Dear Constant Reader,
You all know of my devotion to Fannie Farmer’s Kitchen Cabinet, but occasionally I branch out. Scratch got me a set of recipe cards titled “Seven ways to hold a Husband”, published in 1924 by Mabel Claire (Mrs. Jack Bechdolt) who also wrote The Busy Woman’s Cookbook. 
Who knew that meme went back so far…
Anyway… The seven ways are desserts. There’s a cake and a pie and cookies and a pudding and a frozen dessert and a meringue and a fruit dish. The best part is the names! I was considering trying Gloom Chaser or Fluffy Ruffles first, but I had some egg whites leftover from making creme anglaise, so Angel Pudding it was.
You’ll need:
egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar, flour.
Start by whipping the egg whites and then add the cream of tartar. Acidity helps stabilize the the egg whites, so if you don’t have cream of tartar, you can use lemon juice or vinegar. The Victorians used copper bowls for the same reason.
Then beat the whites until they form stiff peaks, gradually adding the sugar. Finally, gently fold in flour.
The mixture bakes in “an ungreased tin in a moderate oven”. A moderate oven is about 350F; however, there’s no indication how big a tin. I ended up using a 5x 9″ loaf pan and the mixture filled it about half-way. I baked it for the recommended half hour.
I should mention that I was making a half recipe. The full recipe “will serve four persons. Halve the recipe for two.” So, for a full recipe, you could still use the loaf pan or a 8″ square or 9″ round would work as well.
Instead of cooling on a rack, you invert the pan onto a plate until the pudding is cool and then remove it from the pan.
Then there’s the sauce:
brown sugar, butter, cream, and vanilla
Melt the first three ingredients together, then add vanilla. That’s it. I followed the instruction “Do not cook much”, but I probably should have cooked it a little longer as it still had a bit of a granulated texture.
How was the Angel Pudding? Very much like an angel food cake with butterscotch sauce. Light and sweet.
It was also very easy to make with my trusty stand mixer. With mostly pantry ingredients, it’s a great way to use up egg whites. However, the half recipe was more than enough for two, like enough for four. I’d only recommend making the full recipe if you’re having a dinner party.
Angel Pudding (serves 4)
8 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup sifted flour
Whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until stiff, gradually adding sugar. Fold in flour. Spoon into a ungreased pan and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Turn pan upside down on a plate to cool. Remove from pan and serve with sauce.
Angel Pudding Sauce
2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (The recipe just says “Flavor with vanilla.” This is the amount I used.)
Heat sugar, butter, and cream together and stir until melted. Take off the heat and beat in vanilla.
Enjoy!
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Oh, The Glamourous Life! 
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