Scrolling Pinterest one day I came across the most adorable vintage Easter advertisements. They were mostly desserts and they all had darling graphics. Each of the recipes were quite unusual, or I should say not the norm. I find it so interesting how trends in recipes have evolved throughout the years. I made it my mission to try a few of these unique retro recipes and here is how it went!
Jello Pudding Pie
On this ad, you will notice a few different recipes. I focused on the Easter Sunday Pie because that looked the most delectable for Easter. I made the mistake of purchasing instant pudding, but this was really a blessing in disguise. The instant pudding was so easy to make and just as good in my opinion. I added the mix-ins of toasted coconut and used peanut butter M&Ms for the adornment on the top. So delicious.
Easter Sunday Pie
Ingredients:
1 package Jell-O Vanilla Pudding
2 teaspoons gelatin
2 cups milk
1/3 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup Baker’s Coconut, toasted
Dash of salt
Instructions:
Prepare pudding according to package directions. Soften gelatin in a little of the cold milk. Add it, with remaining milk, to pudding. Chill until mixture begins to thicken. Fold in whipped cream, salt, and vanilla. When filling is fluffy and thick, fold in the coconut. Turn into pie shell. Chill. Garnish with Easter candy, jelly beans, or coconut.
Easter Egg Peanut Clusters
Chocolate Pecan Pie is a staple in our family for Thanksgiving, so it seemed fitting to incorporate similar elements for Easter this year. Again, this recipe was so easy to whip up. Simply melt your chocolate and mix with peanuts! The best part is the decoration. My girls loved making small “nests” with the chocolate-peanut mixture and then jazzing them up with coconut and chocolate eggs.
Easter Egg Peanut Clusters
Prepare Peanut Clusters as directed on package, reducing peanuts to 1 cup and adding 1 cup Baker’s Shredded Coconut, toasted. Shape with 2 teaspoons to form nests. Cool until firm. Fill nests with plain coconut and jelly beans. Makes 14 nests.
Big Easter Egg
As a lover of all things marshmallow, these were the recipes I was most excited to create! I decided to make the BIG Easter egg, which I thought would be similar to a Rice Krispie treat. For some reason, the combination of marshmallow creme and Rice Krispies was slightly different than a typical Rice Krispie treat. Decorating them with ribbon was a “new to me” technique. Overall it turned out very cute, but slightly dry in my opinion. I love the look of the doile cupcakes and I plan to try those next year.
Big Easter Egg
Combine 1 jar Kraft Marshmallow Creme and 5 cups puffed rice cereal, mixing well. Shape into 2 large or 4 medium eggs. Decorate with colored frosting and tie with ribbon.
Easter Egg Cake
This was by far my FAVORITE recipe of all of the vintage recipes. I can’t deny a delicious slice of chocolate cake and the way the layers were assembled for this cake was so creative. It was interesting to learn about brands that were not as common like this recipe and the Swans Down Yellow Cake mix. As far as my research showed, Swans Down still makes cake flour but I had trouble finding cake mixes. Nonetheless this cake was simple and unique, but also very tasty. I loved that this cake was in the shape of a giant egg too!
Easter Egg Cake
Bake Swans Down Yellow Cake Mix in two 8-inch layers, following directions on package. Make Easy Chocolate Frosting, using the recipe on the back of the package of Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate.
To Assemble:
Cut each cake layer in two, about 1/4-inch off-center. This will make two large and two smaller pieces.
Place these four pieces together with frosting between them, the smaller pieces on the outside. Stand them upright, cut edges down, on a cake plate.
Trim the outside pieces at the top and outer edges to help round off sides of cake for egg shape.
Then trim off lower ends of outside pieces, slicing diagonally, to give cake an oval shape at the base.
Coconut Centerpiece Cake
This is another example of a brand I have never heard of before. According to my research Durkee’s does still make a coconut extract, but I had trouble finding actual coconut flakes. This cake truly was a showstopper! The chocolate bunny and the easter basket handle (made with pipe cleaners) make it truly look like a dainty Easter basket! If you like coconut, this recipe is for you!
Coconut Centerpiece Cake
Using yellow or white cake mix, bake and assemble 8-in., 2-layer cake. With boiled icing, frost between layers, on top and sides. Cut round cookies in half. Press cookie halves into frosting at edge of cake to make crown effect for basket top. (If necessary, support with toothpicks, outside cookies.) Frost cookies. Color ¼-pkg. Durkee’s Coconut green; balance yellow. Decorate as illustrated. Make handle by braiding three different colors of double-thickness acetate ribbon. Tie ends and insert between cake layers to form arch. (I used twisted pipe cleaners for my basket handle, which was much easier!)
All of these recipes were truly unique and varied greatly from the “normal” Easter dessert recipes I think of today. I will say there was A LOT of coconut in every recipe, so I think that was an apparent trend! I hope you enjoyed this series and I hope that you go out on a limb and try a new Easter recipe for your table this year. Vintage recipes bring back so many memories and carry nostalgia with them, making them a great choice to bring to your gatherings where young and old rejoice. I am already dreaming up recipes for next year, so stay tuned!
