This vanilla cake from the 1940s is delightful. It’s soft and has a nice vanilla flavor. It’s a great base cake that would go great with any flavor of frosting or filling. It is not overly sweet which I was surprised by since there’s both corn syrup and sugar in the cake. It’ll be a recipe I make again and again! The cake really is best served the day you make it — it tastes great the next day but is a bit dry.
My daughter picked the recipe from the cookbook, Economy Recpies for Canada’s “Housoldiers” by the Canada Starch Company published in 1943 and reproduced by Forgotten Books in 2018. This is my favorite wartime cookbook!
Here’s the original recipe:
We kept the recipe the same and did not adjust the ingredients.
Let’s get started!
Cream butter and sugar together.
Add corn syrup and beaten egg yolks.
Mix well. So creamy!
Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together.
Pour vanilla into milk. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks. We are ready to mix the cake now!
Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
Once smooth, pour half the milk in. Stir carefully.
This batter is so creamy!
Add another 1/3 of the flour. Mix well.
Add remaining milk.
Stir until creamy. Add remaining flour.
The batter looks amazing!
Fold in egg whites. Do not over mix or the batter may deflate. Stir from the edge to the centre and the centre over. Fold until just incorporated.
Pour into a lightly greased 9×13” pan or two round pans.
Time to bake!
Bake at 350F for 22 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden.
Do not over bake or the cake will be quite dry.
The cake is so good! It has a unique flavor that’s hard to describe. It’s like a golden cake meets a vanilla cake. It’s so good. I’d definitely make this cake again!
Once cold, the cake can be frosted. We decided to make a frosting I grew up with which is pudding mix, dream whip mix and milk. It’s so good!
We turned our cake into strawberry shortcake.
One time when I made this cake I overcooked it so it was dry but it still tasted great!! Then we had turned it into cherry shortcake and it was delicious!
Standard Two-Egg Cake from the 1940s
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup lily white corn syrup
2 eggs, separated – egg yolks beaten, egg white beaten to stiff peaks
2 cups pastry & cake flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Cream butter and sugar together. Add corn syrup and beaten egg yolks. Mix well. Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together. Pour vanilla into milk. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks. Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Once smooth, pour half the milk in. Stir carefully. Add another 1/3 of the flour. Mix well. Add remaining milk. Stir until creamy. Add remaining flour. Stir. Fold in egg whites. Do not over mix or the batter may deflate. Fold until just incorporated. Pour into a lightly greased 9×13” pan or two round pans. Bake at 350F for 22 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Frost if desired.
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours