Desserts | Rosie's Riveting Recipes

Very Berry Upside Down Cake

I don’t remember where this recipe came from, but I obviously found it somewhere. It was for a blackberry upside down cake, but I’ve made it with other kinds of berries, including raspberries and blueberries, and it always comes out well. I’ll bet you could even create a black forest upside cake with raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. Come to think of it, that does sound good, so I’ll just call it a very berry upside down cake.

This recipe is great if you’re trying to avoid processed foods and go back to basics, just like they did in Rosie’s day. In fact, I’m sure Rosie would have approved.

Gayle Martin

A Very Berry Upside Down Cake

Topping

1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups fresh berries, such as blackberries, raspberries or blue berries
1/4 cup sugar

Cake

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare the topping by melting butter and brown sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Add berries. Stir until mixture begins to bubble, about 1 to 3 minutes. Add sugar, stir and crush berries slightly for approximately 5 minutes, or until berries at hot and slightly broken down. Remove from heat and pour into a 9-inch square baking pan.

Prepare the cake batter by creaming the sugar and butter together in a mixing bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Alternately add flour and milk to the butter mixture. Add vanilla and mix. Pour batter over the berry mixture. Batter may be thin.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool until pan is slightly warm, about 30 minutes. Run a knife along the edge of the cake to separate it from the sides of the pan. Place a cake plate over the pan and flip. Lift pan to slowly release the cake.

***

Imagine the government telling you how much meat or chicken you could buy, or how much sugar or flour you could have. Strange as it may seem, at one time it actually happened. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes gives a glimpse into life on the WW 2 home front. A cookbook and a history lesson in one with more than 180 economical, back-to-basics World War 2 ration recipes.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, and with other online booksellers.

Eggless Upside-Down Cake

In many ways it seems like post pandemic supply chain issues we are experiencing today are reminiscent of WWII supply chain issues. Back in the nineteen-forties many shoppers found empty store shelves and had to improvise to create healthy, tasty meals. To help ease the shortages, food producers reformulated recipes to use less of those ingredients which were in short supply. Eggs were among those items in short supply.

Adding to today’s supply chain issues is avian flu. It’s creating egg shortages in our own time. Thankfully, those eggless recipes from Rosie’s day are as helpful today as they were in her time.

Gayle Martin

EGGLESS UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/3 to ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 ½ cups canned pineapple wedges, peach slices, or cooked prunes
½ cup broken pecan meats, if desired
1 recipe Delicious Cottage Pudding (below)

Melt butter in 8 x 8 x 2-inch pan or 8-inch skillet over low flame. Add brown sugar and cook and stir until thoroughly mixed. On this arrange fruit; sprinkle nuts over top.

Mix Delicious Cottage Pudding batter below as directed and pour over contents of pan. Bake in moderate oven (350º F) 50 to 60 minutes, or until done. Loosen cake from sides of pan with spatula. Turn upside down on dish with fruit on top.

DELICIOUS COTTAGE PUDDING

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder*
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla

Sift flour once, add baking powder and salt, and sift again. Cream shortening, add sugar gradually, and cream together well. Add flour, alternately with milk, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Add vanilla. Bake in greased pan, 8 x 8 x 2 inches, in moderate oven, (350F), 50 to 60 minutes, or until done.

*Note: At the time this recipe was written not all baking powders were double-acting. Less baking powder may be needed.

***

Imagine the government telling you how much meat or chicken you could buy, or how much sugar or flour you could have. Strange as it may seem, at one time it actually happened. During WWII, the United States government devised a food rationing program to help insure that every family would have enough to eat. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes gives a glimpse into life on the WW II home front. A cookbook and a history lesson in one with more than 180 economical, back-to-basics World WarII ration recipes with short tales of life on the American home front interspersed throughout.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com and with other online booksellers.

Homemade Fondant Candy

This recipe comes from my seventh grade home economics class. I had never heard of fondant before, but the recipe is easy to prepare and the candy is very tasty. I’ve also used this recipe over the years. It’s perfect for birthday parties, Christmas and other special events. Thank you to my teacher, Mrs. Witt, wherever you are. Please note, however, that this is not the same kind of fondant used to decorate cakes. The recipe is solely for making candy.

HOMEMADE FONDANT CANDY

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound powdered sugar
peppermint extract
wintergreen extract
1 jar maraschino cherries
red and green food coloring

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in evaporated milk, vanilla and salt. Remove from heat and gradually add powdered sugar. Turn onto a board lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar and knead until smooth. Makes approximately two cups of fondant. Divide into quarters and prepare the following.

Mint Patties

Mix together 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract and two drops red food coloring to one quarter of the fondant. Shape into small patties or use a cookie cutter to create your own shapes

Wintergreen Patties

Mix together 1/2 teaspoon wintergreen extract and two drops of green food coloring to one quarter of the fondant. Shape into small patties or use a cookie cutter to create your own shapes.

Cherry Drops

Drain cherries and slit each cherry crosswise into four parts. Do not cut all the way through. Press back the “petals” to form a flower. Fill each cherry with a small ball of the remaining fondant and chill.

Pumpkin Walnut Cheesecake Pie

Okay everybody. Sing along with me. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year, tra, la, la.” Why? Because it’s Pumpkin Spice season!

This recipe may not exactly be low carb, but who cares? It’s pumpkin spice season! So what makes pumpkin spice season so special? Well, it’s one of those things that if I have to explain to you, you’ll never understand. Suffice to say pumpkin spice is something you either love, or you can’t stand. There seems to be no middle ground.

If you’re a pumpkin spice fan like I am, you’ll have to give this recipe a try. You may even want to consider serving it with your holiday dinner instead of a traditional pumpkin pie. Did I also mention it’s sinfully delicious? But don’t take my word for it. Give it a try and taste it for yourself

Gayle Martin

PUMPKIN WALNUT CHEESECAKE PIE

2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin
2 eggs
2 frozen pie shells, thawed
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream sugar and cheese together in a large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin and spices and mix thoroughly. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add salt and blend until creamy. Pour equal amounts into pie shells and bake for 30 minutes.

While cheesecake is baking prepare topping. Cream butter and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add walnuts and blend thoroughly. Remove cheesecakes from oven after 30 minutes and sprinkle on topping. Return to oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. Serve with whipped cream topping, if desired.

***

Book Cover for Rosies Riveting Recipes — Cover photo by Rob Resetar

Imagine the government telling you how much meat or chicken you could buy, or how much sugar or flour you could have. Strange as it may seem, at one time it actually happened. During WWII, the United States government devised a food rationing program to help insure that every family would have enough to eat. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes gives readers a glimpse into life on the WWII home front. A cookbook and a history lesson in one Rosies’s Riveting Recipes includes more than 180 economical, back-to-basics World War II ration recipes and short tales of life on the American home front interspersed throughout.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

I had a ton of leftover cornstarch from a video project. We needed to recreate snow, and cornstarch works well as a snow substitute. However, once the video was in the can, I had to figure out what to do with all unused cornstarch. I gave a box to a friend, and I’ve been using it as a flour substitute in some of my cooking recipes. It’s worked well. I also prefer cornstarch over flour for sauces and gravies. All of this helped, but I still have a bunch of leftover cornstarch.

I soon found a pudding recipe that wasn’t bad, but of course I had to go in and make a few changes to make it better. It’s easy to prepare and it makes a tasty dessert. Best of all, you probably already have the ingredients in your pantries.

Gayle Martin

chocolate cornstarch pudding

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 3/4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract*

Stir sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt together in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in milk and turn heat to medium, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened enough to coat the spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Let cool briefly, stirring occasionally as the pudding cools to avoid a skin forming on the top. Serve warm or chilled. A pat of butter may be added if serving warm.

*Almond or coconut extract may be used instead of vanilla.

Imagine the government telling you how much meat or chicken you could buy, or how much sugar or flour you could have. Strange as it may seem, at one time it actually happened. During WWII, the United States government devised a food rationing program to help insure that every family would have enough to eat. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes gives readers a glimpse into life on the WWII home front. A cookbook and a history lesson in one Rosies’s Riveting Recipes includes more than 180 economical, back-to-basics World War II ration recipes and short tales of life on the American home front interspersed throughout.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Refrigerator Bread Pudding

from Rosie’s Riveting Recipes

This classic dessert from the pages of the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook is one many of your grandmothers may have made. I tried it, and it’s delicious. What I really like about many of these historic dessert recipes is that they’re sweet, but not sugar-laden.

Gayle Martin

REFRIGERATOR BREAD PUDDING

1 envelope plain gelatin
2 cups milk
1/2 cup light or dark corn syrup or 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 slices white bread (2 1/2 cups cubed)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
nutmeg, if desired

Soften gelatin in 1/4 cup cold milk. Scald remaining milk with corn syrup (or sugar) and salt in double boiler. Add gelatin and stir until dissolved. Remove crusts and cut slices of bread into cubes. Pour hot milk slowly over beaten eggs, stirring constantly. Return to double boiler. Add bread cubes and cook until custard consistency, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and beat with rotary beater until frothy. Turn into one large (or individual molds) that have been rinsed in cold water first. Chill. When firm, un-mold and serve with cream or any sauce. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Modern adaptation: Be careful not boil the milk. The beaten eggs can be slowly added to the milk mixture in the double boiler, stirring constantly as directed in the original recipe, until they are well blended. To give the pudding a bolder flavor add 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 nutmeg with the vanilla. The pudding can also be poured into ramekins and served with whipped cream, cinnamon, or nutmeg on top, as suggested in the original historic recipe.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnes&noble.com.

Old-Time Rice Custard Pudding

From the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes cookbook

My ex husband used to bring home rice pudding from the refrigerated section at the supermarket. He said it reminded him of his grandmother’s rice pudding. I’d never had rice pudding before, and it reminded me of my grandmother’s homemade tapioca pudding. Funny how certain foods bring back happy childhood memories.

Fast forward a few years. I’m testing some recipes for the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook. This rice pudding recipe was easy to prepare and used ingredients found in most pantries. However, it had a very different texture from the premade supermarket rice pudding, which created a delicious yet totally different experience. Puddings have variations, and it’s nice to try something different.

Gayle Martin

OLD-TIME RICE CUSTARD PUDDING

2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup seedless raisins
2 cups scalded milk*
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
nutmeg

Mix rice and raisins. Place in 8-inch baking pan, 3 inches deep. Blend milk into beaten eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour over rice and raisin mixture. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Place pan in shallow pan of water. Steam bake 1 1/2 hours in moderate oven (325F). Serve warm or chilled, with or without cream.

*Pasteurization has taken the place of scalding.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Million Dollar Pie

This recipe takes me back.

I was in Toastmasters for a number of years. It’s a wonderful organization, and you learn all kinds of interesting things listening to other member’s speeches. One night someone did a recipe demonstration for an easy to prepare pie. The speaker said it tasted like a million bucks, which was why it was called, Million Dollar Pie. Now mind you, I’ve never actually tasted cash, but it certainly is a delicious pineapple cream pie which only takes a few minutes to prepare.

Gayle Martin

MILLION DOLLAR PIE

1 premade graham cracker pie crust
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple
1 package vanilla flavored instant pudding mix
1 12 oz can condensed milk
1 8 oz container whipped topping

Whisk together canned pineapple, canned milk and instant pudding mix in a large mixing bowl for about one minute. Fold in the entire container of whipped topping mix. Once mixture is thoroughly blended pour into pie crust and gently smooth until it is evenly spread. Chill several hours. Serve.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Peppermint Candy Layer Cake

Just in time for Christmas baking, this delicious holiday dessert from the pages of the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook, is perfect for the season.

Gayle Martin

PEPPERMINT CANDY LAYER CAKE

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2/3 cups milk
2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Cream together margarine, sugar and salt. Stir in beaten eggs. Sift flour with baking powder twice. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, about 1/2 of each at a time. Pour into two 8-inch layer pans, lined with paper or greased with margarine and floured. Bake at 375F for 35 minutes. When cool put layers together with white icing. Decorate with peppermint candy using whole sticks on top, crushed on sides.

Modern Variation: Since today’s baking powders are double-acting decrease baking powder to 1 1/4 teaspoon. For best results use a small (6 cup) bundt pan, a medium (8 x 4 inch) loaf pan, or an 8 x 8 inch square pan. To add some peppermint flavor add 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract. If desired, top with Whipped Cream Topping.

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING

1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
or 1/2 cup crushed peanut brittle
or 4 tablespoons jam or marmalade

Whip whipping cream until stiff. Fold in crushed candy or jam or marmalade.

Modern Variation: For peppermint candy topping add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract to give the topping more peppermint flavor

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bundt Cake

I experimented with several different zucchini bread recipes back when I was growing zucchini in my backyard garden. I’d tweak this and add that, and this is the one I liked the best. It includes a box of cake mix which helps save prep time. However, batter tends to be thick and heavy, so I highly recommend using a KitchenAid or other heavy duty mixer.

By the way, in Rosie’s day people grew victory gardens, so I think she would have approved.

CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI BUNDT CAKE

1/2 cup butter, softened (4 ounces or 1 stick)
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 package of cake mix with pudding in the mix *
1 medium zucchini — grated
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/8 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F. (350F for a light colored pan).

Place softened butter in KitchenAid mixing bowl and beat the butter until light. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract. Beat in the sour cream, add the cinnamon and mix until all ingredients are well blended. Slowly add in cake mix, a little bit at a time, and mix thoroughly. (Batter will thicken considerably as cake mix is added.) Fold in the zucchini, chocolate chips and nuts.

Spoon the mixture into the bundt pan and gently blend mixture around the pan until it’s level. Firmly tap the bundt pan on the counter top several times so that air bubbles can work their way to the top. Bake 45 to 50 minutes. Cake will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place on cooling rack for 10 minutes, then place cake plate on top of bundt pan and invert. Allow cake to finish cooling. Sprinkle powdered sugar, if desired.

Variations: Use peanut butter or white chocolate flavored chips with a chocolate or devil’s food cake mix.

* Most cake mixes, such as Pillsbury, Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker, have pudding in the mix. White, classic yellow or devil’s food are recommended for theis recipe.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.