February 10, 2014

A sweetly charming vintage 'Be my Valentine' cake recipe

There are certain times of the year that are synonymous with sugary treats aplenty, and few are more famous or beloved in this respect than Valentine's Day. February 14th, the day of amore and fabulously lovely things to eat, be it a glass of bubbly or a heart shaped box of chocolates.

By and large, I don't eat a lot of sugar, so holidays feel like an extra big treat for me, and I rarely pass up the chance to indulge for just one festive day. This year, as much as I love chocolate (the darker the better!), I feel like I'm in much more of a cake mood, so I went hunting for a vintage dessert that would fit that bill and today's absolutely darling 1950s vintage recipes does the job splendidly.

It's enrobed in a hefty layer of pink coconut, boasts a cute heart made, fittingly, from red gumdrop candies (you could easily use cinnamon hearts, Red Hots, or jelly beans instead, if you preferred), and sounds just as sweet as sweet can be. You could also - and I think that this is precisely what I'll do - bake it in a heart shaped cake pan for an extra dose of seasonal flare.


 photo be-my-valentine-cake-1950_zpsfe11e6c2.jpg

{Perfect to send youngsters off to school, share with your honey bunny, or have star as the main attraction at a February 14th party, this wonderfully easy, budget friendly 1950s cake is bound to ensure you'll have folks lining up around the block to ask you to be their Valentine this year. Image source.}

 

By all means, if you'd prefer, swap in your favourite white (or golden, cherry chip, or even chocolate, the latter being especially fitting for St. Valentine's) cake recipe instead, and should you, like me, need to keep things strictly gluten-free, I recommend using two boxes of Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix (it, and the chocolate version, really are the best GF cake mixes I've found on the market so far) for this fun recipe.

You could also whip up a batch of pink coconut and red candy heart topped cupcakes instead, or as well. Perhaps using pink, red, gold or otherwise festively hued or patterned cupcake wrappers (liners). A cute little conversation heart candy, instead of the red sweets, would be an endlessly February 14th appropriate touch, too.

Whether you leap for the nearest chocolate truffle, swoon for caramels, or have a hankering for cake as well, I hope that you get a chance to satisfy your own cravings for something beautifully sweet, special and busting with the spirit of this deeply lovely time of the year at least once this week. I know that as soon as I grab the heart shaped cake pan from the basement and whip up this great vintage Valentine's Day recipe, I'll be doing just that!

And remember, my darling friends...


19 comments:

  1. Boy, this brings back childhood memories for me. My mom was a typical American housewife in that she believed advertising and brought brand-name products to use in cooking. I remember eating ingredients like these. Nice post.

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  2. Ooh! that looks so good! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Glad you're finding great ways in gluten-free!

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  3. Ooh, lovely! I might just have to take this to our pot luck at work on Friday! I adore coconut. I hope you have a swell Valentine's Day yourself!

    Cheers,
    Jenny

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  4. What a cute idea! I would love to try it but the Mr. doesn't care much for shredded coconut so I make make a small cheesecake.

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    1. It's hard to go wrong with a delicious cheesecake (a raspberry and strawberry topped one is what I made for my birthday dessert last year). You could always just skip the coconut here and use pink frosting, with or without some slivered or sliced almonds (or other kinds of nuts) on the outside for added crunch, if so desired.

      Happy Valentine's Day baking - and of course Feb, 14th itself, too, my dear!
      ♥ Jessica

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  5. somewhere in my kitchen i have heart shaped muffin forms..........
    thanks, sweetheart, for remembering me. hubby will love it :-)
    <3

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  6. Yum, yum! Coincidentally, I'd been thinking of baking coconut cupcakes this year, to follow up on my Valentine's baking last year... Not for any particularly Valentine's reason, just because I fancied coconut cake and it seemed a good excuse!

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  7. Looks yummy! You have a wonderful blog Jessica <3

    Greetings from Brazil! xxx

    https://nostemposdaminhaavo.blogspot.com/

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  8. That picture looks so great and yummy and full of vintage awesomeness that it makes me immediately happier. : ) Thanks for the Monday boost!

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  9. That lovely cake looks just like a version of the delicious lamingtons we make here in Australia. Yum! I always make the hubby something decadent for Valentines Day, and this year a choc mint slice and chocolate strawberries are on the menu. And if I have to eat some too then all the better!

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  10. Oh, how cute—pink coconut! Be still, my heart. Not sure I would be able to resist somehow tinting the cake mix pink, perhaps with strawberry or raspberry puree. If one is doing something for Valentine's, one might as well go all out!

    So far as gluten-free cake mixes, I've actually not tried Betty Crocker's—normally I use Pamela's, King Arthur's, or Gluten-Free Pantry's all-purpose flours for my baking. I know it's not cake flour, which is a different animal altogether, but haven't really found a good GF one that does not contain soy. Next time I'm at the market I'll have to look at the Betty Crocker!

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    1. Hi Jen, it's awesome how many different GF brands and products you guys have in the States. I just about wept and jumped with joy simultaneously when Betty Crocker's GF line crossed over the border into Canada a couple of years ago. We do have other brands, such as Bob's Red Mill and Pamela's here, but Betty's is by far my favourite when it comes to cake, brownie and chocolate chip cookie mixes (I really like Pamela's for pancakes though).

      Agreed, if you're going to do something, go all out! Beet juice is a terrific natural way to tint things reddish-pink without imparting a strong flavour.

      Happy Valentine's Day baking, lovely lady!
      ♥ Jessica

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  11. Ohhhhh that cake looks both beautiful and delicious! I'm thinking of baking some lemonade scones for Valentines Day and taking them on a picnic :D

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    1. Oooh, that sounds like a scrumptious Valentine's Day treat! I'd be tempted to stir some strawberries or raspberries into the pink for a pink lemonade scone that would be Valentine's Day appropriate all the more thanks to its pretty rose colour tinged.

      Happy countdown to Feb. 14th, dear gal!
      ♥ Jessica

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  12. Hi Kelli, thank you very much for your lovely comment. As someone who is immensely shy themselves (I've been a silent lurker of many sites, forums and blogs over the years myself, too), I appreciate all the more that you felt compelled to comment here on this post.

    I've been completely GF (save for accidental "glutenings") because of celiac disease for four years now (and egg free because of a bad egg allergy for nearly as long), and since I eat GF myself as a result, it just makes sense to me to often include gluten-free spins on the vintage recipes I post, if I've tried ones that worked out well. So many people are going GF whether by choice or for medical reasons these days and I'm happy to hopefully be able to help some of my readers out when such is the case for them as well.

    Betty Crocker also makes GF chocolate chip cookie and brownie mixes, both of which are delicious as well (amongst the best GF mixes I've ever tried).

    If I can ever be of help to you with any specific GF related questions, please don't hesitate to let me know.

    Happy GF baking!
    ♥ Jessica

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  13. Do they even still sell flaked coconut in aluminum cans?! That element of this ad alone feels charmingly old timey. It makes perfect sense, if your main interest is retaining moisture! Despite being kind of an obsessed baker, I don't think I've ever colored coconut. I'd bet nobody in my house would object if I embarked on a vegan version of this (so easy!). :D

    -Cammila
    http://dresseduplikealady.com

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  14. Oh my! That cake looks gorgeously and deliciously decadent!
    xo

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  15. Looks delicious! I like all the tweaks to the recipe and spin off ideas that you have included.

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    1. Thank you very much, honey. It's the lifelong foodie in me - I'm almost always looking for additional spins on recipes. :)

      Have a beautiful Valentine's Day,
      ♥ Jessica

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