Old-Fashioned Cakes

This old-fashioned cake recipe from Pillsbury is really delicious. It uses oats and broiled icing to achieve a crunchy/chewy texture. Oats or other grains were commonly used as wheat substitutions in the past. It is a very moist cake with a unique icing that is worth the wait to eat. When broiled icing cools completely, it becomes very crispy. I personally really enjoy this cake straight out of the oven. With fall just around the corner, this cake supplies lots of spice that goes really well with coffee.

Since the recipe for the old-fashioned cake comes from Pillsbury, it reminded me of a cookbook my grandma gave me. The one I have is the third edition (1948) of Baking is Fun! I remember borrowing it as a kid and making a very moist cake. Something familiar about it is the broiled icing. Once you try it, you will never forget it.

History of Oatmeal in the U.S.

The history of oatmeal in the United States is fascinating. It goes back to the first European explorers and Virginia, where oats were cultivated prior to 1648. Primarily, oats were grown in colonial America for animal feed. It was the Scottish, Dutch, and other immigrants that traditionally used them for human consumption. In 1747, Hannah Glasse recommended that madling cakes should be of the same thickness and bigness of oat-cakes. However, those cakes are not the conventional cakes we think of today. They were flat and about the size of a medium dinner plate. Oatcakes have their own interesting history. 

Oats were first very difficult to process, according to Science in the Kitchen (1893). They were also seen as food for animals or peasants but considered to be healthy. The Grocer’s Encyclopedia (1911)  lists oatmeal as gaining popularity in the U.S. because of its easy preparation. It makes sense that oatmeal was becoming more commonplace because in 1875, Asmus Ehrrichsen invented a groat-cutting machine that made harvesting oats quicker and easier. In 1877, rolled oats were first produced by the Quaker Mill Company. By 1884, Quaker Oats were selling their grain as the first packaged food.

The Quaker Mills Company advertised heavily for an increase in oatmeal consumption. In 1891, they became the first company to feature a recipe on their box. It worked very well for them and ensured rolled oats to be an important staple. After the United States entered World War I, President Wilson established the United States Food Administration (USFA). Food was used as a weapon, so the President asked that people voluntarily limit consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and USFA issued a food leaflet in 1917 that lists oatmeal recipes to encourage less wheat usage. This circular from August 1918, just outright says to use oats in order to conserve wheat. The advent of baking powder in 1856, really helped oatmeal find a place in baked goods. Because of the wonderful inventions of our predecessors, we can enjoy delicious things such as the old-fashioned cake.