I was sorting out the bookshelves which hold my many cookery books when I found an old battered book pushed to the back. I had completely forgotten about it and hadn’t looked at it for years. It belonged to a friend of my mother who had worked as a cook/housekeeper in private homes for most of her life.

In the book she had stuck recipes cut out from newspapers and magazines and added some handwritten recipes, both in her handwriting and some obtained from friends. The earliest cuttings date from the 1930s, then through the second world war and rationing, up to her retirement in the 1960s.

Treasure chest of vintage recipes

The book I re-discovered is a treasure chest of vintage recipes and I thought I must try some of them out. The first one I have tried was for Fruit Betties, part of a series by Elizabeth Craig which was supposed to make cooking as simple as can be. I can’t date it but it comes shortly before a cutting from the Evening Standard November 25th 1937, so was probably printed earlier that year.

Recipe to use up stale bread

The recipe is an economical one to use up stale bread. In the 1930s before the advent of modern factory made sliced bread, which stays soft for over a week, bread would have been stale in two days, so recipes to use up stale bread would have been popular. However, today if you buy sour dough or artisan bread this will be stale in two days and as it is expensive perhaps, recipes to use up stale bread will come back into fashion.

The original recipe is given in cups but as I wasn’t sure what size cup was being used I have adjusted some quantities.

I made an Apple Betty Recipe and a Rhubarb Betty Recipe.

Apple Betty Recipe

Recipe by Scones Plus More

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

Adjust servings

+

–

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces / 225 grams / 1 cup breadcrumbs

• 1 pound / 450 grams / 2 cups apples peeled, cored and cut into small pieces

• 2 ounces / 55 grams / ¼ cup melted butter

• 3 ounces / 85 grams / ⅓ cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamaon

• 1 lemon grated rind and juice

• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

• Pre-heat your oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Grease an oven proof dish with a little butter. You will need one with a capacity of approximately 1 ½ pints.
• Mix the breadcrumbs with the melted butter
• Stir the sugar, cinnamon and lemon rind into the apples.
• Mix the lemon juice and water together.
• Put a third of the breadcrumbs in the bottom of the dish, spreading in an even layer.
• Spread half the apple mixture evenly over te breadcrumbs.
• Take another third of the breadcrumbs and spread them over the apples.
• Spread the rest of the apples in an even layer and then top with the remaining breadcrumbs.
• Sprinkle the lemon juice and water over the top layer.
• Cover the dish and bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.
• Remove the cover and continue to bake until golden brown (approximately 20 minutes).
• Serve hot with custard or cream.

Rhubarb Betty

To make the Rhubarb Betty substitute 1 pound (1lb) of prepared rhubarb for the apples, the rind and juice of an orange for tye lemon and half a teaspoon of ground ginger for the cinnamon. You won’t need the water as there is usually more juice in an orange than a lemon.

Breadcrumbs for vintage recipes

I think this vintage pudding is well worth making. I make breadcrumbs with the stale ends of my loaves and pop them in the freezer as they are very useful for making stuffings and as a crunchy topping. I shall now be using them to make an Apple or Rhubarb Betty or other fruit betty when I don’t have time to make a pie or crumble.

There are other vintage recipes for using up stale bread such as bread and butter pudding, queen of puddings and bread pudding. I will be making my version of these in the coming weeks.

Until then Happy Baking!

Tanya