Maryellen's Sweet Story Cake

A retro recipe due for some time in the spotlight!

Have you been wondering what to make for Valentine's Day this year? Look no further! This vintage cake is the perfect thing for a dessert that's just a little bit different, but in a way you're sure to love. 

At least, that was my experience with it. I know I'm often quick to say I have a new favorite dessert recipe after trying out a historical or historically inspired recipe, but this cherry and almond flavored cake had a really unique flavor that totally made it worth hand pearling the decoration. Read on to see how to make this vintage 1948 recipe yourself!

Maryellen's Red Velvet Cake

Is there any cake better suited for V-Day? I don't think so!

Valentine’s Day is usually not a holiday I go out of my way to celebrate, even now that I’m engaged. I guess I’ve just always sort of associated it with a commercial excuse to buy things for people for no reason other than Hallmark telling you you should. Not that I have anything against people celebrating it themselves! It’s just never really been my thing. I guess we’ll see if that changes once Jessi and I live on the same continent... hopefully in the same apartment! 

Today’s recipe might just be the perfect example of a company convincing consumers they absolutely can’t live without their product, which helps seal the deal on making this cake a perfect treat for your Valentine’s Day evening, even if you’re choosing not to celebrate. It’s also something I have a huge fondness for, and have been itching to try my hand at making myself from scratch.

Maryellen's Red Devil's Food Cake

An experiment in baking science!

Somewhere down the line, I became a little obsessed with red velvet cake. I'm not sure why, but something about a bright red cake that still tastes nice and chocolatey is just a whole lot of fun. It's been something I've been wanting to make for the blog for a long, long time, and since this is something that's kind of become associated with Valentine's Day, February seemed like the perfect time to make it.

Except I didn't wind up making red velvet cake.

Samantha’s Valentine’s Cookies

A guaranteed hit sugar cookie with a fruity twist!

Ah, Valentine's Day. Love it or hate it, you probably have an opinion on it one way or the other. I have to admit, I'm more in the neutral territory on this one. It's far and away not my favorite holiday of the year, but I don't spend the entire day scowling wishing it was over, and I don't begrudge those who want to go all out for it.

This recipe definitely isn't going all out for Valentine's, but it still seemed like a fun way to spice up a sugar cookie, and while it's not a wholly authentic Edwardian or Victorian recipe, it still seemed like it had enough in common with Samantha's jam tart cookies (some of you might remember them as the disaster cookies) that she was the obvious choice to host this particular recipe.

There are other reasons why Sam gets to host this post, such as...