Autumn Perfect 1950s Baked Meatloaf Dumpling Recipe

Meatloaf often gets a bum rap and has been the butt of countless TV and movie jokes and zingers over the decades, yet I firmly maintain that a well made meatloaf is a thing of culinary beauty and immense deliciousness alike.

My mom made an excellent meatloaf when I was growing up (which I discussed back in this fun 2015 recipe post starring Crown 'o Gold Meatloaf) and instilled in me a love of this classic dish from a very early age.

Having already essentially covered a jazzed up traditional version in that post (as well as 2014's Vegetable Beef Loaf), instead today I thought it would be fun to take a peak at a lovely meatloaf iteration from 1950 that sees this hearty dish transformed into a dinnertime hand pie of sorts.

There's something both very classic (meat pies having been around for many centuries now) and very mid-twentieth century alike about this super easy, relatively quick recipe.

From the presentation to the near obligatory inclusion of shortening (which, as I always like to say, you can easily nix in favour of your preferred cooking fat, such as butter, margarine or coconut oil), this is straight up fifties, and yet, at the same time, it wouldn't be out of place served up at many modern restaurants today.

It might not be as common as the usual "in a pan" style of meatloaf, but chances are, it's every bit as tasty, while also being a superb dish to bring - wonderfully piping hot - to the table now that the a gentle hit of chill is returning to the air and the nights are drawing ever shorter.



{Elegant enough for a dinner party, but easy enough to serve up any night of the week, this delightful mid-century recipe for Baked Meat Loaf Dumplings is the kind of stick-to-your-ribs fare that’s always a welcome sight once the nippy days of fall roll into town again. 1950s recipe ad via Click America.}


Naturally, you can swap out the beef for any vegetarian/vegan ground meat or meat substitute of your choice. I've been unable to eat beef (or most red meats), due to medical reasons, for over fourteen years, but I haven't let that stop me one iota when it comes to enjoying meatloaf. Instead I simply reach for lean ground chicken or turkey instead.

If you're a fan of, and can eat such, you could also use ground pork, ham, veal, lamb or venison here instead, too, each of which would no doubt be delicious.

The filling here is meat and onion centered, which is of course a terrific combination, but you could easily jazz things up further by adding in diced, chopped or mashed veggies of your choice. Green peas and meatloaf go together beautifully, as to peppers and beef, and either would be a really pleasing combination here.

You could take things one step further still, come to think of it, and include classic mixed vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, carrots, etc) and some (premade) mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes for a really cool take on an the age old favourites that are cottage and shepherd's pies, respectively.

Toss in some cheese, with the fillings of your choice, and things might almost veer into calzone territory! As with many recipes, the sky is the limit when it comes to what could be done here and experimenting is certainly one of the great joys of cooking.

As this 1950s version sits now, it's relatively budget-friendly, and could easily be multiplied to feed larger groups if needed. I suspect, much like classic potpies themselves, that these charming Baked Meatloaf Dumplings would be thoroughly awesome served cold the next day, their flavours having mingled and deepened all the more by that point.

I'm thrilled that autumn is here once more and our ovens will soon be churning out dish after scrumptious dish of comfort food, holiday eats, and beautiful harvest season recipes, like this 1950s dinner table gem, that will always retain their timeless, comforting appeal.

The mere thought of such alone has me smiling as widely the jack-o-lanterns we'll soon be carving for Halloween! :)

5 summer into fall perfect vintage comfort food recipes

This past week has been a bit of a bumpy ride for me as a result of the routine medical procedure (mentioned here) that I had at the hospital last Monday. I have a follow-up doctor's appointment later this week to find out more about how it went and what the next course of action will be in regards to the particular chronic illness of mine that such was for, and that's weighing on my mind a fair bit at the moment.

I'm always an optimist though, and after fourteen years of being a multiple severe chronic illness fighter, I've been down similar - and much worse - paths many a time before, so I'm just thinking positively, hoping for the best, and reminding myself that anything can be tackled in one way or another.

Thankfully I've had our upcoming trip to Edmonton to help divert my thoughts from my health this month and that has been quite a blessing for sure. And this past weekend, I took a stab at answering the 40 Random Beauty Questions tag here, which was oodles of (distracting) fun as well.

Before delving further into today's post, I wholeheartedly want to thank all of you who have left caring blog comments and/or sent well wish filled emails my way in recent days. They truly mean so much to me.

While last week wasn't a ton of fun and this week won't likely be worlds better, I really am doing positively and can feel my body recovering more and more from last Monday's procedure with each passing day. Thus, I expect this week to be "life as usual" on all blogging fronts.

As we head into the final month of summer and the weather is starting to shift (we had, for example, some pounding rain and strong wind here last night that felt and sounded more like November, than August!), many of us are starting to rouse our ovens from hibernation and are thinking to hearty, delicious comfort foods once more.

Between the season and the fact that I'm in recovery mode right now on the health front, comfort foods are definitely on my mind as we kick off the second to last week of August. As such, I wanted to share a fun little selection of five different mid-century vintage comfort food dishes I've come across lately online that all fit that bill for me.

Of course what constitutes a comfort food will differ for each of us and there are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of recipes that I'd put under that header myself.

These five have common elements that are often seen as being part and parcel for a comfort dish (such as simmering, baking, or fragrant, inviting aromas), and as they suit the tail end of summer and certainly all of the fall (and winter) awesomely, I thought that today would be a great time to share them here with all of you.



1. Bold, flavourful, and a cinch to multiple as many times over as you need, Chili con Carne is a fabulous dish that, arguably, tastes even better a day or two after it was made. If you're not a meat eater or simply prefer your chili without the carne, ditch it and up the quantity of beans (or a vegetarian/vegan ground meat substitute) instead.

This particular chili recipe calls for Campbell’s Tomato Soup, but of course it can be made with tomato sauce or even simmered (diced) stewed tomatoes instead, if you’d prefer.

Though not overly traditional, I'm also partial to adding some sweet bell pepper to my chilli as well. And on the toppings front, sour cream and a sharp cheddar or Monetary Jack cheese are musts for me. It's hard to go wrong, too, with a hefty slab of corn bread served up on the side.



2. One of the very first things that I rush head first for the moment we start to get even the tiniest hint that fall is on its way again, is pumpkin (canned, fresh and frozen alike). Each year I make up at least one or two classic spiced pumpkin cakes or batches of cupcakes (on top of other pumpkin standards like pie, muffins, and soup) and they have become a lovely family tradition around our home (we always invite my folks 'round to tuck into such with us).

This delightful Pumpkin Cake recipe from 1948 is somewhat similar to the (albeit it GF and EF) version that I make, though I add more spices, including a couple teaspoons of cinnamon, and frost mine with a rich cream cheese icing.

Pumpkin Cake is an awesome, beautifully scented dessert and one that I find compliments nearly any autumn time meal to a tee.




3. Another fabulous vintage dish that lends itself to being multiplied is the classic Swedish Meatball. Easily, made, too, if so desired with alternative ground meats such as turkey, chicken, or (lean) pork, Swedish Meatballs are great as appetizers, starters, or as the heart of a meal itself.

If opting for the latter, they're especially nice served on a bed of hot buttered rice, noodles, (cooked) spaghetti squash, or fluffy mashed potatoes. They also freeze wonderfully, which makes them a great choice for busy fall evenings when you might not have time to prepare dinner from scratch.



4. There's just something about the scent of bread baking that fills the soul with comfort and happiness. It's almost a primal feeling for many of us, as we knowing that this glorious smell has indicated that nourishing subsistence was coming humanity's way for thousands of years now.

Today’s bread recipe isn't quite that ancient, but it is a few decades old and calls for the inclusion of a hearty breakfast cereal that dates all the way back to 1897.

This quick, easy and delicious recipe for Grape-Nut Bread is a wonderful a base for savoury or sweet toppings alike, and is wonderful enjoyed on its own, too - perhaps with a steaming mug of pumpkin spice latte, spiced apple cider, or hot cocoa.



5. As touched on a time or two before here over the years (such as in this 2014's vintage recipe post for Honey Pound Cake - itself a marvelous yesteryear comfort food), I know that raisins aren't exactly everyone's cup of tea.

If, however, like me, you flip for them, then this recipe for a classic - and, IMO, far too infrequently seen these days - Raisin Pie is bound to have you swooning up a storm.

I love raisin pie so much, I'd say it's in my top ten (or perhaps even top five) favourite pies of all-time. Sometimes I'll make it with a mix of regular raisins (like those here) and golden sultans, too, and frequently dish slices of this awesome pie up with a generous scoop of vanilla, butterscotch ripple, or cinnamon ice cream.



{To learn more about a specific vintage recipe image used in today's post, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

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Though you could of course serve all five of these dishes together as part of one big meal, you certainly do not have to in the slightest (aka, this list isn't a menu plan per se, just a fun assortment of lovely, stick-to-your ribs mid-century foods).

Each of them shines on its own and can usually be modified/adapted to suit your tastes and/or dietary needs, as required (save perhaps if you need to make the Grape-Nut Bread GF, as Grape-Nuts themselves contain scads of gluten; in that case, I'd probably make a similar style of GF bread using real chopped nuts and/or a similar style of gluten-free breakfast cereal, such as Crunchy Flax from the brand Enjoy Life, instead).

Over the years I've shared quite a few other vintage comfort food posts here as well. So definitely check out the vintage recipes section for scads more ideas on that front, if you are looking to put together a larger meal, dinner party, or holiday feast, or would simply like some further old school culinary inspiration.

While the past few days haven't been the best ever for me, it's wonderful to have so many things in my life - from the gift of sweet online friends to our upcoming travels to the fact that fall is just around the corner - to help keep my spirits up, no matter what the universe throws my way.

When the seasons start to change hands once more and a familiar nip returns to the air, what are some of your favourite - vintage or contemporary - comfort foods to whip up for these gorgeous, all-too-short days of summer into autumn?

Summer get-together perfect 1950s 7-Layer Casserole

Now, I'm the first to say that the words "summertime" and "casserole" are not always one that I instantly group together, but there's a very practical side to large, substantial dishes of the casserole variety during the sunny, sizzling hot months of the beautiful season that we now find ourselves in again (huge "yay" about that point!).

First and foremost, unless you're serving a large crowd or making a very small quantity of food, most casseroles will last for at least a couple of meals, meaning that you don't need to heat up the oven two (or more) days in a row. Many are also fantastic served cold, perhaps with a fresh salad, some lightly steamed veggies, or something such as corn on the cob that you whipped up on the grill.

They're also great for summertime barbeques, picnics, and other such get-togethers where you're feeding a hungry crowd who are keen on something both visually appealing and taste bud pleasing, to boot.

As well, you don't need to go in for the richest, heaviest, most starchy casserole ever invented either. Leaning heavily on vegetables and/or lighter protein sources (chicken, turkey, lean ham, shrimp, etc) can really help to make a casserole into an excellent warm weather meal choice.

Today's example hails from a 1950s Hunt's Tomato sauce ad and is pretty as a picture!



{Hearty, but not per say heavy, this delightful mid-century 7-Layer Casserole makes for a splendid summertime dish, especially if you're planning, or attending, a group get-together and want to feed a hungry crowd. Vintage recipe image source. Click here for a larger version of this recipe.}


Relatively budget friendly (especially considering how many servings it yields), vibrantly attractive, and downright delicious sounding, this great 1950s 7-Layer Casserole can be altered as desired. If you're a vegetarian or vegan, you can skip both meats and use a vegan ground meat and bacon substitute here instead or simply forgo them entirely, perhaps adding in two more layers of other veggies that you enjoy (black olives, for example, would be great here, IMO).

There isn't too much in the way of seasoning here, so I'd definitely introduce some. Basil, oregano, (fresh) parsley, chives, chervil, paprika, and chili powder, flakes or fresh chillies would all be great ways to inject even more flavour into the mix. You could certainly also top it with some bread crumbs, crumbled crackers or pretzels, French’s onions, slivered almonds, and/or cheese, if the mood strikes.

So much of the beauty and appeal of casseroles lies in their versatility, as well as their classic standing on dinner tables the world over. The fact that many freeze marvelously well, doesn't help either - especially, again, when the temps are off-the-charts warm and you not, in the slightest, in the mood to cook from scratch.

As we embrace summertime, I hope that this season will give you many awesome opportunities to celebrate with your favourite foods, perhaps even including a classic 7-layer casserole or two like the one featured here today. I'm already planning a version of it that I can safely eat for some of our family events in the coming months.

Wishing you all a stellar first weekend of the season and a truly incredible, fun filled summer ahead!

Birthday party perfect 1950s Pink Coconut Snowball Cupcakes

It's hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since I last sat down to debate what I might like to serve when my next birthday rolled around (which I did by taking a look at 15 of my favourite desserts ever).

With my 32nd rounding the bend in precisely one month's time, I've already begun planning my birthday menu and though, as usual, the dessert choice is nowhere near finalized yet (more often than not, that happens at about 11:45 pm on July 9th), a quick peek through my collection of saved vintage recipe ads turn up a real charmer of a mid-century take on coconut snowball cupcakes.



{Looking very, very much like the marshmallow cream filled chocolate snack cakes that are Sno Balls, these adorable pink coconut topped cupcakes would be an ideal choice for any birthday celebration. Vintage recipe image source.}


I love chocolate, I love coconut (and as discussed in this post, it's always a safe choice when feeding my family), and I absolutely love anything pink, plus these darling little cupcakes just seem to have a fun, festive air about them.

They're also a snap to whip up, which means less time spent with the oven on during July - which is always a good thing! I like, too, that they'd be a breeze to put a gluten-free cake mix to work in and that, if so desired, one could certainly leave the coconut untinted.

You could also add in some chocolate chips or pieces and make these double chocolate snowball cupcakes. A favourite extract - say orange, mint, lemon, almond, or coffee - could also be used to jazz them up further, as could adding some festive candies or slices/pieces of fresh fruit on top of the pretty pink coconut.

If one goes in for birthday candles (and I definitely do!), it's always fun when serving cupcakes at a celebratory meal to top each one with enough candles to collectively equal the person's age - or conversely, just select a couple of cupcakes and stick a number shaped candle atop both.

And if you wanted to take this recipe in an especially elegant direction, you could forgo the coconut and instead coat each little cake in a layer of fondant or almond paste and then adorn them with candied (edible) flower petals, grapes or citrus peel. They might not look quite as "snowballish" any longer, but I assure that they'd still be every bit as scrumptious.

I've still got a month to decide on what I'll be making for this year's birthday, and you know, I'm starting to think - in the name of serious scientific taste testing, naturally - that I might just have to road test these cutie pies (err, cakes) before then.

One has to be sure, after all, that they're going to adore their birthday dessert and it's always better to veer on the side of (completely delicious) caution in these kinds of instances. :D

Celebrate the unofficial start of summer with vintage Cherry Top-Notch Pie

Today is the lead into a long weekend here in Canada, as we gear up to celebrate Victoria Day on Monday, which many in this country see as the unofficial start of summer.

Goodness knows I'm ready for such and am so excited to welcome the warmest chapter of the year back into my life again. It's a great time, not only for its own wealth of merits, but because of all of the fun, exciting events and every day pleasures alike that it houses.

From mine and Tony's birthdays to Canada Day, picnics to star gazing session atop the lofty hills that flank our town, summer will keep me on my toes and in high spirits from start to finish.

With summer champing at the bit, my mind has already turned the lush abundance of fresh produce and other seasonal fare that will call the season home. I've talked before here about how integral cherries are to the local economy, as well as the reputation, of the Okanagan Valley where we live, in addition to the plethora of memories this instantly evoke for me.

Cherries, much like peaches, are summer in fruit form around these parts and nary a roadside stand, grocery store, or farmer's market is devoid of them between (roughly) late June and the end of August (with July often being peak cherry season).

I love the fact that cherries, one of the reddest hued fruits of all, are usually out when Canada Day rolls around on July 1st. Given that our national colours are red and white, foods of the crimson variety are always a welcome treat on any festive table - just as they are for this coming holiday weekend.

It's scarcely a secret, too, that cherries are evocative of the mid-twentieth century and their use - both in decor and fashion - is legendary from the time period.

Naturally, being such a beloved fruit, they often appeared in dishes of the day, too from trendy concoctions to timeless classics. In the later camp, one finds that perpetual warm weather favourite,  cherry pie, and the 1950s recipe below looks like a real winner when it come to this marvelous dessert.






{Beautiful look and sink your teeth into alike, cherry pie is a warm weather standby that is both delicious and nostalgic at the same time. It's vibrant interior colour also makes it a fabulous choice for Canada Day and the 4th of July alike. Vintage recipe ad image source.}


Whether you opt for fresh, frozen, or canned fruit when baking, cherry pie is hard to beat and if you've never tried making one from scratch, I can't recommend doing highly enough.

For a fun twist on things, try making a chocolate or cinnamon crust instead of the standard plain variety. With a generous dollop of whipped cream, a chocolate crust filled with juicy, sweet-tart cherries and their silky juices instantly becomes redolent of another long standing favourite the world over: Black Forest Cake.

You can also add in some other spring/summertime fruit, if you have any to hand, such as - but certainly not limited to - blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, and even (trust me on this one, it's surprisingly good!) grapes.

As I always like to say with vintage dishes that call for it, if shortening isn't your cup of yesteryear tea, by all means ditch it and use butter, margarine, or your favourite vegan cooking fat substitute instead.

A good cherry pie is a thing of culinary beauty and needs little, if anything, to enhance it. However, during the dog days that lay ahead, it never hurts to dish thick slices of this timeless dessert up with some vanilla, chocolate, berry, caramel, peach, lemon, orange, or even mocha ice cream for a treat that will never go out of style or fail to win rave reviews - much like summertime itself!

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.

Stirring up nostalgia with this classic vintage Chicken Stew and Dumplings recipe

Like most people, I find that there are certain foods that remind me of my childhood more than any others. Over the years, I've shared several of them (such as Hamburger Pie, Schill Family Spaghetti Sauce, and Cheddar Green Onion Cheese Ball) here with you and am sure others will follow as time goes on. In fact, we're shining the spotlight on one here today that suits these last few icy cold weeks of winter extremely well: Hearty Chicken Stew and Dumplings.

My mom makes an incredible chicken (ditto for turkey and beef, too) stew with dumplings, which was truly a cornerstone of our family meals when I was growing up. Economical, easy to freeze and reheat, and a huge crowd pleaser with everyone under our roof, this was a classic dish that I could never get enough as a youngster and which, albeit in gluten-free form, I still make each fall, winter and early spring to this very day.

There is something so powerfully comforting about the rich, creamy broth of a hearty meat and vegetable stew, which, already filling unto itself, becomes a true stick-to-your-ribs meal with the inclusion of a classic biscuit topping that is cooked right on top of the simmering liquid.

I have only to think of this dish and suddenly I'm seven years old again, coming inside from hours spent making snow forts and snow angels alike in the backyard. Or, I'm 10 and its games of street hockey in the driveway of the elegant little Edwardian house we lived in at the time. 12 and I've just gotten back from selling cases of Girl Guide cookies around our neighbourhood, and at 15, it's enjoyed with my girlfriends before we stay up into the wee hours of the night for a sleepover.

This dish represents the often forgotten warm side of winter. It hugs and comforts the stomach and soul alike. Easily multiplied for a large groups, it is equally at home when serving one person. Shortly after those aforementioned memories, I was living on my own and making meals like stew and dumplings to eek every last cent that I could out of my extremely modest income at the time.

These days, it's a fond reminder of decades past and a way for me to nourish my own family, as well - coming full circle - as my parents when they come 'round for a winter eve's dinner of stew and biscuits.

We need foods like this in our life. They don't have to be this exact dish by any means, just so long as they’re ones where we’re uplifted and filled in ways far surpassing our actual bellies by recipes that have constant companions throughout the decades. They're everyday traditions that are worth their weight and gold and which will always provoke a happy sense of nostalgia in us, while also being the bedrock for future meal related memories, too.



{This delicious mid-1950s Chicken Stew and Dumplings recipe is wonderful as it sits, but can also be modified to suit your family's tastes and what you've got in your fridge at the moment. Stews are very versatile dishes and can usually take a lot of alterations in stride, so they're well worth turning to often throughout the dark, chilly winter months, when a nourishing bowl of steaming how stew not only fills a person up, but also brightens their mood as well. Vintage recipe image source.}


Of course, if you're not a meat eater, you can easily opt instead for an equally satisfying vegetable only stew, with or without biscuits (which can easily be made vegetarian or vegan). When going this route, I'll often take things in a French or Mediterranean direction, sometimes starting with a tomato base and adding in whatever suitable veggies I have to hand at the moment.

I usually like to partner stew with a light side vegetable and/or green salad, some buns/rolls or bread for dipping up every last morsel of the delicious stew liquid, and a refreshing dessert, such as vanilla ice cream with spiced poached pears, chocolate mousse, or a chilled cheesecake afterwards, especially if I'm serving such a meal to company.

Whatever foods evoke a positive wave of nostalgia in you, I hope that you're able to tuck into at least a few this season and well on throughout the rest of the year. Such dishes remind of us of where we came from, what life was like when we were growing up, and
how important it is to keep everyday meal traditions alive even in the midst of our hectic, mile-a-minute adult lives. Something that I will definitely raise a glass - and a spoonful of stew - to anytime!

Turn any day into a celebration with Mid-Winter Carnival Marble Cake

It's safe to say that for most folks, especially in the Western World, January through to March is not exactly bustling with holidays. The biggest exception to that statement for many is Valentine's Day, but even there, that celebration of all things romantic doesn't usually hold the same gravitas or widespread communal merriment of days like Christmas, Easter, the 4th of July (or Canada Day on this side of the 49th), Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

In these dark, long, icicle bedecked months of winter you'd think that there would be celebrations right, left and center, but alas, in most societies there is not. A point that has always rather perplexed me, a lover of holidays and happy times.

That isn't to say these slate grey months are completely devoid of festivities, they're not - we have the cute and meaningful alike, from Groundhog's Day (which shares a date with the traditional observations of Candlemas) on February 2nd to Mardi Gras, which falls on the 9th next month, to St. Patrick's Day on March 17th, as winter - on paper at least - gets ready to hightail it out of town once more.

Still, even with these and a small number of  other observances (such as the traditional Pagan celebration of Imbolic at the beginning of February), winter calls for every excuse we can find to liven up this often bleak and ridiculously cold chapter of the calendar.

As vintage loving folks, I think we're especially adapt at celebrating life in general. We do so with our fashion joys, our adoration of the past, the toe tapping music so many of us delight in, the vibrancy and fun of the many ways we weave history into the present, and of course with our delightful old school recipes. We're a merry bunch in general and we're well suited to weather, quite literally, these lengthy, frozen months.

Today's recipe from 1947 for Mid-Winter Carnival Cake is a wonderful way to liven up and make a feast out of nearly any meal, be it for one of winter's few holidays/special days or otherwise. At its heart it is really a classic marble cake and thus works splendidly for a wide array of events or everyday meals alike.



{A traditional and much loved dessert for generations now, marble cake is a snap to whip up, always draws cheers, and can be frosted (or not) with a huge range of icings and/or sauces. Vintage Betty Crocker cake recipe ad image source.}


Marble cake is an age old classic that many people adore (myself and Tony both very much included, in fact, it's one of his favourite desserts), that has the added bonus of looking impressive, while being really quite simple to whip up.

One can always tint the white/yellow part of the cake with food colouring, if so desired, to fit a given holiday/special occasion or swap out the chocolate for another flavouring of choice such as cinnamon, orange, strawberry, coffee, or almond - and it takes, I find, wonderfully to being made (either from scratch or store bought mixes) in gluten-free form.

We often like our marble cake un-frosted, with just a little dusting (pretty stencil pattern optional) of icing (powdered) sugar and/or a scoop of ice cream on top. Given the time of the year however, I'd be more apt to reach for hot fudge, warmed up butterscotch, or a straight-from-the-stove top strawberry, raspberry, peach, pineapple, or winter fruit compote instead of ice cream though.

Given the chocolate in this beloved dessert, it's a natural shoe in for Valentine's Day, but really does suit a wide array of celebrations, very much including a random Tuesday night where you need something sweet and toothsome to help make the week more enjoyable.

Lengthy though mid-winter may be, there are ways to spice it up and delicious, budget-friendly old school recipes like this tasty vintage marble cake can go a very long way on that front. So why not bust out the mixing bowls and give this fantastic dessert a spin?

Tiki Party Perfect Vintage Coconut Golden Brownies

As the last of the tinsel is vacuumed out of the car[et, the Christmas lights flicked off once more, and we begin hunkering in for the long haul stretch that is winter sans looking forward to December, it can feel like summer is a million miles away.

Thankfully such isn't actually the case, but that knowledge scarcely makes the next few months any easier to bear. Even if only enjoys winter (as I generally do), its bleak weather, icy temps, and serious lack of daylight can be draining on the heartiest of us.

{Image source}

By far one of my favourite ways to help perk up this time of the year is with tropical inspired food, drinks, and even fashion!


Luckily many equator line fruits are at their peak right amount now, and in general, they're super easy to come by for those in most parts of the world.

Whether you're in the mood for a single South Seas themed dish or want to go all out and throw a tiki party to keep Old Man Winter at bay, January is an ideal time to look to the tropics for your recipe choices and today's vintage recipe for Golden Coconut Brownies are sure to have you humming a Don Ho tune in no time.



{Hailing from a 1952 ad that appeared Woman's Day magazine, this tasty, wonderfully easy to make recipe for coconut brownies is sure to help lift your spirits and satisfy your sweet tooth in the process all winter long. Vintage image source.}



As far as I can tell, Welch's chocolate bars haven't been made in ages, but fear not, any similar chocolate + coconut candy bar (such as Mounds or Bounty) can be used here. If such were not forthcoming for you, you could probably just use a nice milk chocolate bar and some sweetened shredded coconut easily enough as well.

These brownies offer up a scrumptious Polynesian inspired flavour that differs from most of the fare we've been consuming in recent weeks. They're refreshing, scrumptious, fairly easy on the pocketbook and dead simple to make. I've had a lot of luck making them in GF form, too, both from scratch and with mixes such as Glutino's Brownie mix.

If you wanted to gild the lily - err, brownie :) - here, you could easily top these scrumptious chocolate + coconut brownies with a sweet frosting of you choice. One that involved coconut, pineapple, orange, or maraschino cherries would both be wonderfully mid-century appropriate and also very tropical island approved. A nice, rich caramel or even strawberry (or raspberry) icing could be sublime here, too, and I can think of at least a few folks I know who would enjoy a coffee frosting on these brownies as well.

I swear, in January and February, I sport my tropic flower print clothes more than any other time of the year and also reach for recipes like this most frequently as well. Between the two of them and plenty of hot chocolate, one can do a pretty decent job of forgetting it's -30C outside - well, at least until you open the front door!

So why not bake up a batch of these great mid-century coconut chocolate brownies (which also work wonderfully for Valentine's Day next month) today and show winter who’s boss! :)

Welcome the return of comfort food season with this great 1950s casserole recipe

For the third time in a single year, quite a rarity on the ol' calendar, we get to experience a Friday the 13th. I'm not a very superstitious person myself, so this doesn't phase me in the slightest. If anything, I actually tend to find Friday the 13th to be a really positive day for me - or at least not one that differs from your run-of-the-mill Friday.

{Vintage Friday the 13th image source}

Presently my mind is focused far less on bad luck and suspicious mojo and much more on the fact that we are really and truly into comfort food season once again. Winter may still technically be more than a month away, but in Canada it might as well start on November 1st for all intents, because once Halloween wraps up, most of us switch into winter holiday mode and the weather tends to take a substantial nose dive early in November as well. Not always, and certainly more so in some parts of the country than others, but in general, yep, November = the start of winter here.

I'm a huge fan of comfort food, of gathering friends and family around the table and satiating our bellies and souls alike with food so delicious you nearly tear up with joy as you smell it cooking. Food that evokes thoughts of cozy autumns and icy winters past, of childhood memories, and sometimes of places we've traveled to throughout our lives as well. Such food doesn't have to be an epic calorie feast either, but sometimes it is, and there's nothing wrong in the slightest with that (at least once in while!). We need the extra fuel to stay warm and stave off winter's energy zapping chill.

Today's vintage recipe falls somewhere in the middle I think, though it could be more or less of a treat, just depending on what you put inside it. This 1950s recipe for Chili or Stew Casserole is dead simple to make and isn't too hard on the wallet either, especially if you put existing leftovers to work in it.



{Tasty mashed spuds combine with your favourite chili, stew or similar filling (a thick corn chowder is fabulous here!) in this classic mid-century cold weather perfect casserole that first appeared in the pages of Women's Day magazine back in 1952. Vintage recipe ad image source.}


One of the great things about this recipe is that it can easily be made vegetarian or vegan, if so desired (simply omit meat and/or other animal products), and you can also use a good all-purpose gluten-free flour for the topping. I've made GF versions of this recipe numerous times and it always comes out aces!

You can also swap out the regular potatoes for cooked yams, sweet potatoes, mashed turnips, hearty squash or pumpkin verities, mashed (and drained) cauliflower or broccoli, carrots or, one of my personal favourites, parsnips.

Likewise, as with many casseroles - and this is certainly one of their most appealing qualities - you can add or subtract from the filling, if so desired (for example, you add further cooked chopped veggies to stretch out a small amount of leftover stew or chili). This dish is also nice, especially if you're using chili for it, topped with a little grated cheese before you put it in to oven to bake.

This is not the first, nor, I'm sure, will it be the last vintage comfort food recipe that I post here. I love dishes like this that satisfy and more than live up to their name. They make us happy, are reliable, and work well for as well for solo meals as they do large crowds - plus they usually freeze wonderfully to boot (perfect for those busy December holiday season weeks that lay ahead). What's not to adore? :)

This great 1950s Pineapple Marshmallow Dessert recipe captures the essence of summer perfectly

Hard as it is to believe, August is coming to an end (*shudders*). The Labour Day long weekend is here and I, like many folks, love to use it as a great excuse to get in at least one more big, festive, fabulous seasonal feast.

While I am looking forward to autumn and its rich harvest, I'm not ready to wave buh-bye to summer and its sensational culinary offerings either, which is why I've been crazy for this super fun vintage recipe for Pineapple Marshmallow Dessert as of late.

It's dead simple to make, is fairly budget friendly, can be made gluten-free in a snap (just use GF graham crackers, such as those from Kinnikinnick, which are also egg-free to boot, and ensure that your marshmallows are GF, too - Kraft's always are, so that's the brand I stick with), and is such an enjoyable medley of tastes and textures.



{Sweet with a hint of appealing tang from the pineapple, crunchy, gooey and warm all at the same time, this fun 1950s dessert recipe is so evocative of the era it hails from and will be a welcome treat on any table this Labour Day long weekend (or any other time of the year!). Vintage recipe image source.}


This fun vintage pineapple dessert recipe is somewhat redolent of s'mores sans chocolate, which makes me adore it all the more (I’m a die-hard s’mores fan!), and would also be sensational for any sort of tiki, Hawaiian, or South Pacific themed dinner and/or party.

The walnuts are nice, but not necessary, and can easily be left out or swapped for another nut of your choice. Though they do tend to burn easily, Brazil and macadamia nuts would both be great choices here that would up the tropical treat factor all the more.

It's also really enjoyable served warm from oven with a generous scope of vanilla, berry, peach, caramel, coconut, or white chocolate ice cream (dairy or non-dairy, as desired) on top. If you only have canned pineapple chunks or tidbits, you can easily use those here, too, though full rings do look especially pretty and really channel a great mid-century vibe that can't help but make one think of pineapple upside down cake.

Quick, delicious, festive and fun, this charming 1950s pineapple marshmallow dessert is just the thing to help capture all that's wonderful about the last few weeks of summertime eating and is sure to become as a firm a favourite with your family as it already has with mine.

Have a stellar, sunny, beautiful last weekend of August, everyone! (I'm off to do some end-of-the-season yard saling while I still can!)

15 of my favourite desserts ever (with vintage recipes for many of them)

With my birthday less than two weeks (yippee!), my thoughts have already started shifting towards how I'm going to spend it and what I'm going to serve up on the menu to celebrate it (sooo many possibilities!).

I've covered such things in various posts here over the years before, so I won't veer into broken record territory here again, but just to recap, between the fact that my diet is wildly restricted due to many of my chronic illnesses that are seriously affected by what I eat, that I'm a card carrying member of team Celiac Disease, have a nasty egg allergy, and, oh, you know, have eaten low carb at least 95% of the time for more than 3.5 years now (doing so is not only helpful in managing my weight, which some of my meds wreck havoc with at the best of times, but which is extremely beneficial, I find, for some of my conditions), planning the feast - very much including the sweet treat - for a special occasion is not something I take lightly.

As touched on in this vintage recipe post last December, if dining with a good number of my family members, I also happily have to keep their own dietary needs and preferences in mind, too, though for my birthday, I'll sometimes make multiple desserts so that everyone is safely covered and then just ensure that the one I'm tucking into is safe for me to consume sans awful repercussions.

Though I've always been more of a "salty tooth" than a sweet too, like most folks, I'm not adverse something on the saccharine side of things every now than then, especially when celebrating an event as marvelously exciting as a birthday.



{Just a few days stand between me and my 31st birthday, so as it rounds the bend again, I've suddenly got my favourite desserts on the brain! Image via Etsy seller Veetzy Innovations.}


The world of desserts is an incredibly diverse and exciting one, which has long been amongst the most voluminous in terms of its scope in the whole wide world. Each culture across time has created anywhere from a handful to hundreds (if not thousands, is some cases) of sugary treats that would set nearly anyone's tummy rumbling at the mere thought. In recent year the hybrid dessert (a mashup of two or more traditionally separate desserts - such as cookie cupcakes, red velvet cake s'mores, or the doughnut croissant lovechild that is cronuts) has caught on like wildfire.

Though there are some such exciting combination desserts I can eat, as I usually have to adapt dessert recipes quite heavily at the best of times to make them safe for me to tuck into, this isn't an area I've been able to explore to its fullest when cooking or baking for myself. Again, though, I do delight in those that I can and always keep my eyes open for desserts that look like they might work well on that front.

With the literal sweetest part of any celebratory meal at the forefront of my mind as my birthday rounds the bend again, I though that it would be rather fun on this last Sunday in June to shine the spotlight on a list of 15 of my favourite desserts of all-time.

I need to state emphatically before we proceed with this list that I cannot safely eat all of these things any more. Some of them have not graced my lips in over thirteen years now, and others have to be heavily modified (ditching the eggs, gluten, alcohol, caffeine, and other ingredients that massacre me ) before I can even contemplate sticking my fork, knife or spoon into them.

Much as I never stopped reading and adoring cookbooks when my diet was forced to make drastic changes though, I haven’t ceased loving these desserts either and just because I might not be able to eat them or consume them in their original form, doesn't mean that they don't still hold a special spot in my heart and memories. The latter of which is something I find always goes hand-in-hand with birthday celebrations, so that strikes me as all the more reason to highlight them here.

As some of these desserts are newer inventions and/or were not common in North America or the UK during the mid-twentieth century (or earlier), I haven't been able to find recipe pages (from cookbooks, magazines, ads, newspapers, etc) online for all of them, so when one wasn't forthcoming in my search, I tried to find an image that related to it in some capacity instead.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the desserts I enjoy (nor is it in any kind of "top favourite" order; the entries here are all completely random), but it does certainly shine the spotlight on some of my all-time favourites and I hope that you'll find some of your own most beloved sweet treats amongst them as well.




1. Dessert pizza: I'll never forget the first time I had dessert pizza. The setting was a Pizza Hut restaurant and I was maybe all of six years old. It was cherry, with crumbly, fantastic streusel topping and oodles of white icing piped across the top. It pretty much blew my young mind and I've been a devoted fan of all kinds of dessert pizzas ever since (the first time I had the apple cinnamon one from them, it did the same thing, too). You can easily make your own at home with any number of toppings, ranging from fresh or canned fruit to s'mores ingredients to ice cream, and each one will have you coming back for seconds for sure!




2. Ice cream cake: This - in the form of Dairy Queen's classic offering - was one of two staple birthday desserts for me when I was growing up (the other being homemade chocolate cake topped with mountains of seven-minute frosting), especially during the first ten or so years of my life, so it is impossible for my b-day to roll around with my mind racing straight to ice cream cake no matter how old I get.




3. Cherry Pie: I'm a huge fan of pies in general, but with the glorious abundance of cherries that are grown in Okanagan and which are in season at this time of the year, a cherry pie becomes a very natural fit for any July celebration (ditto for peaches and peach pie as the summer rolls on).




4. Nanaimo Bars: Canada has given the world many incredibly tasty recipes over the course of the few centuries, but few - if any - top the chocolate + coconut + custard filling heaven-on-your-tongue that is the mighty Nanaimo Bar.




5. Rice Pudding: File rice pudding under one of those foods that I could happily eat every single day for the rest of my life without growing tired of it. The creamier, the better, but rarely have I met a rice pudding I didn't adore and am always game to try new versions (plus, I love that most are GF right off and bat and many can be made sans eggs no problem).




6. Strawberry or raspberry trifle: Hands down the best English trifle I've ever had comes by way of my paternal Grandma, who would make one or more every summer with fresh picked raspberries from her thriving garden and generous amounts of rich custard sandwiched between the layers of fruit and cake. It, along with potato chip coated chicken and her delicious hamburger pie, were the tastes of summer at my grandparents house when I was a youngster.




7. Millionaire's Shortbread: A rich, crumbly shortbread base combine with tongue pleasing caramel (usually made with condensed milk) and alluring chocolate in this endlessly delicious treat that's served up in bars or wedges and for which anyone you make it for, will beg you for the recipe. I first discovered Millionaire's Shortbread while living in Ireland and have been hooked ever since.




8. Cheesecake: Oh silken, luxurious cheesecake, how I melt for you! Perhaps because I've had such good luck with both baked and no-bake GF, EF versions of cheesecake, it is one of the most common desserts I bake, very much including for my birthday (two years ago I made a strawberry + raspberry version was the after dinner star of my birthday bash).




9. Baklava: Honey, walnuts and/or pistachios, countless layers of pastry - oh my word, what's not to madly love about this classic Greek desserts? Though GF versions somewhat pale in comparison to the real deal, that doesn't stop me from trying my best to replicate this awesome Mediterranean dessert at least once a year (Nicole from the wonderful blog Gluten-Free on a Shoestring has a very good gluten-free phyllo dough recipe, should you be searching for one).




10. Spice Cake: Granted we just kicked off summer, but a great spice cake (likewise for pumpkin pie) is one of those awesome autumn favourites that I could happily tuck into any single day of the year (especially since one's birthday is the perfect excuse to indulge in any dessert you want, no matter what season it is most closely associated with).




11. Apple Crisp: Another fall time classic for sure, but one that can easily be whipped up any day of the year. I love to serve mine piping hot with straight-from-the-freezer vanilla ice cream or chilled with hefty wedges of sharp cheddar cheese (much like many folks enjoy their apple pie).




12. Bread Pudding: Comfort food par excellence! I love all kinds of bread puddings (also known as "bread and butter pudding") and have even come up with some great GF ones over the years, including a version that is a rife on a recipe I invented back in my teen years that marries classic bread pudding with fresh pears, cinnamon, and vanilla pudding (and in the same vein as bread pudding, I flat out adore a great Summer Pudding or Eve's Pudding, too).




13. Chocolate Brownie Pie: If you thought hybrid desserts were a new craze, guess again! Clever cooks and bakers have been fusing two or more sweet treats together for ages now, as this seriously delicious Chocolate Brownie Pie recipe attests to (this is the very same recipe I base my own version off of and can attest that it is immensely tasty!).




14. Pineapple Upside-Down Cake: Not only is this a massive mid-century dessert staple, but I find that it's surprisingly easy to make a GF and EF version that tastes strikingly similar to original versions we all know and love. Were I planning a tiki or tropical themed party, this would be one of the first things in the oven!

15. Cinnamon Buns: Bar none the best of which I've ever had are my mom's. You know Cinnabon's offerings - those sublimely scented temptations that make malls smell like pure dessert heaven? Yah, they smoke those out of the water. My mom is an amazing home cook and baker, but nothing, IMO, that she makes tops her cinnamon buns (note, the recipe above is not hers, but I think it looks pretty great, too). If I seriously had to plan my last meal, they would be a part of it (and it wouldn't matter that they have gluten in them, as, hello, last meal, gluten = mute point! ;)). Even the very modified gluten and egg-free version of it that I've been making for years now is still lip-lickingly fantastic.

{To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

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Tell me you aren't hungry as a bear after reading all those? Or at least very, very in the mood for something sweet! Which are of these scrumptious eats land on your own roundup of favourite desserts?

I must admit, with having to cut certain foods out my diet entirely for so long now, my mind does tend to gravitate towards things that I know I can still eat and thus isn't as apt as it would have been to list the same things it might have had I penned this post fifteen years ago (back then you might have found entries like lemon meringue pie, creme brulee, chiffon cake, pavlova, root beer floats, doughnuts, angle food cake, tiramisu, baked Alaska, and canolli), but I did let myself branch out still a bit here, as touched on above and it was fun to think about certain foods that I don't often get a chance to any more, unless I'm cooking for others or pining them to one of my many (many!) food related Pinterest boards.

With a touch under two weeks to go until my 31st birthday rolls around on July 10th, I still have time to finalize my birthday dessert or desserts. As is so often the case, there's a few big contenders, but I rarely end up making the final decision until the proverbial 11th hour (and on a few occasions, the literal one, too, on the evening of the 9th). Plus, in the course of putting together this post I came across two great articles 50 of the Best Dessert Recipes of All Time from Huffington Post and 92 Top Rated Desserts from Southern Living Magazine, respectively, that added some new contenders to the list big time!

It's been an age and half since I last had an ice cream cake, so that is well and truly up there, as is trifle, and a classic chocolate cake. We'll see. It will likely come down to my plans and menu for the rest of the day and what I'm in the mood for as I enter the second year of my thirties.

Whatever I make, it will be a treat of the sweetest caliber and one that will satisfy me on the sugar front if not until my next birthday, at least until Halloween rolls around again in just four months (what, I swear I'm not planning every last detail of that day already - nooo, it being my favourite holiday of all time, I'd never do that. Tee-hee-hee :D)

One seriously representative - and very tasty - 1950s potato salad recipe

Vintage loving soul that I am, I can't help but have a special spot in my heart for yesteryear recipes that not only telegraph the era they hail from, but which shout it out, loud and proud, from the rooftop!

Typically these sorts of foods include a combination of ingredients that seems a touch dated to the average diner, but which we as vintage fans have a deep respect and adoration for, even if they're not exactly what we're plunking down in front our families each night these days.

Chances are such dishes, when they hail from the 1950s and are of a savoury nature, are apt to include at least one of the following things: mayonnaise, hard boiled eggs, pickles, olives, mushroom, pimentos, tuna, and/or celery, to name but a few iconic ingredients of the age.

Today's vintage recipe for hearty, delicious sounding Ripe Olive Potato Salad hails is from 1952 and houses five of those very ingredients, a point that made this passionate old school epicurean smile ear-to-ear.



{Talk about a meal in a side dish! This lively, flavourful mid-century potato salad combines pickles, olives, pimentos, mayo, and a handful of other ingredients with spuds to create a stick-to-your ribs potato salad that is bursting with 1950s charm. Vintage recipe image source.}


I fully get that this combo of ingredients might not elicit squeals of delight from everyone, even though I do think they harmonize together fairly well. By all means, pick, choose, and disregard as needed. Being allergic to eggs, I need to skip the hard boiled ones here and use GF vegan mayonnaise (the vegan offerings from Follow Your Heart are by far my favourite store bought options on that front), and would likely use cucumber over celery, as I have an easier time with it, but aside from that, I'd totally give it a go as is.

If I wanted to switch things up a bit though, I might ditch some of the veggies (pickles included), leave the black olives in place and use some sun dried tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts for a thoroughly Mediterranean influenced potato salad, or maybe some black beans, corn, and cilantro for a fun Southwestern take on this staple summer side dish.

Potato salad is a seriously versatile food that you can play around with endlessly, making it as mid-century or present day as your heart desires. You can even sub in sweet potatoes, yams, taro, sunchokes, parsnips, or rutabagas for the standard spuds themselves.

As summer is but a stone's throw away, picnic, grilling, camping, and al fresco eating season in general are all starting to really hit their stride, so I wanted to share this delightful, adaptable vintage potato salad recipe - which really does scream 1950s in the best kind of culinary way - with all of you here today, on this gorgeous sun-kissed Saturday.

With lots of family events, birthdays, barbeques and other enjoyable events in the cards throughout the next three to four months, I know that dishes like this great mid-century offering will be a common sight on our table - be it indoors or out - and one that I'm really, really looking forward to, as I rarely make cold pasta or potato salad during the snowy half of the year. That’s baked, mashed and roasted spud season! :)

A quick, delicious recipe for vintage Easter Sunday Pie

As you may have gathered over the years, if you're a long time Chronically Vintage reader, I have such a thing for cute and/or uber festive vintage recipes. This love extends just beyond my menu however, and I absolutely adore celebrating these special occasions in general, too.

I'm not alone here in the slightest and know that the same rings true for many of you as well. As vintage fans, I think we're especially well attuned to the importance of celebrating the positive events in life. We honour and celebrate the past with our wardrobe, decor, vehicle, music, etc choices and we usually take time to appreciate traditions, customs, and other elements that go hand-in-hand with holidays and special occasions.

Easter, falling on Sunday April 5th this year, is certainly one of the highlights of spring and well worth celebrating through and through! If you don't want to or can't celebrate Easter for whatever reason, than simply use this day as the perfect excuse to welcome spring back into your life with the most open of arms!

This day helps us to usher in spring after winter's seemingly endless visit, reminds of the power of rebirth and new life, and is chocked full of countless beautiful - and delicious - things from daffodils to Easter bonnets, chocolate eggs to the all that sublimely lovely fresh produce that is hitting the grocery store and farmer's market's displays again.

Naturally, being a holiday associated with sweetness - which I can't help but think stands as a very apt representation of how very sweet springtime itself is - Easter lends itself particularly well to sugary desserts and today's vintage recipe for Easter Sunday Pie is certainly no exception (plus, you've got to love the bonus Butterscotch Jewel Parfait and Coconut Party Pudding recipes that are included on this charming 1951 recipe ad that originally hailed from pages of Good Housekeeping Magazine).



{Crunchy coconut, lush vanilla pudding, and splendidly sweet candies combine in this quick, fun and very pretty Easter dessert that is sure to have guests asking for seconds and the recipe! Image source.}


This recipe is uber simple and relatively budge-friendly. You can use either a store bought or homemade 9-inch pie crust for the base, whichever you fancy. Alternatively a graham cracker crust would be really nice here and if I went that route, I might make this a frozen pie to help the crust and pudding filling stay put all the better.

For my fellow gluten-free friends, in terms of store bought gluten-free pie crusts, I've had the most luck so far over the years with Glutino's Perfect Pie Crust. There is a bit of prep and chill time involved (so I'd suggest making the crust a day or two in advance of when you plan to assemble the pie), but it creates very, very good pie crust that I've used for everything from pumpkin to strawberry to pudding pieces with zero troubles to date.

As this classic mid-century vintage pie recipe is so straightforward and includes a mere handful of ingredients, I wouldn't be apt to tweak it too much (aside from assuming it was GF, if I was going to have a slice). That said, if coconut is not your cup of tea, I would imagine that sliced toasted almonds would work fabulously here as well (if I went that route, I'd probably use pistachio, white chocolate, or milk chocolate pudding instead). You could also swap out the Easter candies used on top for any that you and/or your guests would like. Festively shaped and coloured gummy candies, jujubes or chocolates would be super lovely atop this fun 1950s dish.

Though Easter may no longer mean rooting around the house for foil covered eggs and checking to see if the Easter bunny nibbled the carrots we left out for him (he always did - thank you for that, mom! :)), it still fills me with excitement and joy and is a special day that I can't wait to celebrate with my wardrobe, home decor, and vintage recipe choices each spring.

Join me, won't you, in whipping up this easy-as-pie (pun intended), wonderfully tasty coconut and pudding dessert for a sweet treat that is sure to bring joy to everyone who gathers 'round your table to honour the gorgeous return of spring and all the grand things that this season brings back in our lives once more.

Care for a slice of vintage Sweet Story Cake?

Though we may still be up to our vintage hat brims in snow and ice, there's a renewed sense of happiness - what in decades past would have frequently been called gaiety - to the weeks of mid-February. They house Valentine's Day, which even if you're not a massive fan of, surely you can find at least one positive in: the fact that it is the perfect excuse to indulge in your favourite sweet treats!
 
Chocolates are swell, sugar cookies stamped out with festive cutters are always great, and decadent mousses, puddings and parfaits have their rightful - and very tasty – place at the table, but sometimes, especially when serving a holiday crowd, one wants a handy-dandy, no-fuss, thoroughly celebratory cake to cut into. If that what you're in the mood for as February 14th draws nearer than you, my dear, are in luck because today's fun mid-century vintage dessert recipes delivers on that front big time!

Boasting a liberal coating of pink frosting and elegantly arranged silver nonpareils, this 1940s maraschino cherry flavoured, relatively quick to prepare, vintage dessert is sure to put a smile on the faces of even the staunchest opponents of Valentine's Day! :)

{A few simple ingredients, many or all of which you may have to hand already, are all it takes to make this marvelously festive mid-century Sweet Story Valentine's Day Cake. Vintage recipe image source.}

Don't fret or sweat for the tiniest of moments if nonpareils aren't your favourite ingredient, you can easily jazz up this charming heart shaped cake with red sprinkles/jimmies or sanding sugar instead. And though they wouldn't likely be festively hued in shades of red or pink, small slivered almonds would be a lovely and very delicious option as well.

I've always been a big fan of elegant verging on kitschy vintage cakes, which I think this Valentine's Day beaut nails squarely on the head. They seem to speak of a simpler time, before shows like Cake Boss and sites like Pinterest made the average home cook run the risk of feeling like he or she was failing to measure up to the skills held by a very small number of extremely talented pastry chefs and professional bakers around the world.

I can, humbly, cook and bake with the best of them, but I'm not a cake artist in the slightest, so I love it when vintage desserts like this easily allow me - and you alike - to deliver an eye-catchingly fantastic sweet treat to the table that will receive hearty nods of approval and admiration from one and all.

After all, baking, like Valentine's Day itself, shouldn't be stressful. Both offer up the promise of fun and deliciousness - a combination that is hard to beat anytime of the year!