The 1940’s Experiment is a fascinating blog by a woman named Caroline whose weight loss regimen revolves around a diet of — you guessed it — 1940’s recipes. For every pound lost, she recreates and shares a 1940’s recipe. She’s had great success with the weight loss.
I remember my mother talking about rationing and the hardships people endured during WW II. In wartime eggs were in short supply, and ingenious cooks concocted workable substitutes and solutions, or else their families enjoyed the resulting sweets with textures and tastes somewhat different than before the war.
Caroline’s ginger cake is of the eggless variety. Not only that, the recipe calls for only 2 ounces of sugar, which is a little under 1/3 of a cup! A recipe today would use three times that much sugar. To enhance the rather bland taste, some cooks add a dollop of cream (or mock cream) or a swirl of honey over the top. Here is my Americanized version of the recipe. I haven’t tried it yet, but if you try it before I do, please let me know how it came out.
1940’s Ginger Cake
1 cup plain flour sifted with 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp ground ginger, 4 tbsp or 1/4 cup margarine, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp milk, 3/4 cup baking soda, 2 tsp vinegar. Preheat oven to 375.
To sifted flour, baking powder, and ginger, add in the margarine, sugar, and milk. Add baking soda and vinegar until mixture bubbles. Beat until smooth. Spoon into prepared 7 or 8 inch cake pan and bake for 20-30 minutes in preheated 375 degree oven. Turn out and let cool. With the following link you can see Caroline’s weight loss progress, as well as a multitude of interesting vintage recipes: http://1940sexperiment.wordpress.com/100-wartime-recipes/ Love this site!
