Wilburland: The Land of Health and Happiness
“This book is good for 60 delightful excursions into the wonderful and hitherto unappreciated possibilities of Wilbur Cocoa including:
HOT COCOA Springs Fascinating FUDGE Fields Cream Capped BLANC MANGE Frozen Glaciers of MOUSSE
and many other surprising and palatable sensations which you may enjoy at little expense, and with great benefit to yourself and your family.”
That’s how a vintage Wilbur cookbook—first published in September of 1912—began. Rather than just listing recipes, it was designed as a passport and travel guide through a fantasy land of chocolate, sugar, cakes, and puddings. Like Candyland, before Candyland existed.
Titled “Cooks’ Tours Through Wilburland,” the illustrations and stories come across as quaint and quirky today. But for adventurous cooks, the recipes still hold interest. We thought we’d share a few, along with some notes about how to translate cooking instructions from the turn of the twentieth century for modern kitchens.
Wilbur Cocoa Cookies
Ingredients:
- ½ cup Wilbur Cocoa
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 cups flour
Directions:
Cream the sugar and shortening together, add the milk slowly, and then the well-beaten eggs; add the Wilbur Cocoa. Sift two cups of flour and the baking powder together, add to the mixture. Add enough flour to make it hold together. Dust bake-board with flour and place thereon a third of the dough, roll out one-quarter inch thick; cut with fancy cake cutter. Bake in hot oven twelve to fifteen minutes.
Say “Wilbur Cocoa Cookies” to the girls and boys and see their faces brighten; so why not have them in a stone crock all year round! Especially good for the school or home luncheon.
Notes:
While we no longer have a product named Wilbur Cocoa, our Aristocrat Dutch Processed CocoaPowder makes a perfect 1:1 substitute. A bake board was essentially a large wooden board used as a surface to work dough on; you can substitute a large cutting board or clean counter-top, and transfer cookies to a lined baking sheet before putting them in the hot oven.
How hot is a “hot” oven, you ask? Between 400- and 425-degrees Fahrenheit.
Wilbur Cocoa Spice Cakes
Ingredients:
- ½ cup Wilbur Cocoa
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup water 2 eggs
- ½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground mace
Directions:
Mix the Wilbur Cocoa, sugar, and water together until the sugar is dissolved. Then add the yolks of eggs beaten until light. Sift the flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt, and spices together; add and mix well. Then add the whites of eggs beaten until stiff and mix very lightly. Brush gem pans with lard, put one tablespoon of mixture in each and bake eighteen to twenty minutes in hot oven.
Take these little cakes along when walking, motoring, or traveling by rail. You’ll find their spicy richness very appetizing and satisfying.
Notes:
For Wilbur Cocoa, use Aristocrat Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder. Gem pans are rare these days. They look like muffin pans, but the depressions were typically shallower and wider, and the pans themselves were usually made of cast iron. If you don’t have a true gem pan, you can make due by filling a regular muffin pan. If you don’t have lard, use unsalted butter. For a “hot” oven, set to between 400 and 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wilbur Cocoa Roll
Ingredients:
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup Wilbur Cocoa
- 1 teaspoon melted butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ cup XXXX sugar
Cake Instructions:
Break the eggs into bowl, add the granulated sugar, and beat fifteen minutes; sift in the flour and fold in very lightly; do not beat after adding the flour. Line bake pan with paper, pour in the mixture and bake twenty minutes. Dust with sugar before turning; remove the paper, spread the Wilbur Cocoa mixture over it and roll, while warm.
Wilbur Cocoa Mixture Instructions:
Mix the XXXX sugar with two tablespoons boiling water, until smooth; then add the Wilbur Cocoa, stir until smooth and creamy; add the butter and a pinch of salt; mix well and then spread over the cake.
Wilbur Cocoa Roll made for summer or winter, afternoon or evening. A piece for the outing basket or the luncheon box for school. Keeps a long time and does not dry out.
Notes:
For Wilbur Cocoa, use Aristocrat Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder. XXXX sugar is just the old-timey name for confectioner’s sugar. This recipe doesn’t specify an oven temperature: bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and monitor closely.
Wilbur Cocoa Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- ½ cup Wilbur Cocoa
- 1 cup pulverized sugar
- ½ cup boiling water
- ½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
Mix the sugar and boiling water in a bowl (place bowl in a pan of boiling water); then add the Wilbur Cocoa and salt, stirring very hard; when smooth remove from pan of hot water, stirring it five minutes; when cool spread on thin slices of bread and roll, or put between graham crackers. It takes the place of cake and is very easily made, wholesome, and nutritious.
These sandwiches are good for afternoon teas, evening affairs, school luncheons, the auto trip, or any outing. Children like the Wilbur Cocoa filling between either bread, crackers, or sweet wafers, and it is so wholesome.
Notes:
For Wilbur Cocoa, use Aristocrat Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder. Pulverized sugar is powdered sugar.
Floating Island
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup Wilbur Cocoa
- 3 eggs
- 4 cups milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
Put the milk in the top of the double boiler along with the vanilla, salt, and half the sugar. Beat the whites of eggs until dry, put a spoonful in at a time, cover, and boil five minutes. Remove with a skimmer. When all are boiled, place in shallow glass dish. Beat the yolks of eggs and remainder of the sugar. Mix the Wilbur Cocoa with a little cold milk and add to the egg and sugar; then add to the boiling milk slowly; remove from fire at once, when cold strain around the white mounds.
This dainty, light, and easily digested dessert is justly popular, and may properly be served at any season of the year.
Notes:
For Wilbur Cocoa, use Aristocrat Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder.
Wilbur Cocoa Nut Pudding
Ingredients:
- ½ cup Wilbur Cocoa
- cup green breadcrumbs
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans or nuts of choice
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
Directions:
Mix the Wilbur Cocoa, sugar, and breadcrumbs together, place in moderate oven until dry. Beat the yolks of eggs until light, add the milk and rest of ingredients. Brush bake pan with a little melted butter, pour in pan and bake in moderate oven thirty minutes. Beat the whites of eggs until dry, add one tablespoon granulated sugar, spread over the top of pudding, dust with Wilbur Cocoa; put into cool oven to dry.
This is an excellent winter pudding.
Notes:
For Wilbur Cocoa, use Aristocrat Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder. Green breadcrumbs are fresh breadcrumbs (not dried). A moderate oven is between 350 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit. A cool oven is set to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
One Final Note
If you resurrect any of these century-old recipes, the odds are good that you’ll be the first in decades. So of course, we’d love to see how it all turns out. If you share a photo of your dessert on social media, be sure to tag us @chocolate so we can take a look. Or, send your photo to us directly at wilburstore@cargill.com.