My friend Valerie recently gave me a treasure. It’s a copy of the 8th edition of Old Timey Recipes from 1975 as collected by Phyllis Connor. Inside the front cover someone wrote, “West Virginia, August 1976.” Since I would have been five years old then, I think I can safely say this is the food of my childhood!
Books like this one are priceless when I’m writing a novel and want to describe a meal or a way of preparing food. In addition to recipes “current” in 1975, Phyllis added this note, “We have put in a sprinkling of old timey recipes which are really out of date (such as sassafras jelly or hog jowl with turnip greens) but these are added because of their special interest.
Well, thank goodness–those are just what I need! There are also recipes for hickory nut cake, molasses candy, corncob jelly, vinegar pie, lime pickles, leather britches beans, clover tea, and moonshine. Talk about Appalachian cooking!
Since hickory nuts are in season right now, I thought I’d share the cake recipe with you. Of course, the REAL first step in making it is gathering and cracking all those hickory nuts. Warning, if you hit one wrong it will go flying!
HICKORY NUT CAKE
1/2 cup butter and shortening, about half and half
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped hickory nuts
4 egg whites beaten stiff
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add alternately with the milk to creamed mixture. Beat until smooth. Fold in nuts and egg whites. Pour into 2 greased 8x8x2 pans. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Cool. Before serving put layers together and frost with sweetened whipped cream. Sprinkle with chopped hickory nuts. -Mrs. H. T. Matthews
The only one of those “old timey” recipes I’d not heard of in corncob jelly.
I guess that’s the definition of frugal!
Wasn’t there a children’s book about Ms Hickorynut?? This recipe looks delicious and I bet your new cookbook will have you cooking up a storm!!
I hadn’t heard of that one–I’ll have to try and look it up!
Old cookbooks are such fun! The cake recipe sounds delicious (I’m tempted to try it – though I’ll have to substitute a local nut).
I was thinking of using pecans. We have hickory nuts, but cracking them is a lot of work!
I googled for hickory nut substitutes and was considering pecans as well. They would probably be a lot closer than hazelnuts.
Although hazelnuts ARE my favorite nut!