Say Hello to September with Mid-Century Golden Harvest Pumpkin Pie

After one has been blogging for a number of years, there are certain things that you just naturally assumed you've covered on your site by this point in time. For example, I was shocked to recently discover (unless I've completely forgotten and now cannot find a post about such) the fact that I've never blogged a vintage recipe for a straight up classic pumpkin pie.

Seriously, how that can that be? Back in 2011 I did share a lovely mid-century recipe for Coconut Pumpkin Chiffon Pie (which is off-the-charts tasty!), but again, I can find no concrete evidence that I've shared a more traditional pumpkin pie recipe here.

Given my unending love of both autumn and pumpkin foods, that really is surprising, I know! As they say, no time like the present - and when the present just happens to me my first blog post of September, the month that ushers in fall's return, now seems like a thoroughly good moment to do so.

I know, believe me, I know - many of us are keen to savour these last final days (or weeks, if we're lucky) of summer weather are are still thinking "grill" not "casserole". While I do have one foot planted squarely in that camp for sure, the side of me that waits with boundless enthusiasm for autumn's return is already a.) decorating for the season and b.) gearing up in the kitchen for it.

I'm a huge fan of pie across the board. No matter the season, I'm there with pies aplenty and haven't let not being able to eat gluten (due to celiac disease) stop me from still whipping up plenty of pies the whole 'year round.

As much as there are varieties that make me go weak in the knees during winter, spring and summer, none quite do it for me like autumn's richly fragrant, earthy hued, gorgeously spiced versions - very much including apple, pear, sweet potato, and today's offering, Gold Harvest Pumpkin Pie (which is a classic single crust pumpkin pie with a charming ring of chopped nuts on top).




{Dessert fads may come and go, and plenty of variations exist out there on this dish, but at the end of the day (not to mention the end of the summer!), sometimes you simply can't beat the sublimely tasty treat that is a classic pumpkin pie like this fun 1950s version. Vintage recipe image source. Click here for a larger, easier to read version of this image.}


Growing up my mom made (and still makes to this day) an incredible pumpkin pie - think magazine cover worthy flaky crust, a creamy (but never runny) filling, and just the right amount of sweetness and heady spice. Her version has been the benchmark against which all other pumpkin pies, be they homemade, from a restaurant, or store bought have been judged.

Her classic version dates back to at least her own mom, my maternal grandma and is strikingly similar (minus the ring of chopped nuts) to this wonderful 1950s take on an incredible fall time treat.

We always had airy lashings of whipped cream (usually homemade, not in an aerosol can, though either does the trick fabulously!) and as such, I make a point to ensure that there's plenty on hand when I bake up a pumpkin pie, too, which is a beautiful fall time ritual unto itself for me.

 {1950s Reddi Wip ad image source}

I rarely stop at just one pie, but if that's all that happens in a given autumn, it's frequently for Canadian Thanksgiving in early October or Halloween at the end of the month.

No matter when it appears on the table, you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be there at some point - and unlike with most recipes, I rarely deviate much from the traditional iteration.

Like a great roast turkey - another much adored treat of the season - a marvelous pumpkin pie recipe needs little to enhance it. The combination of a buttery crust, satisfyingly squishy filling, and the unmistakable flavour of pumpkin + cinnamon and nutmeg is culinary perfection in my books.

If you do want to jazz things up a bit though, crumbled pralines in the filling is fabulous, as is a drizzle of caramel, butterscotch, or chocolate sauce on top, and whipped cream (as mentioned above) and vanilla, caramel, toffee crunch, apple, pear, or even pumpkin itself ice cream are delectable partners for this incredibly iconic fall time dessert.

And, as always, if shortening ("Fluffo" brand was used originally here in this recipe) isn't your cup of tea, then certainly feel free to swap in another suitable cooking fat, such as butter or coconut oil, instead.

I know that not everyone is a huge fan of this particular dessert, but if you are, I hope you'll join me in ushering in the return of fall - when it does actually arrive - with a slice of the age old classic that Pumpkin Pie.

{Fall themed 1930s magazine cover image source}

It is to our taste buds, what the spectrum of jewel tone fall autumn leaves is to the eyes - and both are elements of the season that I can never, ever get enough of.

This delightful 1950s Square Dancing Cake is sure to do-si-do its way into your heart

In recent years, multi-coloured, intricately layered cakes have been all the rage (and for good reason), but it might fascinate you to know that such culinary works of skill and art are anything but new.

They may have grown more complex in recent decades, but their history stretches back for many years and those who are not uber talented professional cake arts (myself included!) might find that they have better luck with vintage versions that are less apt to result in one's next Pinterest Fail.

Hard as it is to believe, we're more than 2/3rds of the through the beautiful month of July and that means that the August long weekend is just around the corner. With it, for those in my town, will come the return of our annual Peach Festival, which always include a big square dancing event with participants from far and wide visiting Penticton to take part.

In the spirit of such, I knew the moment that I spotted today's vintage recipe for a two-tone checkered dessert called Square Dance Party Cake that I wanted to share it with all of you (which greatly resembles a classic Battenberg cake).

Though I haven't made it yet myself, I definitely hope to whip up a GF version come the early days of August (interestingly, while putting this post together, I discovered that I'm not the only one there who wanted to give it a spin; Amanda from the blog Amanda's Cooking did just that, complete with photos, back in 2014 and shared her results in this recipe post).

This is one of those marvelous mid-century cakes that looks like it might be complicated, but actually really isn't. A few simple steps are all it takes to achieve the compliment inducing checkered pattern - plus this beautiful vintage dessert is quite budget-friendly, making it amply well suited to weeknight meals and special events/holidays alike.



{Hailing from 1950, this beautiful vintage cake utilizes two different colours of batter, a classic white frosting, and yummy squares of chocolate to create a dish worthy of any square dancing, summertime, or otherwise noteworthy event. Vintage recipe ad via Click America.}


I know, I know, I've probably said it a dozen or more times now over the years, but as folks tend to comment and ask for alternatives if I don’t mention as much, I'm all the more happy to say again that if shortening isn't your cup of tea, then by all means substitute in your favourite cooking fat, such as butter, margarine, vegan margarine, or coconut oil, here instead.

As pretty and pristine looking as the white icing shown here is, I'd be rather tempted to jazz it up a bit. Perhaps opting for a chocolate or fudge frosting, though that would of course alter the taste of the cake. Caramel, coconut, lemon, orange, cherry, strawberry, pineapple, raspberry, blueberry, mocha, mint, almond, walnut, peanut butter, cotton candy, and seven-minute frosting would all be awesome choices here, too.

And to keep the checkered theme going all the more, you could even use two different types and/or colours of icing on this cake, if you wanted - perhaps one on the inside and different version on the outside.

The chocolate squares on the top are a fun touch, but certainly not a requirement. You could swap them out for chocolate curls, fresh or candied fruit, nuts, sugared rose petals or citrus peel, any candy you please (given the Southwestern connections that square dancing has, I can't help but think how cool a choice these classic prickly pear cactus candies would be), marshmallows, sprinkles, pralines, chocolate covered coffee beans, or anything else that you felt would suit this beautiful pink and white cake nicely.

I'm not able attend our to our town’s fun annual square dance event each year, but I can whip up this charming mid-century cake cake anytime my heart desires – as can you – and that alone is worth doing dancing a few happy steps over! :)

Have an absolutely fantastic weekend, my sweet friends!

*PS* In case you missed yesterday's post about it, I wanted to let you all know that I'm currently holding a 25% off storewide Christmas in July sale in my Etsy shop until the end of this month.

Birthday party perfect 1950s Pink Coconut Snowball Cupcakes

It's hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since I last sat down to debate what I might like to serve when my next birthday rolled around (which I did by taking a look at 15 of my favourite desserts ever).

With my 32nd rounding the bend in precisely one month's time, I've already begun planning my birthday menu and though, as usual, the dessert choice is nowhere near finalized yet (more often than not, that happens at about 11:45 pm on July 9th), a quick peek through my collection of saved vintage recipe ads turn up a real charmer of a mid-century take on coconut snowball cupcakes.



{Looking very, very much like the marshmallow cream filled chocolate snack cakes that are Sno Balls, these adorable pink coconut topped cupcakes would be an ideal choice for any birthday celebration. Vintage recipe image source.}


I love chocolate, I love coconut (and as discussed in this post, it's always a safe choice when feeding my family), and I absolutely love anything pink, plus these darling little cupcakes just seem to have a fun, festive air about them.

They're also a snap to whip up, which means less time spent with the oven on during July - which is always a good thing! I like, too, that they'd be a breeze to put a gluten-free cake mix to work in and that, if so desired, one could certainly leave the coconut untinted.

You could also add in some chocolate chips or pieces and make these double chocolate snowball cupcakes. A favourite extract - say orange, mint, lemon, almond, or coffee - could also be used to jazz them up further, as could adding some festive candies or slices/pieces of fresh fruit on top of the pretty pink coconut.

If one goes in for birthday candles (and I definitely do!), it's always fun when serving cupcakes at a celebratory meal to top each one with enough candles to collectively equal the person's age - or conversely, just select a couple of cupcakes and stick a number shaped candle atop both.

And if you wanted to take this recipe in an especially elegant direction, you could forgo the coconut and instead coat each little cake in a layer of fondant or almond paste and then adorn them with candied (edible) flower petals, grapes or citrus peel. They might not look quite as "snowballish" any longer, but I assure that they'd still be every bit as scrumptious.

I've still got a month to decide on what I'll be making for this year's birthday, and you know, I'm starting to think - in the name of serious scientific taste testing, naturally - that I might just have to road test these cutie pies (err, cakes) before then.

One has to be sure, after all, that they're going to adore their birthday dessert and it's always better to veer on the side of (completely delicious) caution in these kinds of instances. :D

Celebrate the unofficial start of summer with vintage Cherry Top-Notch Pie

Today is the lead into a long weekend here in Canada, as we gear up to celebrate Victoria Day on Monday, which many in this country see as the unofficial start of summer.

Goodness knows I'm ready for such and am so excited to welcome the warmest chapter of the year back into my life again. It's a great time, not only for its own wealth of merits, but because of all of the fun, exciting events and every day pleasures alike that it houses.

From mine and Tony's birthdays to Canada Day, picnics to star gazing session atop the lofty hills that flank our town, summer will keep me on my toes and in high spirits from start to finish.

With summer champing at the bit, my mind has already turned the lush abundance of fresh produce and other seasonal fare that will call the season home. I've talked before here about how integral cherries are to the local economy, as well as the reputation, of the Okanagan Valley where we live, in addition to the plethora of memories this instantly evoke for me.

Cherries, much like peaches, are summer in fruit form around these parts and nary a roadside stand, grocery store, or farmer's market is devoid of them between (roughly) late June and the end of August (with July often being peak cherry season).

I love the fact that cherries, one of the reddest hued fruits of all, are usually out when Canada Day rolls around on July 1st. Given that our national colours are red and white, foods of the crimson variety are always a welcome treat on any festive table - just as they are for this coming holiday weekend.

It's scarcely a secret, too, that cherries are evocative of the mid-twentieth century and their use - both in decor and fashion - is legendary from the time period.

Naturally, being such a beloved fruit, they often appeared in dishes of the day, too from trendy concoctions to timeless classics. In the later camp, one finds that perpetual warm weather favourite,  cherry pie, and the 1950s recipe below looks like a real winner when it come to this marvelous dessert.






{Beautiful look and sink your teeth into alike, cherry pie is a warm weather standby that is both delicious and nostalgic at the same time. It's vibrant interior colour also makes it a fabulous choice for Canada Day and the 4th of July alike. Vintage recipe ad image source.}


Whether you opt for fresh, frozen, or canned fruit when baking, cherry pie is hard to beat and if you've never tried making one from scratch, I can't recommend doing highly enough.

For a fun twist on things, try making a chocolate or cinnamon crust instead of the standard plain variety. With a generous dollop of whipped cream, a chocolate crust filled with juicy, sweet-tart cherries and their silky juices instantly becomes redolent of another long standing favourite the world over: Black Forest Cake.

You can also add in some other spring/summertime fruit, if you have any to hand, such as - but certainly not limited to - blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, and even (trust me on this one, it's surprisingly good!) grapes.

As I always like to say with vintage dishes that call for it, if shortening isn't your cup of yesteryear tea, by all means ditch it and use butter, margarine, or your favourite vegan cooking fat substitute instead.

A good cherry pie is a thing of culinary beauty and needs little, if anything, to enhance it. However, during the dog days that lay ahead, it never hurts to dish thick slices of this timeless dessert up with some vanilla, chocolate, berry, caramel, peach, lemon, orange, or even mocha ice cream for a treat that will never go out of style or fail to win rave reviews - much like summertime itself!

Out with the old, in with the new!

Hard as it may to believe, 2016 is already more than half a month old and as such I thought now - with the marvelous hubbub of the holiday season over for most folks - was a good time to delve further into some points that I made in my recent Think Big, Dream Big post that kicked off January here.

Towards the end of that entry, I mentioned that I was planning to retire certain ongoing blog posts that had grown, to my mind - and based on post read and/or comment numbers, those of my audience as well - somewhat stagnant.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the blogging world - both inside and out of the vintage sphere - has changed a great deal in recent years. In general, far beyond the realm of my site alone, posts and topics that once garnered scads of attention, may barely catch a passing glance, whereas others (such as outfit posts, DIY tutorials, and food related entries) have only grown in popularity.

Though I do, and will always, blog for the sake of the immense pleasure and fulfillment that doing so brings me, it would be foolhardy of me to pour precious hours - each of which is worth its weight in gold amidst my ridiculously busy schedule - into posts that aren't garnering a lot of love any more and which, to be perfectly honest, in some cases I've grown a bit bored with (writing) myself, too.

As keen observers may have noticed already, towards the end of 2015, rather organically (aka, it wasn't a deliberately calculated move), I stopped capping off the end of each month with the usual Vintage Link Love entry that had been wrapping up most months for the previous couple of years. It was an enjoyable series and I know there are some die-hard fans of it here (thank you, each!), but it just wasn’t lighting my writing fires a great deal any more.

At present, I don't plan to wrap up the end of every month with a particular ongoing post series, instead, for now, it will be open to any and all topics. Perhaps one day another "end of the month" post will arise, but again, for now, nothing of that nature is in place.

I've also decided that I'm going to evolve the 25 Vintage Deals Under $100 post series into a similar entry that will continue to focus on a given theme each time around, but which won't be restricted solely by price point (or number of entries) and which may appear here at somewhat more random (aka, not strictly monthly) intervals. I know that a lot of you enjoy shopping, and learning of new sellers/online stores from, such posts, so the general concept is certainly not vanishing.



{Granted I won't be donning an acid green unitard to do so in, but I will be sweeping out some of the old post series from my blog and ushering in some new/revised ones, as well as a greater degree of "wherever the wind blows" entries on a wide array of topics here this year. Vintage Matico advertisement image source.}


After many of loyal service, so to speak, the time has come to retire my monthly Flickr Favourites post as well. I still adore, and will avidly source inspiration and blog post images alike from, Flickr, but this is another series that has experienced a sharp drop in reader interest and which I feel has run its natural course, too.

It's been quite a few months now since my last Vintage Fashionista Friday post (see here for an example of a VFF post from 2014). I haven't decided yet if this series will be be resuscitated for 2016 or not. I'm really on the fence about it. What are your feelings as to this particular ongoing post?

Less common reoccurring posts, such as Saturday Snapshots and Adventures in Vintage Advertising are staying put, appearing, as they long have, here every now and then, when the mood or inspiration for such strikes.

If we delve far back in the annals of Chronically Vintage history, there have been some other post series, too, but these have been the main ones for a few years now and those others are already long retired in my books (that isn't to say that one couldn't come back again some day, but I have no immediate plans for such).

These post series, though a fun and decent sized part of my site, were certainly not all of what I shared here and you won't be lacking for exciting entries as we continue along through 2016. In fact, it is my sincere hope and desire that by making these sorts of changes, I'll be able to bring you even more content that you not only enjoy, but eagerly look forward to.

On that front, you can plan for plenty of "what I wore" outfit posts, oodles of vintage fashion related entries, lots of vintage recipe posts, some musings from my daily life, travel related posts as the occasion trip occurs, lots more new editions to the popular "Meet a fellow vintage blogger" interview series, history related pieces, the occasional handy vintage related how-to, various YouTube videos that I create, holiday season happenings, and a smattering of this, that and the other thing that I get the desire to write about - in conjunction, of course, with the series discussed above that will be remaining/appearing here this year.

It's very important to me that this blog stays fresh, relevant and dynamic and I hope that these post series changes will go a long way on that front in 2016 and beyond. I truly welcome your impute here on these culled choices and new additions, and hope that these decisions will only help my blog to grow and flourish further, even in the face of an ever changing blogging world and a continually greater degree of social media posting dominance.

After all, who amongst us is is better suited to be "online old school" than us vintage bloggers?

Four Things

Last July my lovely Australian friend Vanessa posted an interesting blogging tag on her her site, Nessbow, that I hadn't seen before (best I could recall) in which the person posting about it shares four different answers to a slew of various quick, fun questions.

Being a fan of blog tags and the like, this one struck a chord with me and I decided right then and there that I'd post my own replies to the Four Things questions as soon as I got the chance. Little did I know it would take the better part of six months for that to happen, but as the second half of the tends to be for me/us, this past one was immensely busy.

Today, on the first Monday of the new year, a time when many of our brains are still in holiday mood (even if we're heading back to work and/or school this morning), I thought it would be fun to ease into the blogging year by giving the Four Things blog tag a spin (with speedy, breezy answers). I'm not going to tap anyone specifically to play along, so if you'd like to do so yourself, by all means have at 'er!

Four places I've lived

* Calgary, Alberta

* Dublin, Ireland

* Toronto, Ontario

* The historical living ghost town of Barkerville (technically the tiny community of Wells, right outside of it), British Columbia

Four jobs I've had

* Candy store manager

* Printing company office manager

* Professional photographer

* Freelance writer (and ghost writer)

Four things I don't eat

As I've mentioned before here over the years, there is a huge volume of different foods that I can't safely eat because of some of my medical conditions, but I'm going to take that out of the equation and think back to foods that I wasn't a fan of in those glorious days when I could have eaten whatever I pleased (though should mention, I've always been an adventurous eater and there aren't many foods I strongly dislike).

* Most types of seafood (though I do really like some, such as grilled salmon or popcorn shrimp)

* Yellow grapefruit (or its juice)

* Blue cheese of any type (mixed into a "four cheese" sauce or such, I don't mind it though)

* Lime beans

Four of my favourite foods

Again, I'm going to answer these as though I didn't have any medical dietary restrictions.

* Pizza (especially a great Margarita, ham and pineapple, or bbq chicken pizza - yum!!!)

* English trifle

* Hamburger Pie

* Stroganoff

Four films I've watched more than once

* Hocus Pocus

* Back to the Future

* Roman Holiday

White Christmas

Four TV shows I watch

* Sherlock Holmes

* Masters of Sex

* Ripper Street (Bennet Drake for the win. Always.)

* Suits
Four celebrity crushes  
* Cary Grant

* Marcello Mastroianni

** Pierce Brosnan

* Liam Neeson


Four pet peeves

In general I like to think of myself as an easy going person who doesn't sweat the small things too much and who tries to find and see the good in as many situations as I can, so this was the only tricky question, in terms of the answers, that I encountered in this post.

* Stores that close needlessly early and/or aren't open on completely logical days.

* When you want to buy something online and its sold out in your size on every single website that stocks said piece (and all the more so when its a newly released item!).

* Public restrooms - and there are no shortage of them - that doesn't provide paper toilet seat covers (I get around this by usually just carrying a purse pack of my own)

* When you get a pit in an olive that is supposed to be pitted (it's so easy to break a tooth that way!)

Four things I wish I could do

* Travel through time (1940s shopping spree, anyone? :))

* Have the health and funds needed to take an around-the-world trip

* Live in a gorgeous Victorian house akin to this stunner (who knows, maybe some day!)

* Paint like one of the great masters

Four subjects I studied in school

* English

* History

* Psychology

* Home economics


Four things that are (located) near me right now

* Our adorable little grey tabby cat, Stella

* The latest outgoing orders from my Etsy shop (where my 30% storewide winter holiday season sale is enjoying its last and final day)

* A great historical fashion book that I'm going to be reviewing and giving away here later on this month (you'll have to turn into find out which one!)

* An extra blanket (it is January after all!)


Four things I'm looking forward to this year 

* Next Halloween (though that is true of every year! :))

* Hopefully getting the chance to do a little traveling

* Making more YouTube videos

* My Etsy shop's 2nd anniversary in early May


{To learn more about a specific image used in this post, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}
  ♥ ♥ ♥

I really did aim for brevity here, so if there's anything that I mentioned that you'd like to know more about, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you very much, dear Vanessa, for posting these questions on your terrific blog and in turn inspiring me to pen today's post. I always delight in sharing more about myself through such avenues and feel like this is a great note for any blogger to kick a brand new year off on!

Flickr Favourites: September 7, 2015

{Hair pins win war ~ X-Ray Delta One}


{Lady in Green postcard ~ Totally Mystified}  


{Acorn ~ Marko_K}



{Bon Fête postcard ~ Totally Mystified}



{Web ~ Kenny Louie}



{1960 Denby Pottery ad ~ Totally Mystified}



{1957 hair colors ~ Totally Mystified}


{Male Wood Duck ~ Karen Chappell}



{1956 illustration by Joan Beale ~ Totally Mystified}



{Vogue magazine 1948 ~ Dovima2010}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}

♥ ♥ ♥


Has the first nip of autumn graced your town yet or are you still in the last energetic throws of summer? We land in the latter camp, but it won't be long now until the two seasons collide, their palettes mingling, their temperates fluctuating, their respective garden offerings changing hands in a silent waltz that has gone on for countless centuries.

The brief, gorgeous, enticing period that hangs between summer and autumn is rarely more than a two or three weeks long, but what a special, exciting time of the year it is! Warm, but not blazingly so, crisp, but not icy. It smells of lingering sunscreen and the first plumes of chimney smoke alike. School returns to session, swimsuits and wool coats pass each other like ship's in the night, one coming into rotation, as the other is loving packed away until late next summer (or a much needed winter vacation). There are peaches and pumpkins, summertime pinks and rusty fall golds, bare legs one day, knit tight clad gams the next.

There is a vitality that feels nearly palpable to the finale days of summer, as sunflowers sway in the breeze, backpack clad youngsters scampering down the sidewalk in the crisp morning light, and one's natural instinct to rouse the oven from hibernation returns as suddenly as the ability to comfortably wear open toed shoes disappears.

Today's edition of Flickr Favourites captures some of the hues and imagery itself of this fleeting window, this changing of the season guards, this new year of sorts, nearly four months before the ball officially drops.

While I do wish summer would stick around for another decade or so, I'll admit to feeling a touch giddy already about autumn's return and each merry, magical, marvelous day that it promises. Today however, with the thermostat still closer to July than January, I'll stay squarely parked in summer's camp a little longer. It's warm and sunny, tranquil and invigorating at the same time here, plus, it lets me wear my beloved vintage sundresses a little longer.

Soon though, as quickly as a spider spins a web during the night, fall will be here and I will, I assure you, be singing its praises from the amber leaf strew rooftop - seasonal blog posts aplenty squarely in tow.

Flickr Favourites: August 8, 2015

{Playtime togs ~ kristine}




{Vegetable sandwich~ Sara Domjan}



{Model in striped wool jersey dress (c. 1946) ~ Arnold Kabini}




{1959 Dole Pineapple ad ~ Totally Mystified}



{I'm feeling a little blue today ~ Steve Wilson}



{Good Housekeeping Mar 1951 ~ File Photo Digital Archive}



{1957 Saxone ad ~ Totally Mystified}



{1958 Admiral Stero ad ~ Totally Mystified}



{Baby Hérisson ~ Swann Chedemail}



{Blue and gold (1946) ~ Roz Leibowitz}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.} 

♥ ♥ ♥


August is a bold time of the year - brazen, some might even say. As a general rule, it's summer's last great stance, and indeed, is the final full month of the season. It's hot, fun, and full of rich, captivating, beautiful colours, amongst which gold, blue, dusty brown, and black always spring to mind for me.

They make me think of everything from dips in the lake when it's a sultry 35C at 11pm to evenings spent watching stars pirouette across the heavens to the colours of the sand and sagebrush strew hills that flank our town.

I love August and its intoxicating heat. I use it to nap, to talk walks, to wear my favourite sundresses, and to simply sit quietly and do nothing sometimes, in the great tradition of summers and porches everywhere.

August might feel like it flies by in the blink of an eye, but its rarely rushed and it loves to take the wheel, dictating, happily I might add, how you spend a good chunk of it. Thankfully, most of us so want to soak up every last ounce of sunshine while it’s still here, so that’s rarely a negative thing.

Stores are already starting to make room on their shelves for Halloween decorations and while I adore fall and its wonderful holidays with an unending passion, I am nowhere near getting my rake, plastic pumpkins, or Thanksgiving recipes out of storage yet.

Nope, no siree, no way. Right here, right now, I just want to watch the sun set over Okanagan Lake every night in a captivating, alluring, soulful palette that rather resembles the one featured here in this month's edition of Flickr Favourites. Coincidence? Just between you and I, not in the slightest! :)

15 of my favourite desserts ever (with vintage recipes for many of them)

With my birthday less than two weeks (yippee!), my thoughts have already started shifting towards how I'm going to spend it and what I'm going to serve up on the menu to celebrate it (sooo many possibilities!).

I've covered such things in various posts here over the years before, so I won't veer into broken record territory here again, but just to recap, between the fact that my diet is wildly restricted due to many of my chronic illnesses that are seriously affected by what I eat, that I'm a card carrying member of team Celiac Disease, have a nasty egg allergy, and, oh, you know, have eaten low carb at least 95% of the time for more than 3.5 years now (doing so is not only helpful in managing my weight, which some of my meds wreck havoc with at the best of times, but which is extremely beneficial, I find, for some of my conditions), planning the feast - very much including the sweet treat - for a special occasion is not something I take lightly.

As touched on in this vintage recipe post last December, if dining with a good number of my family members, I also happily have to keep their own dietary needs and preferences in mind, too, though for my birthday, I'll sometimes make multiple desserts so that everyone is safely covered and then just ensure that the one I'm tucking into is safe for me to consume sans awful repercussions.

Though I've always been more of a "salty tooth" than a sweet too, like most folks, I'm not adverse something on the saccharine side of things every now than then, especially when celebrating an event as marvelously exciting as a birthday.



{Just a few days stand between me and my 31st birthday, so as it rounds the bend again, I've suddenly got my favourite desserts on the brain! Image via Etsy seller Veetzy Innovations.}


The world of desserts is an incredibly diverse and exciting one, which has long been amongst the most voluminous in terms of its scope in the whole wide world. Each culture across time has created anywhere from a handful to hundreds (if not thousands, is some cases) of sugary treats that would set nearly anyone's tummy rumbling at the mere thought. In recent year the hybrid dessert (a mashup of two or more traditionally separate desserts - such as cookie cupcakes, red velvet cake s'mores, or the doughnut croissant lovechild that is cronuts) has caught on like wildfire.

Though there are some such exciting combination desserts I can eat, as I usually have to adapt dessert recipes quite heavily at the best of times to make them safe for me to tuck into, this isn't an area I've been able to explore to its fullest when cooking or baking for myself. Again, though, I do delight in those that I can and always keep my eyes open for desserts that look like they might work well on that front.

With the literal sweetest part of any celebratory meal at the forefront of my mind as my birthday rounds the bend again, I though that it would be rather fun on this last Sunday in June to shine the spotlight on a list of 15 of my favourite desserts of all-time.

I need to state emphatically before we proceed with this list that I cannot safely eat all of these things any more. Some of them have not graced my lips in over thirteen years now, and others have to be heavily modified (ditching the eggs, gluten, alcohol, caffeine, and other ingredients that massacre me ) before I can even contemplate sticking my fork, knife or spoon into them.

Much as I never stopped reading and adoring cookbooks when my diet was forced to make drastic changes though, I haven’t ceased loving these desserts either and just because I might not be able to eat them or consume them in their original form, doesn't mean that they don't still hold a special spot in my heart and memories. The latter of which is something I find always goes hand-in-hand with birthday celebrations, so that strikes me as all the more reason to highlight them here.

As some of these desserts are newer inventions and/or were not common in North America or the UK during the mid-twentieth century (or earlier), I haven't been able to find recipe pages (from cookbooks, magazines, ads, newspapers, etc) online for all of them, so when one wasn't forthcoming in my search, I tried to find an image that related to it in some capacity instead.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the desserts I enjoy (nor is it in any kind of "top favourite" order; the entries here are all completely random), but it does certainly shine the spotlight on some of my all-time favourites and I hope that you'll find some of your own most beloved sweet treats amongst them as well.




1. Dessert pizza: I'll never forget the first time I had dessert pizza. The setting was a Pizza Hut restaurant and I was maybe all of six years old. It was cherry, with crumbly, fantastic streusel topping and oodles of white icing piped across the top. It pretty much blew my young mind and I've been a devoted fan of all kinds of dessert pizzas ever since (the first time I had the apple cinnamon one from them, it did the same thing, too). You can easily make your own at home with any number of toppings, ranging from fresh or canned fruit to s'mores ingredients to ice cream, and each one will have you coming back for seconds for sure!




2. Ice cream cake: This - in the form of Dairy Queen's classic offering - was one of two staple birthday desserts for me when I was growing up (the other being homemade chocolate cake topped with mountains of seven-minute frosting), especially during the first ten or so years of my life, so it is impossible for my b-day to roll around with my mind racing straight to ice cream cake no matter how old I get.




3. Cherry Pie: I'm a huge fan of pies in general, but with the glorious abundance of cherries that are grown in Okanagan and which are in season at this time of the year, a cherry pie becomes a very natural fit for any July celebration (ditto for peaches and peach pie as the summer rolls on).




4. Nanaimo Bars: Canada has given the world many incredibly tasty recipes over the course of the few centuries, but few - if any - top the chocolate + coconut + custard filling heaven-on-your-tongue that is the mighty Nanaimo Bar.




5. Rice Pudding: File rice pudding under one of those foods that I could happily eat every single day for the rest of my life without growing tired of it. The creamier, the better, but rarely have I met a rice pudding I didn't adore and am always game to try new versions (plus, I love that most are GF right off and bat and many can be made sans eggs no problem).




6. Strawberry or raspberry trifle: Hands down the best English trifle I've ever had comes by way of my paternal Grandma, who would make one or more every summer with fresh picked raspberries from her thriving garden and generous amounts of rich custard sandwiched between the layers of fruit and cake. It, along with potato chip coated chicken and her delicious hamburger pie, were the tastes of summer at my grandparents house when I was a youngster.




7. Millionaire's Shortbread: A rich, crumbly shortbread base combine with tongue pleasing caramel (usually made with condensed milk) and alluring chocolate in this endlessly delicious treat that's served up in bars or wedges and for which anyone you make it for, will beg you for the recipe. I first discovered Millionaire's Shortbread while living in Ireland and have been hooked ever since.




8. Cheesecake: Oh silken, luxurious cheesecake, how I melt for you! Perhaps because I've had such good luck with both baked and no-bake GF, EF versions of cheesecake, it is one of the most common desserts I bake, very much including for my birthday (two years ago I made a strawberry + raspberry version was the after dinner star of my birthday bash).




9. Baklava: Honey, walnuts and/or pistachios, countless layers of pastry - oh my word, what's not to madly love about this classic Greek desserts? Though GF versions somewhat pale in comparison to the real deal, that doesn't stop me from trying my best to replicate this awesome Mediterranean dessert at least once a year (Nicole from the wonderful blog Gluten-Free on a Shoestring has a very good gluten-free phyllo dough recipe, should you be searching for one).




10. Spice Cake: Granted we just kicked off summer, but a great spice cake (likewise for pumpkin pie) is one of those awesome autumn favourites that I could happily tuck into any single day of the year (especially since one's birthday is the perfect excuse to indulge in any dessert you want, no matter what season it is most closely associated with).




11. Apple Crisp: Another fall time classic for sure, but one that can easily be whipped up any day of the year. I love to serve mine piping hot with straight-from-the-freezer vanilla ice cream or chilled with hefty wedges of sharp cheddar cheese (much like many folks enjoy their apple pie).




12. Bread Pudding: Comfort food par excellence! I love all kinds of bread puddings (also known as "bread and butter pudding") and have even come up with some great GF ones over the years, including a version that is a rife on a recipe I invented back in my teen years that marries classic bread pudding with fresh pears, cinnamon, and vanilla pudding (and in the same vein as bread pudding, I flat out adore a great Summer Pudding or Eve's Pudding, too).




13. Chocolate Brownie Pie: If you thought hybrid desserts were a new craze, guess again! Clever cooks and bakers have been fusing two or more sweet treats together for ages now, as this seriously delicious Chocolate Brownie Pie recipe attests to (this is the very same recipe I base my own version off of and can attest that it is immensely tasty!).




14. Pineapple Upside-Down Cake: Not only is this a massive mid-century dessert staple, but I find that it's surprisingly easy to make a GF and EF version that tastes strikingly similar to original versions we all know and love. Were I planning a tiki or tropical themed party, this would be one of the first things in the oven!

15. Cinnamon Buns: Bar none the best of which I've ever had are my mom's. You know Cinnabon's offerings - those sublimely scented temptations that make malls smell like pure dessert heaven? Yah, they smoke those out of the water. My mom is an amazing home cook and baker, but nothing, IMO, that she makes tops her cinnamon buns (note, the recipe above is not hers, but I think it looks pretty great, too). If I seriously had to plan my last meal, they would be a part of it (and it wouldn't matter that they have gluten in them, as, hello, last meal, gluten = mute point! ;)). Even the very modified gluten and egg-free version of it that I've been making for years now is still lip-lickingly fantastic.

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Tell me you aren't hungry as a bear after reading all those? Or at least very, very in the mood for something sweet! Which are of these scrumptious eats land on your own roundup of favourite desserts?

I must admit, with having to cut certain foods out my diet entirely for so long now, my mind does tend to gravitate towards things that I know I can still eat and thus isn't as apt as it would have been to list the same things it might have had I penned this post fifteen years ago (back then you might have found entries like lemon meringue pie, creme brulee, chiffon cake, pavlova, root beer floats, doughnuts, angle food cake, tiramisu, baked Alaska, and canolli), but I did let myself branch out still a bit here, as touched on above and it was fun to think about certain foods that I don't often get a chance to any more, unless I'm cooking for others or pining them to one of my many (many!) food related Pinterest boards.

With a touch under two weeks to go until my 31st birthday rolls around on July 10th, I still have time to finalize my birthday dessert or desserts. As is so often the case, there's a few big contenders, but I rarely end up making the final decision until the proverbial 11th hour (and on a few occasions, the literal one, too, on the evening of the 9th). Plus, in the course of putting together this post I came across two great articles 50 of the Best Dessert Recipes of All Time from Huffington Post and 92 Top Rated Desserts from Southern Living Magazine, respectively, that added some new contenders to the list big time!

It's been an age and half since I last had an ice cream cake, so that is well and truly up there, as is trifle, and a classic chocolate cake. We'll see. It will likely come down to my plans and menu for the rest of the day and what I'm in the mood for as I enter the second year of my thirties.

Whatever I make, it will be a treat of the sweetest caliber and one that will satisfy me on the sugar front if not until my next birthday, at least until Halloween rolls around again in just four months (what, I swear I'm not planning every last detail of that day already - nooo, it being my favourite holiday of all time, I'd never do that. Tee-hee-hee :D)