CAKE SECRETS from Swans Down Cake Flour

I did a post on February 20, 2011 entitled "Swans Down Vintage Recipes" which was about an old cookbook that contained lovely illustrations of cakes. The book was put out by the company that made Swans Down Cake Flour. Today I feature another book.

The illustrations are not as delicate as the previous book, but they still have me wishing I was making these recipes and not just looking at them.

No information is given about the illustrator. The publishing date is 1926.















Swans Down Cake Flour was made by the Igleheart Brothers in Evansville, Indiana. The company was established in 1856. They were purchased by the Postum Cereal Company in 1926. Today Swans Down Cake Flour is sold by Reily Food Products.

Here is a newspaper ad from the Rome, Georgia Rome Tribune-Herald dated November 15, 1916.



I think it's interesting that this newspaper ad is on the same page with an ad for the Reily-Taylor Company, the company that would eventually own and market Swans Down.

You can see various photos of the original Igleheart Mill here.

(SOURCE: Williard Library - Knecht 2394)

I wonder if any of these Bob Hope Angel Food cake store displays exist anymore. That would be a real find!
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Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls

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Snapshots from the last 100+ years of children and adults with dolls. Okay, there are a couple of dogs too.

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SWANS DOWN CAKE FLOUR vintage recipes

I don't have a cover for this old cookbook, nor can I find any date on the pages. It has fallen apart and most likely belonged to my maternal grandmother. I can see from the logo on the center spread that it is for Swans Down Cake Flour. Swans Down Cake Flour has been around for over 100 years. It is now owned by the Reily Foods Company.

I do recall my mother using this flour, but eventually she used Softasilk, which is what I now use. I don't even know if Swans is available in my stores. I had forgotten about the brand until I found these pages.

The main reason I'm posting this is because of the lovely illustrations. They aren't photos. The artist appears to be named Giro. They're really nicely done so I do wish I could find something about the artist, but I'm finding nothing (and no, the fellow in Spain who has a couple images on iStockphoto is not this Giro). If anyone has examples of Giro's work let me know of the links.

Click on any image to see it larger.

So did Giro work from photos or did they have to bake all these tasty morsels? Oh my, a full on carb rush while trying to work. Hey, some of the recipes look worth it. Strawberries are just showing up at the market so I might just have to make a cake. Then again, maybe I'll just dream about it instead. Salivating as I type this. And yes, I do look like Pavlov's dog.

UPDATE: I've done another post on Swans Down Cake Flour with more vintage recipes. It can be seen here.
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New book NOW available on Amazon.
Tattered and Lost: Forgotten Dolls

This one is for those who love dolls!

Snapshots from the last 100+ years of children and adults with dolls. Okay, there are a couple of dogs too.

Perfect stocking stuffer for the doll collector on your list!