While I was reorganizing my 200+ cookbooks last week, I came across an old Watkins Cook Book from 1945. I must have gotten it at a tag sale, who knows how long ago, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I’m very discriminating about what goes into my collection.
I picked it up today and started looking at the recipes. I discovered that many of the baking recipes are light on butter and sugar, which makes sense because it was printed during WWII, when butter and sugar were in short supply.
I came across a Layered Spice Cake recipe that look interesting; however, it looked a little lacking in flavor and fat.
And then it hit me….why don’t I take the recipe and update it for today’s cook. Add in some flavor, toss in some fat, give it some flair – done. I changed up a few quantities and substituted certain things like my signature buttermilk and sour cream mixture for sour milk (or any milk when called for), used cake flour vs. AP flour for a lighter crumb, and amped up the spices.
What I came up with is a light and delicious…full of flavor spice cake updated for the 21st Century.
Such fun…I shall be doing many more “lost” and retro recipes I’ve discovered since reorganizing!
Stay tuned…
