff to use this novel invention at the White House." ---Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food, Susan Marks [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2005 (p. 168, 170) What did Consumer Reports think of these early mixes? [1944] "Three types of cake mixes were found by CU's shoppers: two brands of devil's food, two lemon-flavored yellow cakes and a spice cake. All four included vegetable shortening, sugar, powdered egg, powdered skim milk, salt, baking powder (or soda and phosphate) and flavoring in their ingredients. The devil's food types added cocoa, and the spice cake, various spices and cocoa. Helen's Red-E Devil Food Mix, which received the highest rating, was made with enriched wheat flour and oat flour. The Spiced Cake Mix of the same brand, considered fairly good, contained some soya flour. The cake mixes were tested for rising quality, color of crust and crumb, grain, texture, flavor and aroma. The last three, considered together as a palatability, were the chief factors in the ratings." Cake Mixes Acceptable (In estimated order of quality) Helen's Red-E Devil Food Mix (Gann Prod. Co.). 30 cents for 16 oz. (30 cents). Enriched wheat flour and oat flour. Excellent flavor. Available in California, Oregon and Nevada. X-Pert Devil's Food Mix (Modern Foods, Inc.). 18 cents for 14 1/4 oz. (19.9 cents). Excellent flavor. Grain rather coarse, but probably normal for this type of cake. Available East of the Mississippi. Helen's Red-E Yellow Cake Mix (Gann Prod. Co.). 30 cents for 1 lb. (30 cents). Wheat, cottonseed and oat flour. Excellent flavor, slightly lemon. Available in California, Oregon and Nevada. Joy Golden Layer Cake (Cramer Products Co., NYC). 20 cents for 14 oz. (33.1 cents). Very good flavor, slightly lemon. Available nationally. Helen's Red-E Spiced Cake Mix (Gann Prod. C.). 30 cents for 1 lb. (30 cents). Wheat flour and soya flour. Good flavor, nutmeg mace. Available in California, Oregon and Nevada." ---"Baking Mixes," Consumer Reports, July 1944 (p. 179-180) [1948] "Delectable-looking cakes, biscuits, muffins, rolls, pies and other baked goods peer forth these days, not only from the baker's showcase, but from the paper labels on the grocer's shelves. They are "come on's" for the prepared flour mixes now appearing in ever greater numbers and variety. When CU's shoppers throughout the nation had bought all of the types and brands of mixes containing flour (except pancake mixes) which they found on the market, they had 76--more than three times as many as were available in 1944 when CU last tested these products. How good are they? The value of any mix to a housewife is based on the quality of the finished product--how good it is to eat--plus ease and convenience of preparation, and cost. CU consultants subjected all products to actual baking tests, following the directions given on the packages. The scores for cake, gingerbread, biscuit, muffin and hot roll mixes were based on flavor, volume or the amount of rise, texture, or tenderness of crumb to feel and taste, aroma while warm from baking, grain or physical structure of the crumb and color of crust and crumb...CU found some mixes that were good, many that were satisfactory, and only two that were "Not Acceptable." Many brands were neither consistently good nor consistently poor...The preparation of mostt of these mixes calls for the addition only of water or milk, and they can be stirred up so simply that, if directions are followed, there is little danger of their being spoiled. The time required is negligable compared to that for mixing a cake from the basic ingredients. They are particularly useful for emergencies, for youngsters just trying their culinary wings, or for the gang of teen-agers who what to take over the kitchen for an evening. Cost varied considerably among different brands of the same type of mix, and while in some cases it was greater than the comparable homemade product, in many cases, it was not more, or even less. ---"Flour Mixes: Almost all are "Acceptable," but some taste better and cost less than others," Consumer Reports, August 1948 (p. 355-7) [1951] "CU's consultants tested 20 bands of prepared cake mix--gingerbread, white cake, and devil's food. In the opinion of the home economists who sampled them for taste and other qualities, none were as good as "mother used to bake." However, the best of the mixes made cakes nearly as good as those obtained with standard recipes. While they fall short of the best products of the baker's art, ready mixes do have a number of advantages which may decide you to keep them on your pantry shelf. They are time savers. In CU's tests the time saved by making a cake from prepared mix rather than a recipe, was about 15 minutes. Counting wash-up and put-away time of utensils, the mixes have an even greater edge. They are work savers. Use of a prepared mix eliminates many of the steps necesary with standard recipes, such as the sifting of flour and the measuring of ingredients. Only one bowl is required. However, too little or too much mixing, or incorrect oven temperature, may still result in an unsuccessful cake. They are economical. The average cost of a two-layer devil's food cake (eight-inch layers) made from a ready mix was 38c, including the cost of milk and eggs when their addition was required. This was appreciably less than the cost of a standard recipe devil's food cake, which was 47c at the time of the tests in late January 1951. On the white cake and ginger cake, however, the saving was less--only 2c in each case, on the average. Convenience, more than price, favors the use of the prepared mix. With ready mixes, you are saved the necessity of storing ingredients used only occasionally...or remembering to buy ingredients not normally used...In many cakes, you do not even have to have milk or eggs on hand to bake a cake. Ten of the 20 mixes tested--all of the ginger cakes and several of the others--required the addition of water only. Occident Devils Food Cake Mix required the addition of one egg; Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake Mix and white cake, each required the addition of two eggs...Mixing directions are given for both hand beating and for the use of an electric mixer in most cases. A few brands even carry directions for use in high altitude regions. Swans Down, and some others, provide a "special formula" mix for high altitude baking. Packaging also carry instructions for making cookies, cup cakes, or glamorized versions of the basic cake for which the mix was intended. It is apparent that there are good reasons for the growing popularity of the mixes. However, if you have the skill to bake a really fine cake, and your taste or the occasion demands the best, you should follow your own prized recipe." ---"Cake Mixes: CU Tested 20 Brands of Prepared Cake Mixes and Foundy Many Good Ones," Consumer Reports, June 1951(p. 261-2) [1953] "Not so very long ago, the housewife who went to the bakery store to get her family's dessert, instead of producing it from her own oven, was looked at askance by her more industrious neighbors. Today there seems to be at least a fair prospect that the situation will be reversed. For the grocery store shelves are replete with ready-mix-cake packages in great variety, and the description of their preparation sounds so simple as to make a trip to the bakery store, by comparison, a major chore. In an attempt to answer the question of whether or not the ready-mix cakes are indeed as easy to prepare as package instructions indicate, and whether the end products are of such quality as to justify their use, CU surved the field of prepared mixes for white cake, yellow cake, devil's food cake, and gingergread. Eight brands of devil's food mix, seven brands of white and of yellow cake mix, and three brands of gingerbread were tested. Four samples of each mix were stirred up and baked, two operators preparing two samples of each. These were submitted, without band identification, independently to each of three judges, along with a piece of cake of similar character made from home-mixed batter. Judgement was passed on each piece about two hours after its removal from the oven, and again (to determine keeping qualities) a day later. The judges, who are trained home economists, used a score system to rate flavor, texture, appearance, grain, color, and shape of the cakes; in addition, they expressed an overall opinion of each cake's quality. There was suprisingly little disagreement, among the individual judges, as to the visible characteristics of the various products, but in flavor preference they often did not agree, which is hardly surprising. However, in the extremes of taste-- cakes rated either oudstandingly good or very poor--there was little dispute among them. In terms of general quality, many of the the cakes made from the packaged mixes competed successfully against the home-made cakes, which were carefully prepared from well- tested recipes. (The recipes were for cakes of average richness in the selected types. This is not to say that your own favorite recipe won't produce a cake finer than any mix on the market!). Most of the ready-mix cakes were a pleasing in shape, volume, and general appearance as the home-made cakes, and mnay had very good texture and fine grain-structure, too. It was in flavor that the home-made cakes outranked most--but not all--of the mixes. As for the preparation of the mix-made cakes, it's almost as simple as the advertisiments claim. For most of the mixes, the housewife need only add a measured amount (usually a cupful, more or less) of milk or water to the solid ingredients in the box, stir the two together, pour the mixture into greased pans, and bake in a preheated oven. For a few, an egg or two, or some flavoring, is required in addition. Only one brand, Betty Crocker, received a Good rating in all four of the varieties tested...None of the others were consistently superior, though there were individual cake types of other brands which were at least equal of Betty Crocker." ---"Cake Mixes: CU's consultants tasted and examined ready-mix cakes to find which brands were best," Consumer Reports, September 1953 (p. 385-7) Cake mix market & demographics [1956] "Cake mix makers are finding that a popualr new product, a helping of fast-rising sales and a quick stir do not always make a recipe for sweet profits. When cake mixes were introduced after World War II, they caught on immediately and fit right into the parade toward ever-greater consumer convenience--along with frozen foods, automatic washers, automatic car shcifts and power lawn mowers. Sales soard twelvefold in the past eight years, turing the easy mixes into a $225 million a year business. But this success story has taken a rather unhappy turn for the cake mix makers. New mixes, and new manufacturers rushed into the suddenly expanding field. The result: Feverish competition, marked by price cutting and big promotion outlays,--and sharly pared profit margins. 'I don't see how any of them are making any money,' says the president of a concern that dropped out of cake mix competition. 'They are just hoping for future profits.' National Biscuit Co.'s Dromedary Mix division advertising director...agrees, and calls the mix business generally 'now a loss operation.' Pillsbury Mills., Inc., with one-third of the cake mix business, concedes profits declined last year because of price wars and the cost of 'extraordinary heavy advertising and promotional programs.' Nebraska Consolidated Millls Co. which had the Duncan Hines brand of mixes and an estimated 11% of cake mix sales, recently sold out its mix line after five years because...other milling activities were more profitable. Two other mix makers, General Foods Corp., with the Swans Down brand and giant General Mills, Inc., with about one-third of the market, refuse to discuss the finances of their cake mix lines. ...Zooming sales leave little doubt the housewife has made cake mxies a permanent addition to her kitchen shelf. Sales totaled about 568 million packages in the year ended last June 1, compared with only 50 million packages in the 1947-1948 year. Mix executives figure 80% of all homes now use at least one mix cake each year. Slightly over half of all cakes baked, they reckon, use the mixes, and General Mills statistician...predicts the toal eventually will reach 66%, possibly even 70% or 75%. 'When an elderly woman dies,' comments one mix executive, 'the flour and shortening business loses a customer. When a young girl marries, the mix business gains a customer.'...New flavors are almonst constantly being tested or brough out by cake mix makers. In addition to the common white, yellow, and chocoalte mixes, such delights as orange, caramel, spice, burnt sugar marble, confetti angel food, butterscotch, apple chip and sponge cake mixes are available...Cake sizes are bing tailored nowadays to suit individual needs. Smaller type cakes have been designed for the two or three-person family. Called an 'Answer Cake' by General Mills (because it 'answered letter demands for a smaller cake') and the 'Kit Cake' by Pillsbury,t ehse mixes include regular mix, frosting mix and a foil pan all in one carton. Chelsea Milling Co. of Chelsea, Mich., puts out an almost pocket sized box of mix selling for 10 cents that makes a small one-layer cake...Historically, mixes aren't new. The granddaddy proabaly is the pancake mix, developed in the early 1920's and produced shortly after then by Quaker Oats with its Aunt Jemima brand. Next development was the biscuit mix, brought out in the ealry 1930's by General Mills with its 'Bisquick' mix. Shortly before World War II broke out, the gingerbread mix was introduced. But it wasn't until after the war that cake mixes made theri entrance. Housewives who insist on baking home made cakes get little consolation when comparing costs with a ready mix cake. A General Mills statistician calculates that a common white, yellow or devils food cake costs from 47 to 51 cents using ordinary flour, six cents more using special cake flour (not a mix) and dix cents more if butter shortening is used." ---"Cake Mix Fix: Sales Rise Fast But Competition Batters Producers' Profits," Jerry M. Flint, Wall Street Journal, October 26, 1956 (p. 1) Snackin Cake Snackin'Cake was an all-in-one box kit, including an aluminum pan for baking the product. This product took cake mix convenience to the next level, because the cake was mixed in the pan and that pan could be discarded. No messy bowl or cake pan to clean. According to the records of the US Patent & Trademark Office, Snackin' Cake brand mix was introduced by General Mills (think: Betty Crocker) January 5, 1971: "Word Mark SNACKIN' CAKE Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: CAKES MIXES. FIRST USE: 19710105. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19710105 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 72394440 Filing Date June 10, 1971 Current Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Registration Number 0940014 Registration Date August 1, 1972 Owner (REGISTRANT) GENERAL MILLS, INC. CORPORATION DELAWARE NUMBER ONE GENERAL MILLS BOULEVARD MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA 55426 Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20020405. Renewal 2ND RENEWAL 20020405 Live/Dead Indicator LIVE" "Cake mixes have reached the ultimate in convenience with new Snackin' Cake from Betty Crocker. You add water and vinegar [it makes the cake rise] and mix the batter right in the pan. We tried banaana walnut and found it moist, rich, and good. The other two varieties are coconut pecan and chocolate almond. These cakes [49 cents each] are ideal for lunch boxes, but not between-meal snacking as the company suggests." ---"New Products on the Shelves," Fran Zell, Chicago Tribune, May 4, 1972 (p. N-A20) Soapy cake mixes? "Use of soap in baking cake has been developed by the Proctor & Gamble Company of Cincinnati, it has revealed in a patent (No. 2,123,880)...Soap added to the baking mix, the inventors say, will prevent the cake from falling or turning out flat. The final product is described as fluffier and lighter than other cake. Addition of the soap also permits the use of more sugar in the mix, so that the cake may have more sugar than flour. As little as twenty-five one-thousandths of 1 per cent of soap is added to the mixture, This small quantity does not adversley affect the flavor of the cake, it is asserted. The soap is mixed in with the batter. Any soap may be
used." ---"New Baking Recipe Puts Soap in Cake," New York Times, July 24, 1938 (p. 28) When did oil become a standard ingredient? Excellent question with no exact answer. The ealiest print reference we find suggesting oil be used in cake mixes is this: "In quick-mix cakes, vegetable shortening was recommended, and in using oil in cakes, it was strongly suggested that one employ a recipe worked out with oil in mind and not try to adapt a standard formula. Commerical cake mixes must be used stricly in accordance with package directions. It would be better, panel authorities felt, to standardize labels to eliminate such confusions as "white cake mix" and "silver cake mix," which are the same type." ---"News of Food: U.S. Housewife Baffles Cookery Experts Except for Two Things: Flavor, Desserts," Jane Nickerson, New York Times, November 8, 1952 (p. 14) Twenty years later, this advertisement suggests the practice is still considered "novel": "Try These Delicious Easy Recipe Ideas made with Duncan Hines Cake Mixes...'Lemon Pound Cake (makes 12 to 16 servings). 1 package Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Deluxe Cake Mix, 1 package lemon instant pudding mix (4 serving size), 1/2 cup Crisco Oil, 1 cup water, 4 eggs. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.. Blend all ingredients in a large bowl; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Bake in a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan at 350 degrees for about 45-55 minutes, until center springs back when touched lightly. Cool right side up for about 25 minutes, then remove from pan. Glaze: Blend 1 cup confectioners sugar with either 2 tablespoons milk or 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Drizzle over cake...Be sure to use Crisco Oil as some other oils may cause the cake to fall." ---Display ad, Duncan Hines, New York Times, June 29, 1972 (p. 45) [NOTE: recipes for oil-ingredient Double Upside Down Cake and Neapolitan Refrigerator Sheet Cake, Double Chocolate Nugget, Peanut Butter Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies are also included in this ad.] High Altitude Cake Mixes Long before commercial cake mixes, mountain cooks adjusted traditional recipes for high altitudes. Caroline Trask Norton's Rocky Mountain Cook Book [1903] is considered one of the first texts specifically addressing high altitude cookery. Our survey of historic newspapers confirms Pillsbury conducted high altitude testing in 1949, using a WWII era high altitude simulator. Betty Crocker appears to be the first major commercial brand to feature high altitude directions on mix packages. Both brands are owned by General Mills. [1949] This article appeared in several newspapers in 1949. It provides additional details regarding Pillsbury's pioneering efforts to create fail-proof high altitude baking mixes. Would love to see a picture of this kitchen!!! "It's getting so a housewife won't have a single alibi left if her cake turns out a flop. The experts are using aviation science to wipe out one excuse that a lot of tough-luck bakers maybe even thought of. That's atmospheric pressure. It seems there's a lot of difference between baking a cake in Herkimer, N.Y. and whipping one up in Denver, Colo. This is particularly true with the packaged cake mixes now so popular with grandma, bride and the professional baker. Adjustments must be made in baking recipes to allow for the low air pressure of high places and accompanying variations in moisture content. A recipe providing a perfect light cake in Herkimer might result in something as flat as a cold omelet in high altitude Denver. One of the nation's big millers (Pillsbury) worked out the problem through aviation science. Cakes were baked in a 'flying kitchen' that went up to 7,000 feet without leaving the ground. The aerial kitchen in a pressure chamber used by the U.S. army air force at Rochester, Minn., to conduct altitude tests on humans during the last war. The company formerly spent considerable time and money sending food researchers to high altitude cities to determine variations needed in cake mix formulas. When the pressure chamber idea jelled, all that had to be done was check the elevation of a city. Then a couple of girls from the company's research and development department 'took off' with their mixing bowls to turn out a test cake. 'Captain' of the cake mix flight missions was Miss Mary Kimball. Her crew consisted of one inside helper on each 'flight.' The pressure chamber, which still has man of its air force fittings--earphones, microphones, oxygen masks and gauges--is equipped with a small electric stove, large enough to bake one cake. The chamber, a large steel tank anchored horizontally on a solid foundation, is divided into two compartments separated by an air lock. A vault-like door seals the chamber during an experiment. before the girls took off for an experiment they baked a control cake on the ground. The ascent was made at the rate of 1,000 feet a minute. When they reached a previously determined altitude the cake mix was turned on and the weighing, measuring and baking started. They were up about four hours on each flight. While the testers were in the air, technicians outside the chamber watched gauges to maintain proper pressure. Other home economists peered through glassed portholes to observe the flying bakers. When the test cake came out of the oven, Miss Kimball seized a microphone to announce the baking mission completed and the oven ready to land. Miss Kimball and her crew members have baked about 200 cakes in 64 'logged flights.' The aerial cakes are measured and judged against known standards first as they come out of the oven and later in Minneapolis laboratories. So if you want to bake a cake on top of a 29,000 foot Mt. Everest, don't guess at the recipe. Try it in a pressure chamber first." ---"If Your Cake Turns Out Flat It Might Be Because You Live in High Country, 'Airplane' Tests Indicate," Independent Record [Helena, MT], April 7, 1949 (p. 2) "High Altitude Cooking. The prepared mix which a Manhattan housewife makes a perfect cake would yield one as flat as a pancake if it were cooked in a city 10,000 feet above sea level. The effect of altitude on baking has posed a problem for manufacturers who distribute such mixes on a nation-wide scale. They've had to change the formulas for the products they sell in areas of high elevation. One of the most interesting procedures for testing these recipes is that employed by Pillsbury Mills. Pillsbury's home economists do their experimental work on the various formulas in a 'flying kitchen' This laboratory never actually leaves the ground, for it is a low-pressure chamber, once used by the Army Air Force to conduct high altitude tests. In this way the research can be done right at the plant in Rochester, Minn.--a less expensive undertaking than sending workers and equipment out in the field to cities of different elevations. At 'flight' time the home economists enter the chamber which they've fixed into a tiny kitchen. They give a signal and the door of their kitchen is locked, A technician at the controls outside regulates the pressure so that the kitchen 'climbs' at the rate of about a thousand feet per minute...Chewing gum and sipping water to relive the pressure on their ears, the home economists begin their tests. The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature inside the cake while it is baking. This weakens the structural strength derived from the flour and eggs in the batter. To counteract this, it's necessary to use less leavening and more liquid. But when the housewife buys a package of cake mix at the corner grocery, whether it be in this city or in mile-high Denver, Col., she's not likely to be aware of all this. The home economists at Pillsbury's have worked out a special formula for the mixes sold in cities with an elevation of more than 3,000 feet. Directions on the packages for areas with an altitude up to 3,000 feet call for more liquid than those sold in sea-level cities. But all three types of mixes come in the same sort of containers with only slight variations in the wording on the labels. The company gives to the distributors and the grocers the responsibility for seeing that a housewife gets the kind of mix designed for 'baking at the altitude at which she lives." ---"News of Food," New York Times, November 17, 1949 (p. 39) High altitude cake mix [1949] Manufacturers offered special formulations to homemakers living in high altitudes. This article does not reference a particular company or brand. "High Altitude Mix. A special package in which the mix has been adjusted for successful high-altitude baking will be on sale in areas where the altitude is 3500 feet and higher. This package will be identified easily by a prominent label. Make two light-as-down layers, white or yellow, or a spicy square from a package of the new instant cake mix..." ---"Bakers' Miracle: New Magic Mix Makes Many Different Cakes," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, March 9, 1949 (p. B4) Betty Crocker [1948] "Betty Crocker's Ginger Cake...special instructions for high altitude baking on recipe insert in every package." ---display ad, Ogden Standard-Examiner [UT], October 15, 1948 (p. 20) [1950] "High Altitude No Problem With Betty Crocker Cake Mixes! Larger, lighter, more luscious cakes when you follow easy high altitude directions on package. Glowing reports of success are pouring in from women in high altitudes, telling of cakes high as mountains, light as clouds, made from these sensational new mixes. And there's a reason! Betty Crocker developed special high altitude baking directions to go on every one of her cake mix packages, so that success would be sure for the homemakers whofollowed them." ---Display ad, Reno Evening Gazette [NV], March 2, 1950 (p. 18) [NOTE: three cake mixes are featured in this ad, Party Cake (White, Spice or Yellow), Devils Food and Ginger Cake and Cooky Mix.] About cooking "from scratch" According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word "scratch" has several meanings. The phrase "from scratch" is derived from this: 5b. "The starting-point in a handicap of a competitor who recieves no odds; sometimes colloq. used ellipt. for such a competitor. From scratch, from a position of no advantage, knowledge, influence, etc., from nothing." As this applies to food, it means the item was made without the aid of prepared items; all primary ingredients. Who coined this phrase and when? Good question. The OED does not offer a first print use for this term as it applies to food. Our phrase books sometimes list these words but only define them. Our food history books do not include the term. The oldest references we find for this phrase (New York Times historic database) date to the 1940s. These articles are promoting making cakes from mixes rather than "from scratch." Angel food The classic story behind the name "angel food cake" is that this dessert is so white, light, and fluffy it must be fit for angels. Who thought up this name? No one knows. We do know [from the study of old cookbooks] that cake recipes with the name "angel food" began showing up in American cookbooks sometime in the late nineteenth century, about the same time as mass-produced bakeware hit the popular market. Devils Food, dense chocolately rich and "sinful," answered Angel Food decades later in the 20th century. Some food historians speculate the Pennsylvania Dutch were probably the original makers and namers of angel food, though this connection has not been fully documented. In support of the theory, one of many culinary traditions introduced to America by the Pennsyvania Dutch was the cake mold, a special metal pan for creating festive cakes in unusual shapes. A recipe for "Amanda's Angel Food Cake" is included in the Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book of Time Old Recipes, Culinary Arts Press [1936] (p. 39) but not listed in Pennsylvania Dutch Cookery, J. George Frederick [1935]. Angel food cake mixes debuted in 1942. "Angel-food cake...Also "angel cake." A very light, puffy cake, perhaps of Pennsylvania-Dutch heritage, without yeast and with several beaten egg whites. The egg whites give it a texture so airy that the confection supposedly has the sublimity of angels. Angel-food cake was known by the 1870s in America (the word appeared in print in the 1880s) and served as a sensible usage of leftover egg whites." ---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 6) "...angel (or angel food) cakes, which some believe evolved as the result of numerous egg whites left over after the making of noodles, may or may not be the brainchild of thrifty Pennsylvania cooks who considered it sinful to waste anything." ---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones [Vintage Books:New York] 1981, 2nd ed. (p. 93) "Angel Food Cake...Name given to a variety of very light spongy cakes originating from America. This type of confection was first introduced to England in 1934. There were many failures in its manufacture in the earlier days, det to the fact that a special soft flour was required to ensure lightness and soft eating qualities." ---Master Dictionary of Food & Cookery, Henry Smith {Philospohical Library:New York] 1952 (p. 8) A survey of late 19th century cookbooks attests to the introduction of a cake named "angel food" sometime in the 1880s. This is a typical recipe from a popular cookbook: [1884]"Angel Cake One cup of flour, measured after one sifting, and then mixed with one teaspoonful of cream of tartar and sifted four times. Beat the whites of eleven eggs, with a wire beater or perforated spoon, until stiff and flaky. Add one cup and a half of the fine granulated sugar, and beat again; add one teaspoonful of vanilla or almond, then mix in the flour quickly and lightly. Line the bottom and funnel of a cake pan with paper not greased, pour in the mixture, and bake about forty minutes. When done, loosen the cake around the edge, and turn out at once. Some persons have been more successful with this cake by mixing the sugar with the flour and cream of tartar, and adding all at aonce to the beaten egg." ---The Boston Cooking School Cookbook, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln [1884] (p. 374) [1940s] Eleanor Roosevelt's Angel Food Cake Recipes for cakes similar to angel food [calling only for egg whites] were known by different names: [1871] "Snow-drift cake Three cupsful of flour, two cupsful of sugar, one-half a cupful of butter, one cupful of sweet milk, the whites of five eggs beaten to a stiff froth, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one-half a teaspoonful of soda; sift the flour, and do not pack it when measuring it." ---Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, Mrs. M. E. Porter [1871] (p. 223) [NOTE: the lack of baking instructions!] [1881] "Silver cake The whites of one dozen eggs beaten very light, one pound of butter, one pound of powdered sugar; rub the butter and sugar together until creamed very light, then add the beaten whites of the eggs, and beat all together until very light; two teaspoonfuls of the best yeast powder sifted with one pound of flour, then add the flour to the eggs, sugar and butter, also add one-half teacupful of sweet milk; mix quickly, and beat till very light; flavor with two teaspoonfuls of the extract of almond or peach, put in when you beat the cake the last time. Put to bake in any shape pan you like, but grease the pan well before you put the cake batter in it. Have the stove moderately hot, so as the cake will bake gradually, and arrange the damper of stove so as send heat to the bottom of the cake first. This instruction of baking applies to all cakes except tea cakes." ---What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Old Southern Cooking, [1881] (p. 28-9) Angel food cake mix The earliest print evidence we find for commercial angel food cake mix in the USA is 1942. The company? Blair Inc., Atchison Kansas. The brand? EZY Angel Cake Mix [Jefferson City Post-Tribune, Missouri, December 16, 1942 (p. 2)]. No price provided. In 1949 a full-page ad promoting this product was published in the Atchison Daily Globe [Kansas], October 13, 1949 (p. 11). The following year this mix penetrated the southern California market. Advertisements worked hard to convince home cooks this product was an acceptable substitute for home made. The last ad we have for EZY Angel mix was published in the Biddeford Journal [Maine], February 28, 1959 (p. 11). The 8-egg, 10-oz. mix cost 29 cents. "Angel food cake, always a favorite in every home, but forever a headache to the homemaker, finally has caught up with the crowd. It's become as simple to prepare as mashed potatoes. After years of experimentation, a company in Atchison, Kan. comes up with an ingenious angel food cake mix that produces a cake pure white in color, fluffy and delicious as a home-baked cake. All you have to do is add water...For ease in preparation, the ingredients have been divided into two separate plastic bags. One contains the mix of egg whites, flavoring slice, salt and sugar; the other contains the special flour mixture. Contents of the first bag, with the addition of water, are beaten to the proper stiffness and the contents of the second bag are then folded into the mixture. The batter is poured into a tube pan and baked in a hot oven. It's just that simple!...Results have proven to be uniform in all cases, enabling anyone to make an angel food cake of such airy, snowy goodness that it delights the most particular tastes. The mix comes in two sizes--a large 14- egg package and a medium-sized 8-egg package. Once you have tried it, you won't want to be without it. Your family will love it..." ---"Problems Solved: Simple Angel Food Cake Mix Invented," Mary Ellen Wickes, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1950 (p. B3) "Angel food cake is the summertime favorite...Recently, an excellent packaged angel food cake mix was introduced in local stores. It has won wide approval of Los Angeles homemakers. Everyone who tries it is surprised by the cake's delicate flavor and good texture...There's a 14-egg package and a medium 8-egg one. The egg whites and all essential ingredients are scientifically measured and proportions into two little transparent paper bags contained in each box. The dry ingredients are beaten several minutes with a cupful of cold water and the other batter is read! many inquiries have come to this department about the product. We tested several samples for its quality, ease of preparation and cost. Our verdict is favorable on all counts...Unfortunately, the mix is not yet available in all food markets, but city-wide distribution is under way, and we recommend that you ask for it at your store when next you shop. Most grocers appreciate requests for new products from customers." ---"Angel Cake Makes Heavenly Desserts," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, July 25, 1950 (p. B2) "Ezy Angel Mix. Delicious Prizewinner. Every Angel Food Cake you make with EZY ANGEL MIX, Anybody can do it! 2 sizes: 14-Egg and 8-Egg...A complete 8-egg Angel Food Cake Mix, just add water, 9-oz Pkg....42 cents." ---display ad, Los Angeles Times, August 31, 1950 (p. 6) Chocolate cake In the beginning, chocolate was a precious substance used for religions ceremonies. When chocolate was introduced to Europe, other possibilities were explored. Confections, icings, puddings and baked goods embraced chocolate flavor. What is chocolate cake? Excellent question with no simple answer. In the first half of the 19th century the typical chocolate cake was a yellow or spice cake meant to accompany a chocolate beverage. In the second quarter of the 19th century the typical chocolate cake was either a white or yellow cake with chocolate icing. It is not until the middle of the 19th century we begin to see chocolate as an ingredient in baked goods (cookies, cakes). Progress was slow. By the beginning of the 20th century chocolate cakes, as we know them today, proliferate. Why? Consumer economics, product availability and serious corporate marketing. The oldest print reference we find for baked goods with chocolate ingredient is 1779. In this letter sent from prison, the notorious Marquis De Sade complains bitterly to his wife about the "care" package she sent him. Alphonse Francois, Marquis de Sade, primarily known for 'other activities,' nevertheless, mentioned chocolate in a series of letters written form prison addressed to his wife. In a most interesting letter dated May 16, 1779, he tersely complained of the quality of a food package she previously sent to him and enumerated his complaints. 'This sponge cake is not at all what I asked for: 1) I wanted it iced everywhere, both on top and underneath, with the same icing used on the little cookies; 2) I wanted it to be chocolate inside, of which it contains not the slightest hint; they have colored it with some sort of dark herb, but there is not what one could call the slightest suspicion of chocolate. The next time you send me a package, please have it made for me, and try to have some trustworthy person there to see for themselves that some chocolate is put inside. The cookies must smell of chocolate, as if one were biting into a chocolate bar.' This specific de Sade letter reveals several important pieces of information. First, the letter hints that the so-called chocolate cookies were prepared from adulterated chocolate...Second, the concluding sentence suggests that bars of chocolate for eating pleasure were available in Paris nearly 50 years before Van Houten's invention of the cocoa press, an invention that some have interpreted as a necessary 'tipping-point' required before the development of confectionary chocolate. In 18th century Europe and elsewhere, consumers did not 'bite into' standard chocolate tablets. These tablets whether circular, rectangular, or appearing as 'globs' were not eaten like 20th and 21st century candy bars; these tablets were grated and used to prepare chocolate beverages. Thus, the phrase 'biting into' reveals the probability that bars of confectionary chocolate circulated in France by this early date." ---Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage, edited by Louis Evan Grivetti [John Wiley & Sons:Hoboken NJ] 2009 (p. 746) [NOTES: (1) Source for De Sade quote: de Sade, A.F. (Marquis de Sade). Letters from Prison. Translated by R. Seaver. New York:Arcade Publishing, 1999. Letter to his wife, dated May 16, 1779. (2) The chocolate tablets not have been "eating chocolate," as we know it today.] The earliest baked good recipe we find (so far)with chocolate as ingredient is from 1847. While it confirms the use of chocolate in this capacity, it by no means indicates this was a common practice in the day. [1847] Chocolate Puffs ---Ladies Receipt Book, Eliza Leslie [Philadelphia] Devil's food Recipes for rich, chocolate cakes similar to devil's food were fairly common in late 19th century cookbooks, but they were not named such. They were typically listed under the generic name "chocolate cake." Recipes titled devil's food proliferated, sometimes with interesting and creative twists) in the first decades of the 20th century. Red Devil appears in the 1930s. "Devil's food. A cake, muffin, or cookie made with dark chocolate, so called because it is supposedly so rich and delicious that it must be somewhat sinful, although the association is clearly made with humor. Its dark color contrasted with the snowy white of angel-food cake, an earlier confection. The first devil's food recipe appeared in 1900, after which recipes and references became frequent in cookbooks. The "red devil's food cake," given a reddish-brown color by the mixture of cocoa and baking soda, is post-World War II version of the standard devil's food cake." ---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 111) Angel food belongs to the nineteenth century but devil's food to the twentieth. How this chocolate cake came to be called devil's food no one knows although it may have been a play on opposites: it was as dark and rich as angel food was light an airy...In the early 1900s there were a number of bizarre variations on Devils Food Cake. Once called for mashed potatoes and a number for ground cinnamon and cloves in addition to chocolate..." ---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 452-3) Some food historians believe this might be the first mention of Devil's food. It appears in a memoir written by Caroline King's of her childhood in 1880s Chicago. Ms. King was a popular food writer in the 1920s-1930s. "Devil's Food, though a new cake in our household, had made its dashing appearance in Chicago in the middle eighties, and by the time it reached our quiet little community, was quite the rage. Maud's receipt was the original one, and made a large, dark, rich cake. Here it is: Devil's Food 1/2 cup butter 2 cups sugar 5 eggs 1 cup sour cream 2 1/2 cups flour 1 scant teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 squares unsweetened chocolate 1 teaspoon vanilla. Anna melted the chocolate over hot water while Maude creamed the butter and added the sugar gradually; then she whipped in the slightly beaten yolks of the eggs and the melted chocolate and vanilla. I was permitted to sift and measure the flour and then sift it again with the baking powder and soda. When this was done, Maude alternately added the flour mixture and the sour cream to the egg-sugar-butter-chocolate combination. Last of all, she folded in the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs and turned the delicious-smelling brown batter into three layer-cake pans which Anna had buttered and floured. The baking, in a very moderate oven, was carefully watched. According to a time-honored custom in our family, the cakes were tested with a clean broomstraw and when finished were turned, beautifully brown and entrancingly fragrant, from the pans onto a clean towel. Now came the next important part, the icing and filling. The Watermans' receipt called for a thick boiled icing made pleasantly piquant with a few drops of citric acid. But citric acid sounded dangerous to Maud, and besides, as Anna explained, we had no such article in our supply closet. Even Emily's stock of special flavorings refused to yield it, so Maud used lemon juice, sparingly and judiciously, and the result was perfect. Altogether it was a noble cake, nobly made." ---Victorian Cakes: A Reminiscence With Recipes, Caroline B. King, with an introduction by Jill Gardner [Aris/Berkeley:1986] (p. 35-6) There is no recipe for Devil's food in Favorite Dishes: A Columbian Autograph Souvenir Cookery Book, a collection of recipes contributed by prominent Chicago women in 1893. This book, originally compiled by Carrie V. Shuman, was recently reissued by the University Press, Chicago [2001]. What is the difference between chocolate cake and devil's food? This simple question has many answers, depending upon the period and cookbook. As noted above, the first 19th century American chocolate cake recipes were white/yellow cakes with chocolate icing. The addition of chocolate to the batter increased as the price of this ingredient declined, thus creating "chocolate cake" as we know it today. 20th century cookbooks often list chocolate cake and devils food on the same page. The most predominant difference between the two? Devil's food usually contains a greater proportion of chocolate. Fannie Farmer [1923] doubles the amount of chocolate required for her devil's food (4 ounces compared to 2 ounces for "regular" chocolate cake.). Irma S. Rombauer confirms: "When the larger amount of chocolate is used, it is a black, rich Devil's Food." (Joy of Cooking, 1931 p. 236) Compare this chocolate cake recipe [1894] with Mrs. Rorer's [1902] & Good Housekeeping's [1903] devil's food recipes (below): Chocolate Cake, No. 3 One and a half cups of sugar, half cup of butter, three-quarters cup of milk, three eggs and yolk of another, two cups of flour, two teaspoons baking powder, one full cup of Baker's chocolate. Break up the chocolate and put in a cup over the tea kettle until it melts. This will make four layers, and use the following recipe for boiled icing between the layers. Boiled icing One cup of sugar (granulated), quarter cup of water (cold), one egg (only white, beaten stiff). Put water on sugar in a saucepan and let it boil until it threads. Then remove from fire and pour over the stiff white, beaten until it thickens. Put on the cake at once." ---The Oracle: Receipts Rare, Rich and Reliable, The Woman's Parish Aid Society of Christ Church, [Tarrytown:New York] 1894 (p. 88) The earliest recipe we have for Devil's Food printed in an American cookbook is dated 1902: "Devil's Food 1/2 cup of milk 4 ounces of chocolate 1/2 cup butter 3 cups pastry flour 1 1/2 cups of sugar 4 eggs 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder Put in a double boiler four ounces of chocolate and a half pint of milk; cook until smooth and thick, and stand aside to cool. Beat a half cup of butter to a cream; add gradually one and a half cups of sugar and the yolks of four eggs; beat until light and smooth. Then add the cool chocolate mixture and three cups of pastry flour, with which you have sifted two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Beat thoroughly for at least five minutes; then