Well, it’s an exciting day for Vintage Victuals, dear readers. It is VV’s third blogoversery! I can’t believe that my first post three years ago has led to so many fun recipes, fun people, and fun food! Thank you all for being a part of this special place – it wouldn’t be the same without you!

My family had an impromptu get together last night, so I whipped together an old-time favorite: a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling. I started making this tasty treat years ago when I was in college, and it has become a much-loved tradition, especially for my brothers and my husband. I often make it for Thanksgiving, as it nicely complements our usual collection of pies and tarts. It is always a major crowd pleaser!.

Assembly is easier than it sounds – the process is very similar to my Auntie Gladys’s Chocolate Yule Log,which you should check out for Christmas! It helps to have an extra set of helping hands during the rolling process, but just remember – it’s going to taste amazing even if it doesn’t look perfect!

Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling
from Libby’s

For cake roll:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2  teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin puree

For filling:
1 eight-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted for lumps
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 15″ by 10″ jelly-roll pan, and line with parchment paper. Grease and flour the parchment paper. Lay a smooth tea towel on a flat surface and sprinkle it with the powdered sugar. Set these aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. In a large electric mixer bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and light in color.

Add the pumpkin and beat vigorously. Stir in the dry ingredient mixture until completely moistened. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared jelly roll pan.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly touched. Quickly loosen and turn the cake out onto the prepared towel. Carefully peel off the parchment paper. Sprinkle with more powdered sugar. Roll the cake up in the towel, starting with the narrow end. Allow the rolled cake to cool completely on  a wire rack.

Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer. The filling should be completely smooth. Carefully unroll the cooled cake, and remove the towel. Spread the filling evenly over the cake, and re-roll the cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. (I can’t usually manage to get the boys to stay away from it for that long, so good luck!)

You may want to slice a sliver off of the ends of the cake to create a clean look. Plus, you get to sample the slivers just to make sure the cake is completely delicious. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Happy Halloween, dear readers! I hope you all had a day filled with magic, mystery, and (of course) delicious food. Here is a festive fall recipe to celebrate the day.

I have adapted Paula Deen’s pumpkin bars so that they are more flavorful, and more munchable. Her recipe gives us a great start, with an unbelievably moist and tender pumpkin cake topped with fluffy cream cheese frosting. But extra spice and a thinner cake make for a more finger-friendly (and finger-lickin’ GOOD) pumpkin bar. And the toasted pecan topping really takes this tasty dessert over the top…

Pumpkin Bars
adapted from Paula Deen’s recipe

For the bars:
1 cup oil
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9×13 inch pans with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a medium electric mixer bowl, beat the sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate. Add the pumpkin and the vanilla, mixing until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture, mixing on low speed until smooth and creamy. Split the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth with a spatula. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together. Next, add the powdered sugar (be sure to sift it if it is lumpy). Add the vanilla, and beat the frosting until it is smooth and creamy.

Frost the cakes and slice into bars. Sprinkle with pecans, if desired. Yield 32 to 40 bars. Enjoy!!

For those of you who haven’t read Anne of Green Gables, the title of this post may look like a mistake. Trust me, dear readers, that this cake does not involve any actual liniment! The Anne of Green Gables books and movies were a staple of my childhood, and I even got The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook when I was little. (You may remember the wonderful lemonade recipe I posted from this book.)

As the story goes, Anne accidentally flavored the cake she was making with anodyne liniment instead of vanilla. Marilla had broken the liniment bottle and poured what was left into an empty vanilla bottle, which Anne then used in the cake. Oops! So this is the cake that Anne meant to make when she mistakenly substituted liniment for the vanilla!  Make sure you put the vanilla in yours…

This has been a go-to cake recipe in my family for many years. We have used it for many birthdays. (This one was for my mom’s birthday!) The cake is incredibly versatile, and it always turns out fluffy, buttery, and deliciously moist!  My favorite way to serve it is with a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate frosting. I hope you will give it a try!

Liniment Cake
from The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook by Kate Macdonald (1985)

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla (not liniment!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two round cake pans (8″ or 9″ pans will work).

In a large electric mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk and the butter, and beat the mixture for at least one minute, until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat again for at least three minutes.

Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make whatever icing or filling you desire. A nice buttery chocolate icing like the one in this post matches this cake perfectly. Frost the top of the first layer; then top with the second layer, and frost the top and sides. Enjoy!

Dear readers, I have a special treat in store for you today.  This is a cake that I save for special occasions because it is so close to my heart.  It’s a perfect way to celebrate spring, whether it’s Easter, Mother’s Day, or a special family event.  Daffodil Cake – a light and lemony angel food cake marbled with beautiful batters and topped with a citrusy glaze.  When you make this cake for someone, you will make them feel truly special and loved.

This cake always reminds me of my dear Auntie Gladys.  The first time that I made it, I was about ten years old and she had come to town to visit us.  She raved and raved about how wonderful it was, and over the years she continues to ask whether I have made one lately. So when I made it for my mother-in-law, my mom, and my grandmother this mother’s day, I thought fondly of my sweet Auntie Gladys in California.  If only she were closer, I could have made one more for her!

Daffodil Cake
from my trusty old Betty Crocker Cookbook

1 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
12 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest

Lemon Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Stir together the cake flour and the 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside.

In a large electric mixer bowl with the whisk attachment, ,beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt for about 60 seconds, until foamy. Add the 3/4 cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Gently fold the vanilla and lemon zest into the meringue.

In another electric mixer bowl, beat the egg yolks for about 5 minutes, until they are very thick and lemon colored. Set aside.

Sprinkle the flour-sugar mixture, one quarter at a time, over the meringue, gently folding the flour in just until the dry ingredients disappear. Pour half the batter into the bowl with the whipped egg yolks, and fold gently together.

Get out an ungreased tube pan, about 10×4 inches. Spoon the yellow and white batters alternately into the pan, and gently cut through the batters with a knife to swirl.

Bake on the bottom shelf of your oven for 35-40 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched with a finger. Invert the pan on its funnel and let the cake hang until it is completely cooled.

While the cake is cooling, it’s time to make the glaze. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest. Add the lemon juice one tablespoon at a time to the powdered sugar, whisking vigorously until the mixture is smooth.  The mixture will thin very quickly as you add the juice so go slowly and stop when you get to your desired glaze consistency.

Carefully remove the cake from its pan and spoon the glaze over the top.  Enjoy!

What better way to ring in the new year, dear readers, than to share one of my very favorite family traditions with you.  Every Christmas, Nanny makes her famous tarts!  They are really a unique little treat: flaky pastry filled with jam and topped with buttery yellow cake.  We usually serve them along side our usual pies for dessert at our big Christmas dinner.  But they are also excellent with a cup of coffee for breakfast, or – my personal favorite – in the afternoon with a cup of Earl Grey tea!

Nanny’s Raspberry Tarts

Batter:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups milk

Pastry:
2 cups flour
1 cup shortening
about 3/4 cup ice water

Filling:
Seedless raspberry jam

First, make the batter.  In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and the flour and the baking powder.

Next, add the flour and the milk alternately to the creamed mixture, starting and ending with the flour.  It usually takes about 3 additions of each.  Beat the batter until very light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Set the batter aside, and make the pastry.

Sift the flour into a bowl.  Add the shortening, and cut it into the flour using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles course crumbs.

Next, add the ice water.  Sprinkle it all over the mixture and use your hands to work it in until it all comes together in a ball.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll the crust out very thin, to about 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut the dough into about 3-inch rounds, and fit the dough into your tin the same way you would fit a pie crust into a pie dish!

These are Nanny’s tart tins.  They came from her mother (my great-grandmother) in England.  They really resemble sort of a slightly deeper-than-usual mini muffin tin.  Nanny has always used this old tea cup to cut the crust, as it is the perfect size to fit her tart tins!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

To assemble the tarts, place about a tablespoon of raspberry jam into the bottom of each crust.  Then top the jam with a spoonful of cake batter, sealing to the crust around the top.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops turn golden brown.  Enjoy!!!

The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer’s day;
The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.
The King of Hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave full sore
The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts and vowed he’d steal no more.

-Lewis Carroll

Well, dear readers, this is a *first* for me.  I am loathe to share any recipes with you here that involve cake mixes, pudding mixes, and the like – even if they are doctored up quite a bit.  I don’t know why, but I just tend to be of the mind that these creations cannot compare to a from-scratch style of cake.

With that disclaimer, I will tell you that the recipe I am about to share with you is a wonderful family recipe that comes to me from my aunt, through my lovely cousin, the Meat Lady.  And I must admit, the cake she made for us was surprisingly delicious.  It is moist. tender  and flavorful, and the topping is absolutely to-die-for!

So without further ado, I give you . . . Devil’s Food Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting!

Devil’s Food Pound Cake
from my cousin, the Meat Lady

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 box chocolate instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease well a bundt pan.

Blend all ingredients together for 2-3 minutes, and pour in the prepared pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then flip pan, and cake should fall right out. Frost as desired.

Peanut Butter Frosting
also from the kitchen of my cousin, the Meat Lady
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Using an electric mixer, blend all ingredients together until light and fluffy. Next, put the mixture in a small saucepan over very low heat, until it becomes slightly runny.  Remove from heat and spoon over the cake.  Garnish with crumbled pieces of chocolate-peanut-butter cups!

Frozen Lemon Cake
adapted from Nanny’s recipe

1 cup crushed graham crackers, divided
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 eggs, separated
1 lemon (all juice and all zest)
½ cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
4 tablespoons sugar, divided

Combine 3/4 cup of the crushed graham crackers with the melted butter, stirring until a crumbly loose mixture forms. Line the bottom of an 8×8-inch pan with the mixture.

In a bowl set over hot water (not boiling) mix egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar.Stir constantly until the mixture thickens. At this point Nanny’s instructions say “Keep cool.” – this is because it will take about 10 minutes for the mixture to thicken. Cute. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool.

Beat egg whites until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to beat until glossy, stiff peaks form. Next, beat whipped cream until fluffy, and gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar. Then, gently fold all three mixtures together.

Spread the mixture in the pan over the prepared crust. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of crushed crackers. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours. When you’re ready to serve, remove from the freezer, and cut into squares and plate them. Then allow to melt ever so slightly – about 4-5 minutes. Serve immediately.

I discovered this recipe when I was in college – it is the perfect comfort food. It will make you feel cozy and warm with just one bite. I’ve tweaked it over the years to make it a bit softer, more chocolaty, and more delicate – sublime.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
adapted from AllRecipes.com

1 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup butter
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
A pinch of cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease well a 8×8 inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats, butter, and boiling water. Set aside to cool.

Beat together the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla; add to cooled oat mixture, mixing until completely combined.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa, and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into your prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Big Brother’s Birthday Cake

Cake
2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
5 egg whites

Lemon Curd
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup cold water
6 egg yolks (save 2 whites for the icing!)
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

White Mountain Frosting
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoons vanilla

For the cake:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour two 9-inch round pans with butter and flour (seriously, don’t skip the flour!).

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.

Beat the butter in with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and the vanilla, and continue to beat until fluffy. Gradually add the dry ingredients and the milk, alternately, starting and ending with the flour.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans, like so . . .

Then bake for 25-30 minutes, until cake springs back when gently touched near the center.

For the lemon curd:
Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add the water and whisk in the egg yolks, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly, boiling the mixture for one minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Strain the mixture and cool to room temperature.

For the frosting:
In a small saucepan, combine the corn syrup, sugar, and water. Cover and apply medium heat until the mixture reaches a rolling boil. Do not stir, but uncover and continue to boil until the mixture reaches 242 degrees on a candy thermometer and/or the mixture spools 6-8-inch threads when drizzled from a spoon.

Meanwhile, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Very gradually stream the hot sugar mixture into the egg whites, beating constantly, until thick and glossy. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until desired consistency is reached.

To assemble the cake, put half of the lemon curd over the first layer. Top with the second layer, and ice the entire outside with the frosting. Serve with the extra lemon curd on the side.

Don’t you just love how shiny and gorgeous the icing is?

Sources: The cake and curd recipes come from my sister-in-law. The frosting is from my tried and true, vintage Betty Crocker cookbook.

O, mon dieu, chers lecteurs. This is a fab find!

I’m at home alone (with the dogs) tonight – hubby’s away at a leadership conference. I decided to make dinner easy – boiled gnocchi with Newman’s Own tomato sauce . . . garlic toast on the side.

What do you crave after eating Italian? My mom and I always have a taste for chocolate! But here I am, all alone. It would be wasteful (right?) to make brownies, to go out and get a pint of ice cream, to open a new box of Oreos . . . What’s a girl to do in this kind of emergency???

Enter . . . Emergency Chocolate Cake.

Moist, fluffy, chocolaty heaven. A mug full of cupcake. Satisfaction, in two minutes flat.

I think I may have another . . . this time with a pinch of cinnamon perhaps?

Emergency Chocolate Cake
I got this from the Rookie Chef, who got it from One Particular Kitchen

2 tablespoons cake flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 (slightly heaping) teaspoons cocoa powder
a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons oil

Spray the inside of a microwave-safe coffee mug with nonstick spray. Measure the ingredients into the mug and stir with a fork until smooth and no lumps remain. Microwave on high for 60 seconds.

That’s it!!!

You can eat it with a fork straight out of the mug (as I did) , or turn it out onto a plate and top it with chocolate syrup or whipped cream. Perfection!