"Betty Crocker" news and stories

The odds that Betty Crocker would be asked to bake the wedding cake for Prince William and his fiancée may seem about as likely as Spam showing up on the couple's hors d'oeuvres list, but that hasn't stopped the icon of a certain kind of middle-class American domesticity from trying to get in on the royal wedding action.

And dare we say that the old gal has done a pretty good job of it.

With much fawning hoopla, Betty Crocker has created four different wedding cakes for Will and Kate in anticipation of what no doubt will soon be dubbed the "wedding of the decade" on April 29. Each cake takes as its theme part of the classic British wedding tradition of "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."

Clamato. Photo: Bludgeoner86, Flickr

Syvlia Schur -- a recipe developer for Betty Crocker, cookbook writer for companies like Campbell's and creator of products like Clamato, Cran-Apple juice and the pre-Slim-Fast diet drink Metrecal -- has died at the age of 92.

The cause of death was respiratory failure, her daughter, Jane S. Smith, told the New York Times.

Clamato, a cocktail juice made with tomato juice, onions, celery, spices and a dash of clam juice, is known for being a key ingredient in the Michelada. It is made and distributed by Mott's.

Along with independently helping food corporations develop new products, Schur was the founder of her own restaurant and food company consulting business, Creative Food Services.

"She was a pioneer of modern food usage," her Creative Food Services coworker Heidi Kost-Gross told the Times. "Her company was at the cutting edge of how food should look and taste, and above all, how it should be used."

Gluten-free product family. Photo: Betty Crocker

The gluten-free community has been in the limelight in recent months, and now they have a new celebrity of sorts backing them.

Betty Crocker now offers a line of gluten-free classic dessert mixes -- Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix, Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake Mix, Gluten Free Brownie Mix and Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix.

Among the ingredients in the mix is rice flour, a grain allowed on a gluten-free diet.

While the price point is a little higher than the normal cake mixes (the retail price is usually around $4.49), it saves a trip to the health-food store for your next gluten-free brownie craving. Plus, other comparable gluten-free mixes usually run a price point of $6 and up.

"There was always a premium paid for a product that was considered gluten-free," Elaine Monarch, executive director of the Celiac Disease Foundation, tells Slashfood. "Now that General Mills has brought that into the mainstream for a much lower price, it's fabulous."

The Betty Crocker Baking Team says they came up with the mixes after witnessing firsthand through two staff members how the disease can affect day-to-day living.

I love vintage cookbooks. I enjoy the way in which a quick glance through an old cookbook can transport me directly to a different era. Looking to understand the austerity of World War II America? Take a look at Thrifty Cooking for Wartime. Want some early seventies celebrity kitsch? Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah is sure to fit the bill. I could go on and on.

Sadly, reprints of vintage cookbooks have never been able to fill me with the same joy and interest as the originals of the same volume. There's something a little too winky-winky, isn't this fun and retro! when an old book gets reprinted. However, a copy of the the recently reprinted Betty Crocker's Guide to Easy Entertaining landed on my stack of cookbooks late last week, and it's beginning to grow on me (despite my previously registered reservations).

It's an absolute facsimile of the 1959 original, from the cover art down to the a list of prices for other Betty Crocker publications inside the first page. The section of photographs has been faithfully reproducted, showing off trays of cake and platters of unnaturally colored appetizers and nibbles. The recipes have also been untouched, leaving the reader with an eclectic assortment of dishes made from scratch as well as those that call for Betty Crocker branded ingredients.

This would be a fun holiday gift for a friend or family member who finds old cookbooks appealing, but doesn't enjoy the mustiness of older volumes. Personally, I'll take the signs of age and use any day.

Source

I shamelessly stole this idea from the Betty Crocker website but I did manage to change it up to make it a bit more interesting. It turned out very well but it had me cussing more than I imagined it would.

I started with two leveled cakes that were made in loaf pans. I did one in chocolate and one in french vanilla for a little variety. The vanilla one was cut in half to make the two smaller blocks. For the chocolate block, I managed to find chocolate marshmallows to cut in half and use for the top of the block but let me assure you that these sound a lot yummier than they actually are. The smaller blocks got strawberry marshmallows which I highly recommend for sm'ores or just nibbling. The large block was covered in blue buttercream icing and smoothed for a flat surface. Then I covered each marshmallow half, set in it's spot and attempted to even them out as well. Those little buggers can be quite uncooperative.

Next, I covered the green block and set it at a small angle against the first one. The final block was the one that presented a couple of small challenges in order to sit on its side. I iced the bottom edge of the block while holding it then placed it next to the other pieces. The top portion of the block was resting on the points of the other two and I must say that marshmallows make for a squishy support system at best. They also tend to slide off when at an angle so, for the yellow block, they were secured with toothpicks as they went on.

The cake turned out cute although I never managed to get it as smooth as I wanted. Looking back, maybe the reason I found the cake, which was actually pretty simple, a chore is that it wasn't my original idea. Normally, all the little challenges I encounter when making a cake are fun and interesting but apparently that is only true when the concept is mine in the first place.