Lost Recipes: Old family recipes for devil's food cake, chicken pie and more

We're at part three of our four-part look at granny recipes that readers submitted to the Montgomery Advertiser in 1940, and there are still so many delicious treats ahead. Lost Recipes is proud to serve them up, with a side of memories.

That said, if you happen to come across one of these special treasures that's from your family, I'd truly love to see you try to make it. Send a photo or video to me at [email protected].

And remember, there's still one more week to go in this series. Be sure to come back again next week to find more treasures from grannies gone by.

More: Lost Recipes Part 1: We found a treasure chest full of granny recipes

Devil’s Food Cake

Mrs. W.A. Goolsby of Cherry Street in Montgomery sent in a Devil’s Food Cake recipe that’s just heavenly. You’ll need a cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 4 egg yolks, 3 cups of flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, a cup of sour milk, a cup of boiling water, 2 teaspoons of cocoa, a teaspoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of vanilla.

Mix the cocoa with boiling water, then add the baking soda. Let it cool. Cream the shortening thoroughly, add sugar and beat it until it’s fluffy. Add the beaten egg yolks and vanilla. Beat the mixture again. Add baking powder to sifted white flour, then add it to the mixture slowly, and add the sour milk also. Add the chocolate mixture to it, then add stiffly beaten egg whites, folding over into mixture. Do not beat again. Pour this into three layer cake tins that have been oiled. When the cakes are baked, ice them with white icing.

More: Lost Recipes Part 2: Five divine dishes from our grannies

Delicious Chicken Pie

Mrs. J. Bolling Hall of Deatsville sent in a truly Southern take on chicken pot pie, with a biscuit crust.

First of all, this isn’t a quick recipe. It called for a fresh chicken, preferably a “nice fat hen.” You’d have to spend time one day dressing the chicken — getting rid of the stuff like head, feathers, and other inedible parts — and then salt the bird down. The next day, wash and boil it until it’s tender.  Depending on how fat the bird is, you’ll need up to a half cup of butter, plus two tablespoons of flour, a cup of milk and four boiled eggs cut into small pieces. (Would it be weird to use eggs from the hen you’re cooking?)

Cut the deboned cooked chicken into small pieces and set it aside. Make a smooth paste from flour in a little water and add to the water in which the chicken was boiled, and then add the butter, milk and boiled eggs. This makes a rich gravy, into which you’ll next add the chicken, salt and pepper to taste. Line a deep pan with biscuit dough about a fourth of an inch thick. Pour the chicken gravy mixture into that. Use more biscuit dough to make a top crust on the pan, and prick it with a fork. Bake until the biscuit crust is browned.

More: Lost Recipes Part 4: A last look at seven 'secret' granny recipes from 1940

Brunswick Stew

Mrs. W.C. Wingard of Selma has us ready to serve a big pot of Brunswick Stew in this recipe.

You’ll need four cans of tomatoes, 3 cans of corn, 1 can of okra, 3 pounds of Irish potatoes, 2 pounds of onion, 1 chicken, 1 and a half pounds of ground beef or pork, a stick of butter, chicken stock, red pepper, black pepper and salt.

Cook the chicken until it’s tender and remove the bones. Cook the potatoes and mash them smooth. Brown the ground beef and drain. Chop and cook the onions. Then combine all ingredients and cook about two hours, stirring constantly until it’s very thick.

Tempting Vegetable Dish

Mrs. R.E. Mathews, who lived on Highland Avenue in Montgomery, was ready to tempt you with vegetables… and bacon. Bacon makes everything better, and you’ll need a quarter pound of it for this recipe, plus a pound of new Irish potatoes, a pound of fresh snap beans, a lemon and two pounds of hard green cabbage.

Put the bacon in a pot with three cups of water. Place whole beans in with potatoes on top. Cook slowly for an hour. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. When done, remove potatoes. Cut the cabbage into thick slices and place them lengthwise on the beans in the pot. Squeeze half of a lemon over the cabbage, then cook for 25 minutes or until tender. Then arrange it all on a large platter, being careful not to break the cabbage. Place beans around in border form, potatoes in center. And, yes, somewhere in the midst of all these veggies is the bacon.

Onion Soup

Grace Thompson of Notasulga offered a fairly quick take on onion soup that will make you want to drink every drop. You’ll need a cup of minced onions, 3 tablespoons of butter, 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 bouillon cubes, 2 cups of boiling water, a cup of milk and a quarter teaspoon of salt.

Brown the onions in butter until they’re nice and caramelized. Remove the pan from heat, then add the salt and flour and stir until blended. Combine bouillon cubes and the hot water and stir until they’re dissolved. Add the bouillon water to the onion mixture. Cook and stir constantly until thickened. Add milk. Heat to boiling. Then serve immediately.

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 [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Lost Recipes: Family recipes for chicken pie, Brunswick stew and more