We are expecting quite a bit of rain this weekend, so my youngest son and I decided that we’d explore a pancake article from the March 1943 issue of Woman’s Day. The article includes twenty different recipes for pancakes of all sorts. We chose three pancake recipes and one syrup recipe and somehow it turned into a full day of pancakes. In fact, there are so many pancakes that I’m going to break this post into 3 parts. I hope you like pancakes, because apparently this is Pancake Week here at History in the Kitchen. (It’s also my partner-in-pancake-making’s 15th birthday this week!)
The article was called ” Pancakes for Every Meal” and it had recipes for pancakes with meat and potatoes that could be used as a main dish. There were other pancakes, like these I’m including today, that were for dessert. The point of the article was that pancakes didn’t need to be reserved for breakfast only. They were more versatile than people often think.
Whole Wheat Orange Pancakes for Dessert
- 1/2 c sifted flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 c whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp grated orange rind
- 1 egg
- 7/8 c orange juice
- 1 tbsp melted fat
Sift flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and sugar together. Add whole wheat flour and orange rind. Mix well. Combine beaten egg with orange juice and fat. Add to dry ingredients and mix lightly. Bake slowly on hot, greased griddle. Makes 10 (3 1/4 inch) pancakes. Costs 30 cents when tested in February 1943. Serve with:
Orange Toffee Sauce
- 1 egg
- 1 c dark corn syrup
- 3 tbsp butter substitute
- 1/4 c orange juice
- few grains salt
Beat egg in a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Serve hot.
Note: We used orange juice with pulp. It worked fine.
Results
The pancakes were very dense and had a light orange flavor. You could taste the orange in the sauce, too, but it wasn’t very strong or very sweet. I thought the consistency was nice. It was thick enough to not just soak into the pancake, but it was thin enough that it was easy to sop up with individual bites.
My son has perfected a pancake recipe that we adore, so I don’t think I’ll ever make these again, but I’m glad we tried something new. I’m glad we tried the sauce, too, but it wasn’t what I was expecting from a toffee sauce.
I’ll post another pancake recipe Monday. This next one was called an “old-fashioned” recipe in 1943, so I think that makes it extra old-fashioned now. We’ll see how it holds up today.
Do you have a favorite pancake recipe? I’d love to hear about it.
Other posts in this series:
History in the Kitchen 