And For Dessert...

 Good morning, and welcome!

It’s never too early to start thinking about dessert, am I right? At the start of the meal… before the meal is even cooked… even bright and early this morning. (It’s why my favorite breakfast food will forever be chocolate chip waffles with strawberries—and whipped cream when I can get my hands on some.) 

Besides, this post about vintage and retro desserts has been coming on for a while. There are so many delicious foods out there, and so little time to give them all a fair chance. So, this round of the holiday season, why not branch out a little? This list of 6 desserts includes foods you may not have even heard of before now, yet they all have their roots in fascinating histories and centuries of satisfied bakers. 

Grab a fork, close your eyes, and let’s dig in….

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Baked Alaska

(Photo "Baked Alaska at the Oceannaire in San Diego, California" by vxla is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

There’s quite a lot to this complex, yet impressive, dessert. It’s a paradox: ice cream (traditionally banana flavored) served over pound cake, blanketed in a thick layer of piping hot merengue, and served directly out of the… oven?! How is this dish possible? The secret is in the meringue: because the egg whites in a meringue are whipped until they assume a light and fluffy texture, the air pockets necessary to create this texture act as an insulator for the ice cream and are able to block all additional heat from the oven from melting the cold treat underneath. Thanks to modern technology, this dish is no longer such a challenge to bake, but in Baked Alaska’s heyday, the dessert required an entire kitchen staff to successfully complete. The struggle seems worth it, however: ice cream, cake, AND meringue? Count me in! Though Baked Alaska’s name pays homage to this process, it is also a celebration of the United State’s purchase of Alaska from Russia as the country’s soon-to-be 49th state in 1867. 

Up to the challenge? Try this Baked Alaska recipe: https://www.lanascooking.com/1960s-flashback-baked-alaska/ 

Cherry Cola Salad

(Photo "Black Cherry Cola" by caribb is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Jell-O, yay! It’s like hot dogs or hard candy: a pleasure to eat, but I’d rather not peruse an ingredients list if it can be helped. In the dish’s early years, gelatin desserts were incredibly expensive and tedious to prepare. Jell-O molds became associated with the sophisticated elite. In the early 1900s, however, powdered gelatin was produced—a faster, simpler method of cooking the sought-after dessert. In no time, Jell-O was everywhere… including in this Cherry Cola Salad Jell-O mold. I can’t say it’s the most complicated dish in the world, involving chopped cherries mixed with traditional, or cherry flavored, soda. These ingredients are heated in a pan with a conventional Jell-O box mix. While I like the idea of adding carbonation to Jell-O, I’ve got to admit cherry-flavored desserts aren’t always my personal favorite. Still, this dessert is certainly preferable to alternative Jell-O dishes of the day, like Spaghetti-Os Jell-O or even a gelatin shrimp cocktail. 

If I haven’t ruined you on Jell-O after the mental images of those last two dishes, here’s a recipe for the nice, tame Cherry Cola Salad you signed up for: https://thefoodcharlatan.com/coca-cola-jello-salad-with-cherries/

Tomato Soup Spice Cake

(Photo "Advertising for Campbell's Tomato Soup, c. 1920s." by Halloween HJB is marked with CC0 1.0)

Originally a fruit pudding, this recipe was first modified in the 1940s as a Halloween treat. Tomato soup spice cake is known for its (not so) secret ingredient: tomato soup. Its recipe was even depicted on the Cambell’s soup label, the first ever to appear on a soup can. It is iced with cream cheese frosting and can include optional raisins. Prior to its fifteen minutes of fame thanks to the Campbell’s company, this cake was a frugal way to enjoy a sweet treat during the Great Depression. Tomato soup spice cake was often referred to as “mystery cake” to hide its less-than-appetizing main ingredient. Was it convincing? Surprisingly, yes. Much like the use of applesauce as a substitute for vegetable oil in a box mix cake (the only kind I’m capable of baking!), you can’t actually taste the tomato soup in a traditional tomato soup spice cake. Worth a try? As an avid devourer of spice cake, I’d say this oldie but goodie of a recipe sounds pretty delicious. 

The Campbell’s soup company has an online recipe for this dessert! Try it here: https://www.campbells.com/recipes/tomato-soup-spice-cake/ 

Butterscotch Pudding

(Photo "butterscotch pudding 2" by annieseats is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Butterscotch in hard candy form is—unfortunately—my ultimate weakness. Brown sugar + butter = the entire ingredient list from start to finish. Unfairly mouthwatering in the way centuries-old sweets favored by generations of the British royal family can be. No other candy even had a chance. So… why not put it into a pudding?! This dessert is even delectable enough to celebrate on a national holiday, as, apparently, there’s a National Butterscotch Pudding Day on September 19th. Butterscotch pudding is made like a traditional pudding with a more original flavoring than chocolate or vanilla and can be enjoyed hot or chilled in accordance with personal preference. Toppings like salted caramel, whipped cream, and crushed walnuts, along with a fancy pudding dish (one of the perks to making pudding is definitely the presentation!), pair nicely for a delicious dessert. Someone get on this, please. Out of all the desserts on this list, I think butterscotch pudding is the one I’m most longing to try. 

This food blogger shares my affinity for butterscotch and has some great tips on making this dessert, check out her recipe here: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/butterscotch-pudding/ 

Green Tomato Pie

(Photo "green tomato pie" by keturn is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

ANOTHER tomato dessert?! I suppose since tomatoes are fruits, too, it makes theoretical sense to put them into a pie. But… putting tomatoes in a pie? Really? Green tomato pie can also have a savory flavor depending on how it is made, but for this post, I’m going to focus on the sweeter side of things. In its sweet form, green tomato pie includes unripened tomatoes, cinnamon, lots of sugar, molasses, and traditional pie crust. It’s another dish where the tomato is rather inconspicuous and is often referred to as “mock apple pie” due to its resemblance and similarities in taste and texture. Other fruits are occasionally added for additional flavor. Green tomato pie first appeared in rural communities in the 19th century as an alternative when other fruits weren’t attainable or in season. Today, it is served as a novelty and won’t be found in your average restaurant. In my opinion, that only makes the pie more of an exciting taste test, though I can’t say I’m blind to the risks of eating an unripened tomato… maybe the excess of sugary pie goo disguises the taste? 

Read more about green tomato pie and try its recipe on this blog dedicated entirely to pie: http://www.nothinginthehouse.com/2014/07/green-tomato-pie.html 

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

(Photo "Pineapple Upside Down Cake" by kimberlykv is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

The Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, while incredibly difficult to perfect and disastrous if anything but just right, is said to be beyond worth the numerous risks. Traditionally, this type of cake was called a “skillet cake” because it is best baked in a cast-iron skillet to avoid burning the layer of butter coating the fruit on the bottom. (Plus, that handle makes the flipping process slightly less hazardous.) After the Dole company began producing canned pineapples, the pineapple upside-down cake took off like wildfire. According to one story, over 2,500 separate entries in the company’s pineapple-themed baking competition were varying recipes for pineapple upside-down cake! However, the cake was at its most popular 30 years later, in the 1950s and 60s. Consisting of vanilla cake baked over a layer of canned pineapples and maraschino cherries, this type of cake isn’t too terribly far-fetched, except that the fruit is cooked in the bottom of the pan, and the entire cake must be flipped upside down to expose the beautiful and colorful pineapples. If you can manage this tricky feat, you’re in for an amazing dessert: this cake is making a comeback today for its beautiful exterior and fun flavors. 

There are tons of Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipes out there, but I like the process described in this blog: https://sugarspunrun.com/pineapple-upside-down-cake/ 

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Now is when I wish I could say I’ve ever tried making any of these desserts, but... maybe not during a busy week like this one. Add them to my lengthening to-experience-someday list, I suppose, right up there with winning an Air Guitar World Championship or touring the 28 Wonders of the World….

One thing that captured my attention when researching desserts from the past is the beautiful presentation and impressive variety of bakers and cooks back then. While today’s dessert menu is limited, for the most part, to cookies and cakes, dishes like Baked Alaska or Cherry Cola Salad allude to greater versatility. The charm is in their distinctiveness—sometimes, it’s nice to depart from the everyday after-dinner staples. The morning’s dare, you say? Don’t be so afraid of departing from routines and embracing differences. Change things up! Try something new! While the result may not become a part of your regular schedule, I can guarantee it will make a nice mini-vacation from your set routine… until this pandemic passes and we are able to take more REAL vacations!