I took today’s recipe from a 1998 article by Deseret News senior writer Carma Wadley. She stumbled upon some old recipes from the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s and noted how different they are from today.
Many recipes back then were written for different instruments and cooking methods than we are used to. For example, instructions from the 1920s would specify to “cook until done” until more accurate home appliances came along.
And of course, tastes change over time. I remember when I was a kid, my mother got a ’50s cookbook called “The Joys of Jell-O” from an antique fair. I didn’t even know they made savory Jell-O in the decades before I was born (and I’m glad they no longer do). But I’ll spare you the recipes calling for Jell-O pot roasts or anything that pairs ham with marshmallows.
The following is taken directly from Wadley’s article, “Recipes of yesteryear.”
Orange Delight Cake
2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
2/3 cup shortening, softened
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup water
2 eggs, unbeaten
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Grease and flour two deep 8-inch layer cake pans or 9x13-inch pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Sift into large mixer bowl flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt. Add orange rind, shortening, orange juice and water. Beat on low speed for scraping bowl while beating. Add eggs and beat 2 minutes longer. Add lemon juice and beat just enough to blend. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake at 375 for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool. Ice as desired.
From Sunbeam Mixmaster booklet, 1948.
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