This recipe shares some post-Depression era history. Al Pearce was a popular comedian, musician, and radio personality with several hit radio programs from 1928- 1947. He also made some appearances in movies guesting as himself. He was on the radio in Southern California in the 1940s at least as I found a reference to his show in an old San Bernardino newspaper. I wasn’t able to find any reference to a cake promoted by his show or by him, but that’s only because it may not have been printed in a newspaper that has been scanned & cataloged.
Next, Formay might have been a sponsor of his show. Formay was a shortening brand in at least the late 1920s to late 1930s. There was a Formay factory in Los Angeles and you can see a photo of factory girls packaging the 3 pound tins of shortening if you click here. So this recipe uses shortening in place of butter. You can use either shortening or butter – your preference – but shortening may be nice if you want the cake to be completely white.
Al Pearce’s Honeymoon Cake
3/4 c Formay
1/2 teas salt
2 c sugar
1 c milk
3 c flour (sifted before measuring)
6 egg whites (stiffly beaten)
1 teas vanilla
Cream Formay & sugar together. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk, beating after each addition. Fold in egg whites, add flavoring, & pour into 3 oiled layer pans. Bake in moderate oven 375 degrees about 30 minutes. (Makes 3 large layers)
Icing
2 egg whites
1/2 c water
1 3/4 c sugar
1 c raisins
1/8 teas cream of tartar
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 teas vanilla
Place egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar and water in top of double boiler over boiling water. Beat with rotary beater over heat 7 minutes, or until frosting drops by spoonfuls from the beater. Add raisins, nut meats and flavoring & spread between layers & on top of cake.
So many recipes use the ingredients that either sponsored a program or printed a booklet!
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