1946 to 1962 Cake #1

Woohoo, we have entered a new era in the cookbook! I have reached post war times when women were portrayed as the homemaker, even though many had entered the work force during the war and had decided to keep working after the men came home. Many women had to juggle doing both, just like today, so easy recipes and pre-made mixes were highly appreciated.

I did not discover that Betty Crocker was not a real person until I was in my 20's and I often find myself shocking others with that little factoid. I included a paragraph from the book that explains the origination of the famous Betty Crocker:

"And no American had more influence on the way working women and homemakers baked after World War II than Betty Crocker. Betty spoke to everyone because she was the best of everyone- smart, attractive, and in charge. She suggested we bake cakes for all occasions. In 1945 Fortune magazine named Betty Crocker the second most popular woman in America, following Eleanor Roosevelt, in spite of the fact that Betty was a fictional character created by General Mills to boost slipping flour sales. Her first cake mix was sold in 1947, and the legendary Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, published in 1950, sold 1 million copies the first year."

Orange Chiffon Cake

This is the 2nd cake created by Harry Baker, the pastry chef from the legendary LA restaurant called the Brown Derby. Baker had discovered that vegetable oil made cakes really moist. He kept it as his own special secret and got so paranoid that people would try to find out how he did it that he would throw away his garbage somewhere away from the restaurant. In 1948, he sold his recipe to General Mills and his secret was introduced as "the cake discovery of the century." The author of The Cake Bible calls the chiffon, America's "greatest cake." It is light like an Angel Food, but moist due to the oil and egg yolks.

My Experience:

The making of this cake is quick and kind of fun. all of the dry ingredients are put together and then you make a well in the middle and drop in the yolks and oil. After mixing, egg whites are beaten and then folded in. That is it, then it goes in the oven for about an hour. When it comes out of the oven the recipe says to hang the pan upside down for an hour so that it does not sink and the cake stays light and fluffy.

The cake had a nice zesty flavor and a good texture. The neighbors enjoyed it too.

Neighbor's Comments;

"Yum, so good and that glaze! The cake is so fluffy!"

"It is pretty good, I just ate the whole piece."

"Omfriggin G...Delicious!"

"Sooo yummy!"