Lost Recipes: Victory, like these 1940 treats, is so sweet

We've had our meats and our veggies. Now it's time for dessert, the dish everyone really shows up for.

Personally, I love sweets that throw in a pinch of salty taste, and I'm not alone. That's why my much beloved, but seldom seen, chocolate covered bacon works so well. It's also the magical flavor of chocolate and peanut butter that the Reese's empire is built on.

From what I can tell, there's some traces of that flavor in these 1940 champions from the Montgomery Advertiser’s “Old Grandma’s Prize-Winning Recipe” contest. We're wrapping up of three-week run of winners with this week's Lost Recipes column, courtesy the Cake, Candy and Sweets division.

First prize! Angel Pie

Mrs. Elmer Rumer of Montgomery sent in a recipe that couldn't be described as anything but heavenly. It's Angel Pie, and here's what you need:

• 4 eggs
• Quarter teaspoon cream of tartar
• Cup of whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
• One and a half cups of sugar
• A few grains of salt

Separate the egg yolks from the whites, and set yolks aside. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar, and beat it until stiff. Add a cup of sugar and a tiny bit of salt. Beat it again until stiff and glossy. Pour it into a well-buttered 9-inch pie pan. Bake in a very slow oven (225 degrees) for 20 minutes. Increase the heat to 300 and bake for 40 minutes. Take it out and let it cool. Then take the yolks and beat them in a separate bowl, mixing in the remaining sugar, lemon juice and lemon rind. Cook over hot water, stirring occasionally until thick and smooth. Let it cool. Cover meringue shell with half of the stiffly whipped cream. Add lemon mixture, cover with remaining whipped cream and chill for 24 hours.

More: Lost Recipes: Grandma says eat your veggies like these 1940s champions

Second prize! Old-Fashioned Raised Doughnuts

By the time Mrs. Ruth Walworth of Columbia sent in her recipe for Old-Fashioned Raised Doughnuts, Krispy Kreme was just three years into creation. All I can say is that folks really knew how to make donuts back then. Now you do to, at least Walworth's version of them.

A note on this one. The 1940s recipe referred to these treats as "doughnuts" in the title, which is correct then and now. But today most people I know, including myself, write is as donut, so that's how I'm going to spell it.

You'll need:

• Cup of scalded milk (heated to just below boiling, just about 180 degrees)
• Cup of potato water (water potatoes have been boiled in)
• Half cup sugar
• Third cup butter
• A compressed yeast cake
• 2 and a half cups of flour (plus additional flour to make a dough)
• 2 beaten eggs
• Cup of mashed and sieved potatoes (this is where the potato water comes from)
• Teaspoon of salt (less if the potatoes are salted)
• Teaspoon grated lemon rind
• Teaspoon ground mace

Place the milk, potato water, sugar and butter into a deep bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and cooled to lukewarm. Add the yeast, crumbled into bits, and 2 and a half cups of flour. Beat the mixture until smooth and satin like. Cover and let it stand in a warm place until light and full of bubbles. Stir it down, Add the eggs, potatoes, salt, lemon rind, and mace. Add enough flour to make a stiff batter, and then turn onto a floured surface. Work in enough flour to make a soft dough Knead it until smooth. Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn the dough until the entire surface is greased. Cover and let it stand at a temperature of 80 to 85 until it more than doubles in bulk. Place the dough on a floured surface and roll until it's a half inch thick. Cut into large donut shapes. Allow them to remain on the floured board to rise. when more than double in size, drop into hot grease (360 to 370 degrees) so that the underside of the donuts is on top. This gives the underside a chance to rise. Fry to a light golden brown. Turn the donut and brown the other side. Remove it, let the grease drain on paper, and then dredge the donut in sugar. Makes about 48 donuts.

They note that this same dough can be used to make delicious light rolls.

More: Lost Recipes: Meat these champion recipes from 1940

Third prize! Muscadine Jam Cake and Caramel Filling

Mrs. Louis Sellers of Inverness sent in this dessert that's really two recipes. We're starting with her Muscadine Jam Cake, which I think could stand on its own. You'll need:

• Half cup butter
• Cup of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• Half teaspoon baking powder
• Teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Half teaspoon cloves
• Teaspoon allspice
• Cup muscadine jam
• 9 tablespoons buttermilk

Cream the butter and sugar thoroughly. Add the eggs, unbeaten, one at a time and beat in to the mix thoroughly. Measure dry ingredients and sift together 3 or 4 times. Add alternately with milk to first mixture, adding dry mix first. Bake in three 2-inch cake plates in moderately slow oven until done.

Next up is the caramel filling that holds it together.

Cook up of sweet cream and a cup of sugar until it forms a soft ball in water. Add a teaspoon of vanilla. Beat it until it begins to harden. Put the finished mixture between layers of the cake, and add a muscadine jam coating on top.

Honorable mention! Delicious Fudge Cake

Mrs. R.O. Russell, of Pine Street in Montgomery, earned honorable mention with a recipe that's near and dear to the hearts of chocoholics everywhere, Delicious Fudge Cake! Here's what you'll need;

• Cup of butter
• 4 eggs
• 3 squares unsweetened chocolate (large size)
• 2 cups sugar
• Cup of sifted flour
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla
• 2 cups of ground nut meats (I'd suggest pecans)

Cream the butter and sugar, add well beaten eggs, flour, melted chocolate, vanilla, and ground nuts. Beat thoroughly. Pour into greased shallow pan and bake in moderate oven (about 350) for about 45 minutes, or until thoroughly done. Cut into squares while warm.

IF YOU TRY IT

If you decide to try one of these lost recipes please send us a photo and a note on how it went. Send it in an email titled "Lost Recipes" to Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Lost Recipes: Victory, like these 1940 treats, is so sweet