Helen's Orange Delight Cake

This is one of those recipes that was written out in paragraph form. It sounds delicious, though a lot of work.

Helen's Orange Delight Cake

Boil 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 6 Tbls. water in a saucepan until it spins a 8" thread. Pour hot syrup in a fine stream over stiffly beaten egg whites of 6 eggs. Continue beating until mixure is cool and stiff enough to hold shape. Beat 6 egg yolks until thick and lemon colored, then beat them into whites mixture. Beat in grated rind of one orange (2 tsps.) and juice of one orange (1/4 cup). Sift flour once before measuring. Sift 1 1/2 cups cake flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt together. Fold in egg mixture. Pour into ungreased tube pan. Bake one hour in slow oven. Invert cake until cake is completely cool.
*A slow oven is 300 degrees.
Keep the cake upside down while cooling (inverted) and in pan until completlely cool, just like an angel food cake. You may have to use a sharp knife run around cake like an angel food in order to remove it from pan.

Helen's Icing Orange Custard

Beat 5 egg yolks until thick. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup orange juice, and grated rind of one orange. Cook over hot water, stirring contantly until mixture thickens. Cool. Beat 1/2 pint whipping cream until stiff. Fold into mixture. Blend 1 tsp. lemon juice.
*Use double boiler when cooking the custard.

Helen's White Nut Cake

Helen's White Nut Cake

3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups GM Soft as Silk cake flour or
2 2/3 cup GM flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup broken nuts
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Method: Cream shortening, add sugar gradually and cream thoroughly. Sift flour once bfore measuring. Sift flour, baking sod, and salt together, and add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Add nuts in the last addtition of flour. Add flavorings. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry and fold into batter. Pour into well greased bread loaf pans (bottom and two sides of pan lined with *white paper to make it easier to remove cake). Bake one hour at 350 degrees. Use 2 3/4"x4 1/2"x8 1/2" loaf pans.
*Use parchment paper for the white paper.

Helen's Crumb Spice Cake

"This recipe won first prize in 1954" was printed with the recipe. I don't know who won the recipe contest, or where the contest was held, though I don't think it was Helen who won. But who knows?



Helen's Crumb Spice Cake

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 cup sour milk
1 tsp. soda

Mix first ingredients as for pie crust until well blended. Remove 1/2 cup mixture and save for topping. Combine egg, milk, and baking soda to remaining crumbs. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased 8x8" pan and sprinkle crumbs over tops. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Helen's Treasure Chest Cake

Another recipe without directions so I will do my best to make this work for you.

Helen's Treasure Chest Cake

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs, beaten light

1 tsp. soda in

1/2 cup sour milk*

3 Tbls. cocoa in

1/2 cup hot water

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Icing, follows

Sift together the flour and baking powder; set aside. Cream the brown sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mix well. Combine the cocoa with the hot water; set aside. Combine the soured milk with the soda and set aside. Add some flour mixture to the creamed batter and blend well, then add some of the soured milk mixture and blend well. Alternate the flour with the liquids, starting and ending with the flour so it won't curdle until it is all incorporated. Blend well. Pour cake into greased and floured pans (13"x9" or two 9" rounds) and bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes, depending on which pans are used. Test for doneness using a toothpick. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pans before removing to wire rack to cool. When cool, ice with the glaze and serve.

*To sour milk add 1/2 Tbls white vinegar to measuring cup then add milk to get half cup. Allow to set for 3-5 minutes until soured.

Glaze Icing for Cake

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbls. cocoa

Cream, to moisten

1/2 Tbls. melted butter

Sift together the powdered sugar with the cocoa. Add the melted butter and enough cream to make a glaze. If too thick, add more cream. If too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar until you have the right consistency. 

Helen's Coconut Seven Minute Frosting

Helen must have worked awful hard at making this frosting as she used a rotary egg beater the entire time! You can make life easier by using your electric mixer in place of the egg beater. I don't know if Baker's even sells coconut in cans anymore, let alone the "Southern-Style" kind, but I am sure that any coconut would do for this recipe. It has been a few years since I've seen coconut in a can. I can remember selling a lot of Baker's canned coconut for the holidays back when I worked in a grocery, and I can even remember buying it myself when this exact amount was needed (7 ounces).

Helen's Coconut Seven Minute Frosting

2 egg whites, unbeaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 Tbls. water
1 1/2 tsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can Baker's Southern-Style coconut*

Combine egg whites, sugar, water, and corn syrup in top of double boiler, beat with rotary beater until thoroughly mixed. Place over rapidly boiling water, beat constantly with rotary egg beater, and cook seven minutes, or until frosting will stand in peaks. Remove from boiling water; add vanilla; beat until thick enough to spread. Spread on cake; sprinkle with coconut while frosting is soft. Makes enough frosting to cover tops and sides of two 9" layers.

Helen's Seven Minute Icing

This is one recipe Helen obviously made often. If you've ever made Seven Minute Icing you know that it is gooey just like melted marshmallows, but it is also light and fluffy and goes well on just about any cake, especially chocolate. If this recipe is too vague for you then look up a similar one in just about any cook book and use their directions. This is just how Helen had the directions written in her cook book.

Helen's Seven Minute Icing

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 egg white
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Put sugar, water, and unbeaten egg white in double boiler over hot water. Cook 7 minutes, beat constantly. Add vanilla.

Helen's Pumpkin Pie II

Helen's Pumpkin Pie II

2 cups pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp.cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1 cup milk
Unbaked 9" pie shell

Mix in order given. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 425 degree oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until a silver knife inserted in side comes out clean. About 45 minutes.