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This is Stephen Block from the
Food History Project
Welcome to the latest edition
of the Food History
Newsletter
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The History Of German Chocolate Cake
Nov 19, 2019
The year is sliding along fast for me, the holidays will be here once again for the 66 time for me.
I have been working on several things, one is my favorite German Chocolate Cake, which was my favorite cake for all my birthdays
probably starting at 10 years old. The cake was first concieved by it's creator and published a few days before my birthday
in 1957. It was about 6 years later that I first had it for my birthday.
One of the things that fascinated me was how it went viral back in the days before the internet.
And it was on the internet that I was able to research the German Chocolate Cake from almost
It's inception. There are articles that said like this one,
I can't publish the pictures in the papers because they
are copywrited, but it doesn't look much different than
the picture above. No frosting was applied to the sides,
the filling is the frosting.
An article is from the Green Bay Press Gazette Jan 30, 1958
6 months after it was first published said this ....
German Chocolate Cake Has Country Talking
"It's a mystery? Why, Why Why does everyone seem to be talking about a particular chocolate cake. What is it about this cake that is taking the country by storm. True it is perfectly delicious but so are dozens of other favorite cake recipes used now and again, and shared once or twice to friends, but this recipe starting from a home maker in Texas has traveled mostly by word of mouth north, south, east and west..... "
and from the Tampa Bay Tribune Nov 2 1957,
Ultra Cake For Chocolate Devotees
"All the way from Texas comes today's recipe sent along by Julie Brennel the stunning food editor of the Dallas Morning News. and also the star of her own daily television program.
It's a significant thing when a food editor takes the time to send along a recipe. For all the hundreds that are handled every week there is seldom one good enough to be sent to another food editor. When it is outstanding enough to be tucked into an envelope and forwarded, you can depend on it's stellar qualities.
Julie penned this note, "Thought you may enjoy this, it's a love. Has swept the southwest like an epitome. Incidentally I use 6 oz of chocolate fo a heavier flavor.
Then the recipe followed for
German Sweet Chocolate Cake.
It is not so different from the original recipe except instead of butter they used Criso shortening or margerine.
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What made this cake special, is it really that different?
This is a fascinating story that analyzes how, the creator a
house wife fom Dallas, Texas, put together this cake.
Little did she know it would be in most every bakery and grocery store,
have multiple cake mixes by Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines made
after this cake, and still after 60 years it is still popular.
and How did it go Viral ...back in 1957?
also
with step by step pictures |
From the
Oregon Statesman Journal
Friday Nov 19, 1909
Obviously this is NOT true but the ad did run for a long time....
Selling a wafer you can eat that will increase your Bust Size.
I guess there still selling crap like this for other parts of your anatomy.
Probably Necco Wafers would have worked just as well
Just for fun the history of Necco Wafers
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The Strange Flour of the Early 1900's
Did you know they use to make flour out of Cottonseeds?
One of those products they tried to promote and it just didn't go anywhere.
At the Food History Cafe some recipes that were winners in the
Golden Rod Cottonseed Flour Recipe Contest
this was from 1911, Louiville Kentucky
Also some good food history music
by
Johnny Winter, who died recently and they did a nice documentary on him
available at Amazon Prime.
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My Personal Food History Projects
This is our history of my grandmother and how she came over from Germany at the turn of the century.
Her German heritage blended with the new world and her new family and this is her story and the recipes that go with it.
We discuss our heritage and German recipes and German food history in this newsletter
The German Goodies Newsletter
Here is our Facebook Discussion Page
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Stephen Block
Thank you for joining this newsletter. I would love to hear from you!
Please write me at;
Stephen@kitchenproject.com
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