A Winter Evening’s Delight
One of the nicest ways to spend a winter evening is wrapped in a cozy blanket with a steaming mug and a new book. During World War II when there was any respite from work, reading would have been a popular way to ease the day’s burdens.
Sharing an Endless Legacy
The folks who lived through that era gave us a legacy of experience that will never be fully tapped. There is no way to grasp the full measure of World War II history—too many things happened. Many real-life adventures are almost unbelievable and ordinary people accomplished the most extraordinary feats.
Though events capture the imagination and lead to years of study, there will always be some surprising new bit of knowledge lying ahead for the one who wants to learn from that time in our history.
My grandfather, who served in the US Army throughout the Second World War, used to say, “A piece of paper will lie there and let you write anything you want on it.” He was right. That is one reason I appreciate authors who take the time to research the stories they share.
Book Review—and Gifts!
Recently I was given a World War 2-based novel by Sarah Sundin. When Twilight Breaks is a treasure. Novels, spun from imagination, are especially susceptible to “bad history.” But in small print at the top of Sundin’s novel is a short quote from her Booklist starred review: “The gold standard for historical war romance.” How true! Her careful research intensifies the light her plot shines on a specific arena of the war.
When Twilight Breaks is a worthy read even if you aren’t thrilled by romance novels. In fact, I was pulled into the imminent danger of the rising Third Reich until my pounding heart protested. A few breaks were required to allow the plot, centered around actual events, to sink in. The novel gave me a renewed appreciation for what humans can face and valiantly overcome. It is a visceral story.
Sundin’s new novel, Embers in the London Sky, is coming out in February. She has a pre-order bundle of goodies until the 5th of February, if you are looking for a wonderful author to discover. Her book is nearly half price at Baker Book House, with free shipping. The hook that caught me was the set of British wartime recipes included in the bundle.
A Wartime English Pudding
While waiting for the new novel to arrive, I have had to try all the recipes. They make a complete wartime meal and use amazingly small amounts of rationed ingredients. You can see the authentic dishes below along with a photo of author Sarah Sundin, hard at work! If you do not want to order her book, the recipes she shares come from Victory in the Kitchen: Wartime Recipes, published by the Imperial War Museums. However, I would say it is worth getting her copies of the recipes if only to get her clear instructions for how non-British people can make an English pudding!
Puddings were a common meal finale in Britain even before World War II. They are nothing like the dessert called pudding in the United States but are more like a cake, only steamed. Because they were so adaptable, they were a perfect option for homemakers wanting to make some sort of dessert.
For years, I have been intrigued by English puddings—even owning a special pudding mold—but have been intimidated by the method for cooking them. The instructions given in Victory in the Kitchen are simply, “Put into a greased basin and steam for 2 hours.” Based on that one sentence, would you understand how to cook a cake mix on the stove? Using my mold, I followed Sundin’s instructions and was rewarded with a beautiful chocolate cake—no oven needed! She explains how to steam an English pudding without using any special mold, which is a worthy accomplishment.
Desserts on the Ration
Foods such as sugar, cocoa and cooking fats were rationed in many countries during the war but especially in European nations. In England, for much of the war it was illegal for bakers to sell iced cakes. Wedding cakes were “iced” with lavishly decorated cardboard covers made to look like icing. Once the cardboard was removed, they had only the cake layer with no icing.
English steamed puddings were similar to such cakes. There are any number of wartime chocolate pudding recipes and most use very little sugar, eggs, dairy or fat. Homemakers who wanted to make an after-dinner or special occasion dessert had to be creative in the extreme. Wartime recipes might have included clarified beef tallow, vinegar, or some of the sweeter fruits and vegetables. Rolled oats or mashed potatoes often extended the flour.
These desserts were nothing like those we enjoy today even though they probably tasted sweeter after months of sugar rationing. The wartime pudding recipe Sundin shares has a lovely texture but is almost too lightly sweet to enjoy as a dessert. It does bear the slightest resemblance to Little Debbie® Devil Squares® cakes, only without the icing and filling.
Wartime rationing would have made it nearly impossible to add either, so homemakers might have added a sauce. I am including three 1940s pudding sauces from the J. R. Watkins Company that would make great accompaniments to a simple chocolate cake or English pudding. They also have limited amounts of rationed ingredients and would be tasty additions to your favorite plain chocolate cake.
References & Notes
Sundin, Sarah. When Twilight Breaks. Michigan: Revell, 2021.
Allen, Elaine. Watkins Cook Book. Minnesota: The J. R. Watkins Company, 1948.
The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum. Victory in the Kitchen: Wartime Recipes. London: Imperial War Museums, 2016.
Sundin, Sarah. Embers in the London Sky. Michigan: Revell, 2024.
If you are a history buff you may also appreciate Sundin’s “Today in World War II History” articles and her “Make It Do—The US Home Front in World War II” free gift for those who get her newsletter. You can find her at www.sarahsundin.com. Enjoy!
“A brutish man cannot know, a fool cannot understand this: though the wicked sprout like grass, though all evildoers blossom, it is only that they may be destroyed forever. But You are exalted, O Lord, for all time. Surely, Your enemies, O Lord, surely, Your enemies perish; all evildoers are scattered.”
Psalm 92:7-10