April 8, 2016

1950s Springtime Fancy Cake is the perfect April dessert


The days are getting longer, the air is alive with a thousand and one fresh, earthy scents, and the skies are, well, if not blue quite yet, than at least less likely to be chocked full of snowflakes.

For many north of the equator, spring has sprung and for those who are still wrestling with the final days of wintry weather, it soon will. Though we may have a ways to go before we're in the mood to sport an air conditioner as a hat or eschew any type of footwear that isn't a sandal, the warmth of spring is slowly emerging and before long, we're be into the thick of the hottest months of the year.

Before we hit that point though, let's take full advantage of our ovens and put them to good use in whipping up this super simple, budget-friend Springtime Fancy Cake recipe from 1953.

As with just about all vintage recipes that call for it, if shortening isn't your cup of tea, then by all means swap in your favourite butter, margarine or vegan cooking fat substitute instead.



{Sweet, fun and super easy to make, this delightful mid-century cake calls mainly for ingredients that most of us have to hand already and telegraphs a sense of spring as marvelously as the first blooms of the season. 1950s cake recipe ad image source.}


At its heart, this is a very basic white layer cake, but with the addition of sprightly mint green frosting and some really pretty daisies made from slices of white marshmallows and yellow gumdrops, it becomes a splendidly festive dessert offering that would easily see you through a myriad of spring and summer events, as well as lovely everyday meals alike.

For those, like myself, who are gluten-free, a cake like this is a total cinch still, too. Just put your favourite white or golden cake recipe to work or use a GF boxed mix for either.

You could change the frosting colour and/or candies used here as well, but I personally like it exactly as it stands now. This cake radiates with the spirit of spring, is pretty as a picture, and could easily be turned into cupcakes (with one candy topped flower on each cupcake), if so desired.

I’m elated that that spring is here again and love that vintage recipes like this help to capture to the elegance and joy of this season alike.

Today’s charming 1950s layer cake is bound to be a hit all throughout April and May, then clear through to June and summertime itself, where its adorable candy daisies will be every bit as at home then as they are right now while spring finds its sea legs once again.

48 comments:

  1. You just don't see cakes with this colour icing anymore - but I would be totally game for any cake that comes in mint green ;) x

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    1. Soooo true! There was such a sense of fun and whimsy to many vintage desserts, especially cakes and cookies. I grew up with foods like this and still make them, but it feels like fewer and fewer folks still do. Aqua hued cakes for the win! :)

      Big hugs & joyful Monday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  2. That looks like a wonderful cake idea! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Mmmmm cake!

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    1. My pleasure, sweet Sylvie. Thank you very much for your lovely comment. I'm in a big time cake mood right now, too, thanks to this post. Might have to whip one up for Mother's Day next month.

      Have a wonderful week,
      xoxo ♥ Jessica

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  3. That is a pretty cake. I always thought shortening was margarine - we don't have anything called shortening, so I thought that was the American word for it.

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    1. That's really interesting, sweet Mim. In the UK, shortening is sold under brand names like Trex and Flora White. I sense that it never caught on to the same degree in the UK and Ireland (and perhaps the rest of Europe, too) as it over here in North America. I almost never use it these days myself, but every now and then there's a recipe that few things suit as well and I'll pick up a tub or stick of it.

      Wishing you a great week,
      xoxo ♥ Jessica

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  4. Mmm... reminds me of my childhood. My mom made cakes that looked just like this one. Such fond memories.

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    1. Same here - big time!!! Though I came of age in the 80s and 90s, so many of the foods of my youth were squarely mid-century, thanks to the fact that such was what my mom and both grandmas often made. From orange chiffon cake to grape jelly meat balls, there was no shortage of yesteryear dishes to be had and I'm certain that such only helped to foster my passion for the past (very much including vintage recipes) all the more.

      Have a stellar week, my friend!
      ♥ Jessica

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  5. I really like the marshmallow flower idea! It seems daisies are popping up on a lot of modern baking right now.

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    1. Great observation, sweet Daphne. I've noticed that as well - a general floral trend in desserts, really. I'm all for it! Few things are as pretty, classic or inviting as flowers, be they real or make from sugar. :)

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  6. mmmmm that looks good. Now I just need someone to make it for me lol! I love the advertisement for it your "young man"..as opposed to old? Ohhh 50s marketing your funny lol!

    Enjoy maybe some spring weather that is coming your way. We are freezing here in Toronto right now :(

    Liz

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    1. Oh no! I remember with bracing clarity the bone chilling Toronto winters and am sorry that you're still slogging through one this year, sweet Liz. Fingers crossed that spring shows up pronto!

      Joyful mid-April wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  7. That's so pretty! I would love to make it as cupcakes with a single flower on top. Perfect.

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    1. Thank you very much, lovely lady. I'm really digging the cupcake approach, too. They'd be fabulous for a Mother's Day party treat.

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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    1. Same here! We need more aqua hued desserts in today's world.

      Have an awesome week, sweet Kate!
      ♥ Jessica

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  9. Although in leaps and bounds, spring is arriving here in Belgium as well. What a lovely cake, I wish I had time to bake though. xxx

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    1. That's great to hear! We started to experience it here around the beginning of this month and it's now slowly blossoming (literally) in full force. Fingers crossed that it's a long, beautiful one on both our ends.

      Many hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  10. I love that color of frosting! You don't often see cakes in that color nowadays. We are in the middle of a strange cold snap so I feel like I am back in the middle of winter- not fun! This lovely cake definitely has me dreaming of warmer days :)

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    1. You really don't! Us vintage adoring folks should do our part to help bring aqua hued desserts back. :)

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  11. Very 50s coloring on that cake. I love it. :D

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    1. Isn't it though? This has to be about as 1950s as a cake can look. I'm in love with the colour and cheerfulness of this wonderful dessert.

      Have a fabulous week, sweet Grace!
      ♥ Jessica

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  12. Such a fun cake! Now I want cake...haha thanks! XO
    Lauren-Blair
    www.prefertobedemure.com

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    1. Isn't it though? Life needs more cheery, fun foods like this. Not everything has to look like the cover of a cookbook (though, this could certainly be on one, don't get me wrong). Sometimes a great classic like this fifty cake is just with the dessert doctor ordered. :)

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  13. oh, my word... sky is the color of lilac!

    Jess,
    I have woken up this morning (I'm with my coffee right now), open the window blinds and gazed into LILAC SKY. I say: there's few things in life that can beat that feeling. Spring's powerful "good morning", after a rainy night, it's a pure & un-stained joy.
    As for cake:
    OK, I'll give you this: there's three more weeks for us, to stay away from "meat, eggs and dairy". :) however, I'm not struggling with it. Seeing a rich cake like this (LOVE, love, love the color of frosting!) makes me joyful, but not jealous.. that IS the essence of lent.
    That sad, we ARE allowed to make sweets, so my mom (she's the best!) made BAKLAVA yesterday. and I just might post a recipe for it today :)

    Huge hug from under lilac sky!
    M

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    1. That sounds absolutely breathtaking! We don't get a lot of stunning sunsets around these parts, and breathtaking sunrises are arguably rarer. I always feel so in awe when the sky turns into a painter's palette at any point in the day. How wonderful that you woke up to lilac in the heavens. If that isn't a harbinger of spring's return, I don't know what is.

      Many hugs & happy mid-April wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  14. Mmmm yummy, a basic cake is perfect. Wouldn't it be fun to make it as springlike as possible? I think I would use two different colours of icing, yellow and blue, very springlike together. I'm so happy spring is here, I'm listening to the birds early chorus practice as I type this. That means today will be fine weather, woohoo! Wishing you a perfect spring weekend over in your beautiful part of the world xx

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    1. That's a splendid idea, dear Emily! One could even take it in a more modern direction and tint the very cake itself two or more hues in a marble, checkerboard, or rainbow pattern. Thanks for suggesting that great variation.

      Oodles of hugs & happy Monday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  15. I love marshmallow flowers! One of the 'year' birthday cakes in the classic Australian Women's Weekly birthday cake book has marshmallow flowers on pink icing. I think they dip rounds of marshmallow in hundreds and thousands for the centre of each flower. On green icing, as seen here, it could be a bit more grown up.
    I also adore the way so many vintage advertisements make the affection of men conditional on the performative display of womanly virtues, aided by careful consumption of branded products. My absolute favourite is a 1927 baking powder advertisement that advises "after the first year of marriage, it takes more than kisses to keep a man happy". It takes cakes made the way he's used to at home - NOT store bought ones. And naturally this baking powder is here to help... Looking at advertisements was a nice perk of my PhD research.

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    1. Love the idea of coating the marshmallow flowers in sprinkles (hundreds and thousands). That would add such a great additional dose of colour to this charmingly fun mid-century dessert.

      Agreed. The gender rolls and perceptions that ran rampant through mid-century (and earlier) ads were so telling of the times they hailed from. I doubt that the perceived problems they tried to warn their customers of were actually issues for many people back then, but the fact that companies thought that they could transmit them as being such, and therefore sell more products as a result, is endlessly interesting.

      Thank you very much for your terrific comment, dear Rhiannon. I hope that you're having a beautiful April.

      Many hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  16. that color!!!! so fun!
    i´m running in the kitchen to make koffee for us! ;-)
    xxxx

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    1. How delightful! Mint tea, for me, please. :) Isn't that colour great? I sometimes think we've lost a sense of the simple fun that home baking used to have. It's easy to feel now like everything has to be Pinterest perfect and stunningly complex (and/or expensive), but I grew up with cakes like these, as many of us did, and they'll always have a huge soft spot in my heart.

      Tons of hugs, my sweet friend!
      ♥ Jessica

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  17. What a lovely cake, Jessica! I love old recipes from way back, thank you so much for sharing!

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    1. It's my sincere pleasure, dear Linda. Thank you very much for your lovely comment. Recipes like this bring back fond memories for me as well. A lot of the foods I grew up with in the 80s and 90s, but a lot of the foods of my childhood were mid-century recipes that my grandmas and mom had, themselves, been raised on.

      Big hugs coming your way,
      ♥ Jessica

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  18. What a darling cake! It looks perfect for spring :)

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    1. Doesn't it though? Like April or early May in dessert form. They really knew how to make food cheerful and lighthearted back in then.

      Have a terrific week!
      xoxo ♥ Jessica

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  19. I am so excited to see this cake. It looks just like the cakes my mom used to bake. OK. Now I have to bake one! Happy Spring!!!

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    1. How wonderful, Connie! I'm delighted to know that I could help stir up (baking pun intended :)) a lovely childhood memory for you.

      Big hugs & cheerful mid-April wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  20. This cake has a lovely aspect, I believe that a slice of it would give me a lot of energy! I imagine eating it in a wonderful garden full of flowers ... it's Monday, I'm late and I expect a long and tiring week: I have the right to dream, right ?! A big hug

    Serena

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    1. That would be the perfect setting for it. How great would a few of these cakes, in different pastel shades be, on a long table for a garden party during these enchantingly pretty early days of spring?

      Many hugs coming right back at you!
      ♥ Jessica

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  21. On one of your Easter recipe posts I stumbled across a Cheesecake/Jello one and I had to stop by and say that I bought the ingredients AND finally took the time to make it ! It was really, really good :)

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    1. Yay! I remember your recent comment on that post and am so happy to hear that you were able to give the vintage Jell-O cheesecake recipe a spin this season. Three cheers that it turned out great for you. Thanks for the wonderful feedback on it.

      Big hugs & happy mid-April wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  22. What a loverly cake! I really like the marshmallow decoration idea, I have to remember that. I love these colourful frosted cakes, we don't have such in Denmark. The look is fantastic, also when cutting a slice to see the colour inside. I have to try this one one day. I'm also a big fan of cakes made of simple and basic things you already have in your kitchen. This way you can whip it up whenever your like. I will pin it to my Vintage Recipes board on Pinterest, which I'm way behind doing so, but soon my sewing mania is over and I can find thime sit in front of my computer again. ;) Wishing you a lovely day, dear. :)

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    1. Isn't it a darling idea? Marshmallows are one of my favourite foods. They're anything but healthy and have almost no nutritional value, but through thick and thin, so long as they're GF, I've been able to eat them, so every now and then (often when a campfire is involved) I'll treat myself to a few. One time Tony and my folks went shopping over the boarder in Washington state and brought home some marshmallows that were covered in toasted coconut (we don't have those here in Canada). Oh my word, they were off-the-charts amazing. The next time I finally make it to the states again (I've only ever been to America once and that was just for a few hours), I'm bringing home a bag or two again (assuming they're still around there).

      I hope that you're doing well and enjoying a terrific week, my very dear friend.

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  23. What a charmingly cute cake! I love the color combo with the daisy embellishments!

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    1. Isn't it just darling? How could one look at a dessert like that and not smile? Even if you didn't (or couldn't) have a slice, it's just plain fun and cheerful to gaze upon. :)

      Many hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  24. Such a pretty cake! Lovely colour! This would indeed be a fabulous way to usher in Spring. I saw some lambs gambolling about and head butting each other at the weekend. That always makes it feel like spring to me!

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    1. Aww, how darling! Lambs are not a common sight around these parts at all (horses, cows and sometimes lamas or alpacas, but not many sheep). It's wonderful that there are some where you live. I bet it tempting to rush over and start petting them. :)

      Have a fabulous week, sweet Kate!

      ♥ Jessica

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