Retro Desserts

A flip through any cookbook from the early or mid-20th century will reveal a bevy of shimmering, molded gelatin treats like this one, made with peaches and cream cheese.

Baked Alaska first made its way into print in Fannie Farmer’s 1896_ Boston Cooking-School Cook Book,_ but the idea of baking ice cream inside cake and meringue had been around for much of the century. The way was paved in the early 1800s by that genius of thermodynamics Benjamin Thompson, with his work on the resistance of egg whites to heat.

Though cream cheese frosting is typically used nowadays on red velvet cake, classic whipped cream frosting makes for a more balanced sweetness.

The French pastry chef who invented the Boston cream pie at the city’s Parker House Hotel probably didn’t anticipate that, well over a century later, the cake would still be around, sold in supermarkets, interpreted as cupcakes, as ice cream, even finding prominence as a doughnut flavor. But there’s an unwavering appeal to those two layers of golden sponge cake sandwiching thick custard, all topped with a glossy layer of chocolate.

The trifle is a very old concoction—by some accounts, more than 300 years old—but twentieth century variations have turned it into a classic, occasion-ready centerpiece. Drenched in sherry and kirsch, our version features layer upon layer of ginger cake, custard, berries, chocolate, and cream.

In 2007, chef Nancy Silverton put an Italian spin on this dessert, calling it a “budino” and topping it with caramel sauce and fleur de sel. Call it what you will, it is still, at its core, everything we’ve always loved about butterscotch pudding.

The history of key lime pie goes back to the mid-1800’s. For a no-cook version, use a store-bought crust.

Chocolate syrup, milk, and a spritz of cold seltzer combine in a frothy masterpiece of a drink that brings to mind ice cream parlors, shiny red stools, and soda jerks.

This dessert comes from the cookbook The Eating in Bed Cookbook (MacMillian, 1962). It is a voluptuous chocolate pudding, perfect for eating in the privacy of your own bed.

The chocolate-covered mints used in these delightful brownies form a soft, chewy middle.

There’s no denying the appeal of a classic banana split—ice cream, bananas, whipped cream, plenty of flavored syrups, and maraschino cherries.