More than Christmas, more than Valentine's Day, and yes, even more than Easter, in my books, no other holiday calls for sweet treats in quite the same way that Halloween does. That isn't to say that those three, and numerous other special events, are worthy and deserving of being filled with sugary foods, they certainly are, it's just that as someone who eats very little sugar the whole year round, when my most favourite day of the entire twelve month calendar rolls around, I want to go to down on the dessert front something fierce!!
I might not be a little kid traipsing home at the end of the night with my pillow case full of candy any more, but that doesn't stop me from tossing caution - and calories! - to the nippy autumn wind and whipping up a sizeable storm of sweet, sweet, oh-so-sweet treats come the second half of October.
In the (haunted) spirit of Halloween being just five more days away, I've unearthed a pair of frighteningly fantastic 1930s Halloween recipes that I think you'll adore every much as I do to share with all those who are eager to do the same.
You'll likely find that you have to click through to their Flickr page in order to fully read these marvelous 1930s Halloween recipes, but doing so is well worth it to savour both the lovely vintage imagery here and to have the ability to bake these All Hallows Eve goodies for all the goblins, ghosties, and witches at your house this year. (And to all my fellow gluten-free folks, I've found that two boxes of most gluten-free cakes mixes, such as those from Betty Crocker, are a great stand-in here for the cake batters called for in these scrumptious vintage recipes.)
{An Enchanted Chocolate Cake and Jack O’ Lantern Yum-Yums (cute little festive pumpkin face topped cupcakes) are sure to entice one and all to the table faster than if they were being chased by a werewolf, Dracula, or a horde of zombies this Halloween! Image source.}
No matter if, like me, dessert is a rare occurrence around your house, an everyday event, or something in between, this is the time of year for thoroughly loading up on your favourite treats. They don't have to be sweet, but they should always be special and a far cry from your everyday fare.
Whether you go wild for roasted pumpkin seeds, gaga for caramel apples, or fancy a slice festive cake like the two tasty vintage recipes here today, be sure to fill your table and plate full of foods that celebrate the wonder and merriment of this sweetly spooky Halloween season!
All of the spiced and fall flavored desserts found during this time of the year are my favorite! Nom nom nom
ReplyDeletesounds really delicious! :)
ReplyDeletemmmhh!
ReplyDeletei think of some cinnamon and raisin filled apples, baked in the oven.....
xxxxx
Definitely, that is one of my favourite fall treats ever!!! A dollop of cinnamon-sugar creme fresh or whipped cream on top is an especially lavish and lovely touch that I like to do when I bake them for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.
DeleteBig hugs & tons of happy Halloween week wishes,
♥ Jessica
Yummy!
ReplyDeleteThese would be nice - any day. In our house, we always have home-made cookies and cakes (or pastries). First my grandma, then mom and now me, we have all followed the rule of "Give them quality sweets in the house, so they don't go buying candies later". For as long as I can remember, that as worked fine.
For instance: why in the world would I accept that "Mars" bar, when I have an amazing slice of cake that mom made with love? It's called: positive thinking.. and it does miracles for one's weight. :)
Just few more days, right?
Have you got the costume ready?
Many hugs
Marija
That is an excellent mindset and one that my family often embraced for various holidays (especially Christmas), too. If you're going to spend the calories, why no do so on something that makes you go weak in the knees with its sublime taste and quality?
DeleteOh my goodness, it's crazy, but I haven't got one yet!!! I haven't been feeling well enough to leave the house in over two weeks, so I haven't even been able to see what the stores here in town have this year. Hoping to get out today or tomorrow no matter what - I simply must, I can't be costume-less come the big night!!!
Tons of hugs coming right back at you, my dear friend!
♥ Jessica
Well this all sounds amazing to me! And I love your suggestion for gluten free substitute - I've never thought of that before but it seems so obvious now!! CC x
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, dear gal. I've had off-the-charts severe celiac disease for a few years now (one of my many chronic illnesses) and must avoid gluten like the plague, so I do like to offer my personal experience with substitutions and vintage recipes when possible/applicable. Are you a GFer yourself, too?
ReplyDeleteBig hugs & happy Halloween countdown wishes,
♥ Jessica
sure looks tasty Im so glad you've found a gluten free way to enjoy it
ReplyDeleteretro rover
These look delicious!
ReplyDeletehttp://inkandlacedesigns.blogspot.com.au/
That is an attractive looking cake. I don't do many sandwich style cakes which seems a pity, so thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteDealing with food-centred holidays with an allergy requires some planning, but it isn't impossible. I'm glad you've been able to work out which gluten free mixes will work with older recipes. I live in the nut allergy world, which compared to gluten free is (pardon the expression) a piece of cake. It isn't like you can just omit the gluten without a substitute the way I do with nuts. Anyway, I'm sure you'll have people arriving at your blog this week after doing a (last minute panicked, "Oh no, I have to bring dessert!") search for a gluten-free Halloween dessert, so give yourself a hug for saving the day!
Hi Goody, I'm very happy to have reminded you of the fun of this classic style of cake. It really is a charming one that stirs up such fond, nostalgic memories.
DeleteMy celiac disease is not deadly in the way that some allergies (nuts very much included) can be in terms of being fatal in the moment, but the degree of illness that I personally face when I ingest even a minute particular of gluten is nothing short of pure hell (my celiac symptoms are amongst the most severe that anyone can possibly experience).
I am indescribably ill for three to six plus weeks after being "glutened" and live in fear of it happening to me 24/7, countered only by the extreme measures that I take to try my absolute best to avoid that (glutening) taking place - which include almost never eating out, cooking all of my own meals when we travel (and of course at home), reading every single label on every food we buy, not being able to eat at other peoples' homes, washing my hands countless times a day (there is gluten in the house by way of the pets' foods and occasionally some things Tony eats, and it can come in via grocery bags and many other external sources, too), sometimes not being able to safely kiss Tony, and absolutely anything else I can do to avoid the dreaded gluten that could be lurking anywhere.
I also eat for/around several of my other medical chronic medical conditions (such as all of the other gastrointestinal ones, the horrible bladder condition interstitial cystitis, and chronic migraines) and a severe (but not deadly) egg allergy, so between the lot of them, I fully understand what it's like to have to be mind-blowingly careful every day without fail in the kitchen.
I'm truly sorry that your family has to face major challenges in the kitchen as well and hope with all my heart that you have a 100% nut free Halloween (and every day of the year!).
(I don't share all this on the defensive, not at all, just to let you know that I really and truly do "get it", even if I haven't experienced the need to avoid the exact same food/foods myself.)
Lots of hugs & understanding,
♥ Jessica
You don't sound defensive ;)
DeleteI hope you don't think I was making light of your allergies-I really do think we have it easy compared to people with gluten/egg/dairy allergies.
Hi Goody, thank you for replying so quickly. No worries at all, I promise you that I didn't think that, but certainly appreciate you saying as much all the same. ♥
DeleteInterestingly, celiac disease is not actually an allergy (though both gluten allergies and sensitivities do exist and many folks are affected by them), but instead an autoimmune condition that is triggered by consuming gluten (specifically gliadin, a type of gluten protein) found in wheat, which in turn causes one's body to produce immunoglobulins that viciously attack the villi lining in the small intestine and produce an inflammatory reaction.
Besides causing a huge host of potential symptoms and problems for those with the condition "in the moment" (aka, if they eat something with gluten and in the days/weeks that follow), those with CD are at a very high risk of secondary medical problems like anemia, microscopic colitis, osteoporosis (I have to routine bone density scans), malabsorption, thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies, liver disease, gastrointestinal lymphomas, skin issues, fertility and pregnancy related problems, and numerous other possible complications/conditions, too. It's definitely not a straightforward condition by any means and it remains one with so many unknowns and difficulties for those affected by it.
I don't usually go into much in the way of specifics about the various medical conditions I have here on CV (I do like to keep the general focus on vintage and other fun, positive things after all), but our discussion today has me thinking that perhaps I should copy and paste (and expand) on some of these points and write an informative post about CD one day.
Thank you again for coming back to comment. You're a good person with a good heart, and I would never think you were making light of a medical condition/issue.
♥ Jessica
I can never turn down chocolate cake, well chocolate anything really. :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-Emily
yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteafter a while you get quite experienced with your diet (gluten or lactose or whatever) and you can recreate a lot of recepies the way you need it ... i'm lactose intolerant for over twn years now. so i would take a try on this cake with dark, dark choclate and lactose free dairy products (to make it easy and not to deal with working or not working soy products).
Love your vintage recipes. In Denmark Christmas is the sweetest holiday. But this year I've bought some Halloween lollipos if some children ring my door. A few years ago I had forgotten to and then several children came trick'n'treating and I only had som ghost cakes I had baked for my guest as dessert. So that's what they got and they were happy. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's really charming! It used to be commonplace to give out handmade items like cookies and popcorn balls to trick-or-treaters here, but from about the 1970s onward (in part because of largely false scares about razors and poison being placed in Halloween candy by a few horrible people) that fell out of fashion and store bought candy became the norm.
DeleteI hope you get lots of kids coming to your door this year. Tony just bought our candy last night and he picked up enough for a small army, so I hope we get plenty of trick-or-treaters as well! :)
Festive hugs,
♥ Jessica
I always enjoy looking at the vintage recipes that you find and these sound very tasty. Is a yum-yum just another name for a cupcake? We don't have them.
ReplyDeleteGreat questions, dear Kate. It's not a word I've seen used as a synonym for cupcakes before, so I'd venture to guess that the recipe's creator just through it would be cute (as it is :)) to call wee cakes "yum-yums". I'm curious now and will keep an out in when hunting for vintage recipes to see if I ever notice this fun term used again (I'll let you know if I do).
DeleteSpeaking of names for cupcakes, I've always loved the British term "fairy cakes".
Big hugs & happy Halloween Eve, Eve wishes,
♥ Jessica
We used to make fairy cakes lots when we were little with my mum and my auntie so I have a soft spot for them!
Delete