November 16, 1931; Holiday Recipes 2022: Aunt Anna’s Plum Pudding & Orange Cocoanut Meringue Pie
Buriens Washington 1920 – 1950
Aunt Anna, likes to ramble on when writing down recipes, I love her commentaries about what to add and the fact that Jack (her husband?) doesn’t like as much fruit in the cake.
Nov. 16/31
Aunt Anna’s Plum Pudding
1 lb. currants
1 lb. raisins
I use the big sticky raisins
¾ lb. mixed peel
1 lb. ground suet
1 lb. bread crumbs. I take the loaf and dry it & don’t weigh it
½ lb. flour or 2 cups
8 or 10 eggs
2 cups of sugar
2 apples chopped fine & one grated carrot
A little salt, add spices that you like. I forget just how much I use, but I think;
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. allspice
½ lb. almonds chopped
Mix al together & boil. I have no pudding bowls so I put it in lard pails & boil it in the boiler and boil all day. I make it before Xmas, so all I have to do Xmas day is warm it up. But the best way is to put it on when you start the turkey baking. The longer boiling makes it nicer as it can’t boil to long. When it is cold take out of the pail as they’ll rust, & wrap in wax paper & store for further use. If it doesn’t get to moist it keeps & keeps. But if it is to moist, watch so it wont mold.
Fruit Cake
½ lb. butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 5 eggs. Fruit; half a lb. of each of currants, sultana raisins, and the sticky raisins; ½ lb. almonds. Then if you like you can add dates, figs, & put ½ lb. of cherries in the candied ones, but suit yourself about that; you may like more fruit in it, if so just add more. But Jack don’t like it with so much fruit. Bake 4 hours. I sometimes double the recipe and I take half and make the light fruit cake. I use one lb. bleached sultana raisins & one lb. cherries, ½ lb. almonds. Don’t bake this one as long, 2 hours is plenty as it has so little fruit, but the dark one is the best I think, add as much fruit as you like, and put some dates in too, and if you like it all dark, and a big one. Just double the recipe and the fruit for dark cake. The half is big enough for us.
This recipe is labeled
Orange Cocoanut Meringue Pie and credited to Jack Berch; I am wondering if this is the Jack Aunt Anna refers to in the previous recipe?
Orange Cocoanut Meringue Pie
¾ c. orange juice 3 eggs, separated
2 T. lemon juice 1 T. grated orange rind
1 ½ c. water ¾ c. cocoanut
1 c. sugar 6 T. sugar
3 T. flour 1 baked pie shell (9”)
3 T. cornstarch
¼ t. salt
Heat fruit juices and water in top of double boiler. Add 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly stir in beaten egg yolks. Cook 1 minute. Add orange rind and ½ cup cocoanut. Cool. Turn into baked pie shell. Top with meringue made by beating 6 tablespoons sugar into stiffly beaten egg whites. Add remaining ¼ cup cocoanut. Bake in slow oven (300’ F.) for 20 minutes.
Jack Berch
Oven temperatures are seldom given in the old books and recipes; most times the only say something like a slow oven or quick oven. These are the equlivent to today’s oven temperatures;
A very slow oven equals 250 to 275 degrees.
A slow oven equals 300 to 325 degrees.
A moderate oven equals 350 to 375 degrees.
A hot or quick oven equals 375 to 400 degrees.
A very hot oven equals 400 to 450 degrees.
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