Recipe collection
1920s Dessert Recipes
Choose from five desserts adapted from 1920s cookbooks: chocolate cakes, apple dowdy, lemon cream sherbet and a layered gelatin ring, with source notes explaining what each modern version changes.
5 recipes in 1920s Dessert Recipes
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- Vintage
- Baking & Desserts
Chocolate Mousse Icebox Cake (1920s)
Thin chocolate wafers layered with chocolate mousse in a loaf pan. No oven is needed, but the cake needs at least 12 hours in the fridge before slicing.
- Makes
- 1 loaf-sized cake
- Cooking
Allow for cooling to room temperature, then at least 12 hours chilling. Prep and cooking times are estimates; cooling time varies.
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- Vintage
- Baking & Desserts
Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Frosting (1920s)
A two-layer chocolate cake with brown sugar, natural cocoa and buttermilk, finished with chocolate buttercream. Cool both layers completely before frosting.
- Makes
- 1 9-inch two-layer cake
- Total
Includes 10 minutes cooling in pans and 2 hours cooling on a rack before frosting.
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- Vintage
- Baking & Desserts
Layered Orange and Berry Gelatin Ring (1927)
A multi-layered 1920s dessert ring combining clear citrus gelatin, fresh sliced strawberries, and a whipped fruit sponge layer, served with fresh cream.
- Makes
- 8 servings
- Total
Allow at least 4 hours for the gelatin layers to set firmly.
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- Vintage
- Baking & Desserts
New England Apple Dowdy (1920)
Thin apple slices coated in flour and cinnamon, covered with brown sugar and a little cold water, baked under a single pastry crust and turned out onto a platter, from Mrs. Wilson's Cook Book.
- Makes
- 1 dowdy (one 9-inch deep-dish pie plate)
- Total
Total includes 30 minutes of cooling in the dish before the dowdy is inverted. Baking can run to 50 minutes; go by the doneness cues.
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- Vintage
- Baking & Desserts
No-Churn Lemon Cream Sherbet (1927)
A lemon-and-milk freezer dessert with cream and gelatin, beaten light and frozen without an ice cream churn.
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total
Allow 45 to 60 minutes for the first freezer stage, then 3 to 4 hours after beating.
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- Vintage
- Baking & Desserts
Chocolate Mousse Icebox Cake (1920s)
Thin chocolate wafers layered with chocolate mousse in a loaf pan. No oven is needed, but the cake needs at least 12 hours in the fridge before slicing.
- Makes
- 1 loaf-sized cake
- Cooking
Allow for cooling to room temperature, then at least 12 hours chilling. Prep and cooking times are estimates; cooling time varies.
View recipe- Vintage
- Baking & Desserts
Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Frosting (1920s)
A two-layer chocolate cake with brown sugar, natural cocoa and buttermilk, finished with chocolate buttercream. Cool both layers completely before frosting.
- Makes
- 1 9-inch two-layer cake
- Total
Includes 10 minutes cooling in pans and 2 hours cooling on a rack before frosting.
View recipe- Vintage
- Baking & Desserts
New England Apple Dowdy (1920)
Thin apple slices coated in flour and cinnamon, covered with brown sugar and a little cold water, baked under a single pastry crust and turned out onto a platter, from Mrs. Wilson's Cook Book.
- Makes
- 1 dowdy (one 9-inch deep-dish pie plate)
- Total
Total includes 30 minutes of cooling in the dish before the dowdy is inverted. Baking can run to 50 minutes; go by the doneness cues.
View recipe