Tag: old school pastry

Chocolate Marshmallow Jelly Roll Cake

Chocolate Marshmallow Jelly Roll Cake

Looking for something a little old fashioned, a little fancy to make for dessert this weekend? Try the Chocolate Marshmallow Roll recipe from a 1950 advertising cookbook from Royal Cream of Tartar Baking Powder.  

Scientifically and Mathematically Speaking – What’s the Best Way to Cut a Cake?

Scientifically and Mathematically Speaking – What’s the Best Way to Cut a Cake?

Is there a perfect way to cut a cake? I explore. Image courtesy jeremyfoo, Flickr via CC license. We all know how to cut a cake, right? Even Wilton gives diagrams on how to cut a cake in every conceivable shape there is, including the 

S’mores! Plus All About Campire Safety (1927)

S’mores! Plus All About Campire Safety (1927)

I recently posted on the Old School Pastry blog the original recipe for “Some More” (S’mores) from the 1927 Girl Scout handbook Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts. It also has a wealth of info on starting, maintaining, and extinguishing campfires. Enjoy. 🙂

Hotel del Coronado’s Version of S’mores

Hotel del Coronado’s Version of S’mores

Okay, I know National S’mores Day was a couple of days ago, but I’m a big s’more fan. We celebrate by eating s’mores every time we go camping. And with Girl Scouts in the house, well, the dessert is part of the household now. 🙂 

Foods and Food Adulterants: Baking Powder Research from 1889

Foods and Food Adulterants: Baking Powder Research from 1889

I do lots of reading for all my pastry writing and I recently found a little gem, Foods and Food Adulterants on Baking Powders, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It goes into detail on the “investigation into the character and composition of baking powders.” 

Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson

I’ve always had a soft spot for old recipes. Thumbing through dusty piles of vintage cookbooks always brings something new to my baking and usually leads me to explore new flavor combinations or techniques. Julie Richardson brings old recipes to new life in her book 

Chess Pie – Cornmeal and Vinegar Southern Dessert

Chess Pie – Cornmeal and Vinegar Southern Dessert

Chess Pie Chess Pie is a classic Southern dessert custard pie made with eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, with some recipes containing either/both cornmeal and vinegar. Open up a dozen different community cookbooks and you’ll find that many different versions of Chess Pie, or more. The origin of 

Classical Pastry Terms & Definitions: The Pièce Montée

Classical Pastry Terms & Definitions: The Pièce Montée

A friend asked me recently if couverture and chocolate were interchangeable terms. They are not (chocolate is a general term; couverture is premium chocolate with a specific amount of cocoa butter inside) but this made me think of other pastry terms that were vague or 

Retro Candy! Old Time & Not So Old Candy Not Found Anymore

Retro Candy! Old Time & Not So Old Candy Not Found Anymore

Assorted Candy – Morguefile.com I recently viewed a candy slideshow from Delish.com showing many different brands and kinds of candy that can no longer be found. Some were very familiar (Marathon bars!) and some I’d like to try now. That got me to thinking about 

Want to Know How Food Coloring Was Made Way Back Then?

Want to Know How Food Coloring Was Made Way Back Then?

Think flowers, think vegetables, think…bugs? On my Old School Pastry blog, I’ve found different recipes that were done by confectioner’s long before commercial food coloring was available to the masses. How to Make Yellow Food Coloring (Saffron) How to Make Green Food Coloring (Spinach) How