You won't be able to find these groovy desserts on many restaurant menus today
but that doesn't mean they should be relegated to the history books. In fact, they might just make you want to whip out Grandma's Betty Crocker cookbook
and whip up some of your own. Baked Alaska may have first been created in the 1800s
in celebration of the U.S. acquiring the Alaskan Territory, but it really rose in popularity in the 1950s
By the 60s, people still couldn't get enough of it. It was called a surprise cake
as you don't see its ice cream cake interior coming from its torched whipped meringue on the
outside. It's a dessert that's meant to impress your guests, and it isn't actually as hard to
make as it might seem. We've started to see a comeback of Baked Alaska in recent years
with seasonal trendy riffs like chai, caramelized peaches, and pumpkin spice. Some restaurants have started putting Baked Alaska back on their dessert menus
but your best bet will likely be to attempt this creation at home. Dates have long been a popular dessert ingredient thanks to their inherent sweetness
Date bars were created by mixing chewy dates with copious amounts of sugar
then combining with a buttery crust, baking, and cutting them into squares
Also known as matrimonial cake by Canadians, date bars go back as early as the 1930s
with the bars being a staple in the 1953 Joy of Cooking edition
Bars and other date-themed desserts got big in the 60s, but the versatility of dates has carried on to current times
If you look at any protein bar label, you'll likely find dates listed as a sweetener
You may not think of dates right away when you think of a sophisticated dessert, but we think these buttery, old-fashioned bars can give a nod to the recipes of the 60s and be a delicious, sorta healthy treat
If you're looking for a pink dessert, look no further than this classic party cake
Pink Champagne Cake contains, obviously, champagne or sparkling rosé and gets its pink hue naturally from strawberries or a touch of food coloring if you want to cut corners
Known for its airy texture, Pink Champagne Cake was traditionally paired with a Bavarian
cream or coconut filling. In more recent years, buttercream has been used as a substitute for
both the filling and icing. The Pink Champagne Cake is thought to have originated on the West
Coast in the 50s and 60s. It was so popular in the West, it was said to be one of the most
requested recipes from the Los Angeles Times decades ago. The cake had a reign of popularity
across the country from 1961 to 1965, and though it might not be as much of a mainstay these days
this classy pink cake could just be the perfect choice for that next party
in need of a splash of color and some bubbly. What's for dessert
Hello. With things the milkman brings. The 60s and Jell-O are almost synonymous
Jell-O had a place on the table in many a household at the time, and while you can still find Jell available on store shelves and in hospitals today the molded cake formations made that were so widely popularized in the 60s are not typically on the dessert radar these days
The iconic Jell-O salad allowed your creativity to shine. You could even make your Jell-O sparkling with champagne
for the fancy adult dinner party. Or for a more kid-friendly sparkling Jell-O approach
add the lemon-lime soda of your choice. While we may pass on bringing back some of the more unusual pairings
like Jell-O with seafood or vegetables, Jell-O mold cakes with their see-through additions like fruit or marshmallows are both fun and tasty
Ambrosia salad skirts the line between a dessert and a side dish
But whether you've eaten it at the beginning, middle or end of a meal, you've probably eaten it at a family dinner or two sometime in the last few decades
Ambrosia salad isn't really a salad the way we think of them now
There's no vegetables, but there is fruit, coconut, mini marshmallows and Cool Whip
I don't know what anybody knows about Cool Whip. I read a 30-page dossier that fails to use the words fake whipped cream
It's customizable based on your chosen fruits, although mandarin oranges and canned pineapple tend to be the go-to
Popular around the holidays in southern cuisine, ambrosia salad has undergone many variations over the years by chefs as a tribute
These days, you may see takes using more interesting fruit varieties than what once graced this dish
Spumoni wasn't invented in the 60s. Its origins reportedly date back to late 19th century Italy
When Italians immigrated to the States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
they brought the recipe along with them. During the 60s, spermoni was a particularly popular dessert at steakhouses and supper clubs
And while its close cousin Neapolitan ice cream is still sold by retailers nationwide
it's surprisingly difficult to get a single scoop of spermoni nowadays. What set spermoni apart from your average frozen confection was the rather involved process of producing it
Its name comes from the Italian word spuma, meaning foam, and to make spumoni correctly
three different flavors of gelato must be blended with whipped cream before being combined into a
fluffy and sweet frozen treat. After the gelato is perfectly airy, mix-ins like nuts, amaretto
cookies, and candied fruit are added before it's frozen solid, offering additional texture that
transcends your typical ice cream scoop. The most traditional flavors of gelato used are pistachio
vanilla, and cherry. Not coincidentally, when these are layered in the proper order
Spumoni closely resembles an Italian flag. While Spumoni may not be easy to find at stores
if you have some time to spare, you can whip up your own. When National Spumoni Day rolls around
on August 21st, you'll be ready. This vintage dessert is arguably still relevant. There's a
whole restaurant dedicated to the fondue part. Don't just make a reservation, make a genuine
connection Savor every moment at the melting pot Fondue originated in Switzerland as a melted cheese dip but didn reach the Americas until it made its debut at the 1964 New York World Fair
By the late 60s, early 70s, fondue had become ridiculously popular. The original chocolate fondue recipe included Toblerone chocolate, heavy cream, and Swiss
firewater, but has since been modified to include all types of sweet and salty varieties
You can usually find chocolate fondue served with graham crackers, fruit like bananas or strawberries
angel food cake or pound cake, brownies, and even Rice Krispies treats
The customization makes chocolate fondue an easy way to please all palates
This dessert deserves a place at your table if you want to enhance a party with an interactive after-dinner display
The chiffon cake has roots tied to the West Coast in 1927
It's said that insurance salesman-turned-caterer Harry Baker created the recipe but kept it a secret for two decades
only selling the cake to the Hollywood elite. General Mills was able to buy the recipe from
Baker in 1947 and published it in a Betty Crocker pamphlet the following year, and from there
the chiffon cake exploded in popularity with baking contests. The secret ingredient was using
vegetable oil instead of shortening. The recipe, called the first new cake recipe in 100 years
also separated the eggs from the egg whites. The dessert graced dining tables throughout the 60s
but has since become more of a rarity. Though you'll see chiffon cakes in speciality bakeries
you'll likely be hard-pressed to find them at your local grocer. If you're more of a pie person
there's a chiffon for you, too. That version also has West Coast roots. It was invented in 1926 by
Monroe Boston Strauss, a.k.a. The Pie King. The chiffon pie is known for its light, airy filling
thanks to a combination of egg whites and gelatin, as well as its signature graham cracker crust
In 1948, baking giant Duncan Hines repopularized the chiffon pie with a recipe that's still
circulating today. Chocolate mousse hit the height of its popularity in the mid-20th century, thanks to both the
1950s Betty Crocker cookbook and a 1961 Julia Child cookbook. You'd be hard-pressed not to find chocolate mousse on a trendy dessert menu or at a dinner
party through the 70s, but then it slipped out of the limelight. The exact reason why is unclear, but some have attributed it to the diet culture that
took over the 80s. The good news is that chocolate mousse appears to be making a comeback in recent
years. The authentic French recipes a la Julia Child typically include some sort of liqueur and
good quality chocolate. You want to melt it in a quarter of a cup of flavoring and I'm going to
melt it in dark rum. But there are plenty of quick and easy chocolate mousse recipes that take less
technique but are still tasty and pay tribute to the treat of the 60s. Serve your chocolate mousse
of choice in vintage glass dessert cups with a dollop of whipped cream for the full retro vibe the crown jewel cake is another fun jello themed dessert with whimsical colors and unique textures Also called the Broken Window Glass Cake it was so popular in the 50s
and 60s that it even ran on the back of jello boxes. The Crown Jewel Cake has a layer of either
white cake or graham cracker crust, a creamy filling, and bold-colored gelatin cubes throughout
that sparkle like jewels. You can utilize a spring-form pan, a mold, or a pie pan. To shortcut
your way to a crown jewel cake you can use boxed cake mix and boxed gelatin if you don't want to
mess with cake there's a crown jewel dessert that offers the same multi-colored jello artwork within
whipped topping whichever take on the crown jewel you choose its fun colors are sure to captivate
both adults and kids even today the tunnel of fudge cake was a second place winner at the 1966
pillsbury bake-off contest a clever baking technique separates the chocolate cake batter
into two portions with hot fudge in the middle and a trail of walnuts or pecans
There are two keys to baking the tunnel of fudge cake to perfection. The first is the
bundt pan, which became a household staple after the Pillsbury contest, thanks to this cake
The second is one package of Pillsbury Double Dutch Fudge Buttercream Frosting Mix
which Pillsbury discontinued. While the company has provided a recipe adaptation using powdered sugar and cocoa powder
the result is a pale imitation of the original recipe. although online bakers have found some success with a few modern tweaks
The end result of the tunnel of fudge cake is a fudgy molten core that rivals any molten lava
cake found at restaurants today. But be warned if you plan to recreate it at home, Pillsbury
recommends not going light on the nuts for the best tunnel cake results. The cool and creamy
grasshopper pie gets its name from its pastel green hue, akin to a grasshopper, and is inspired
by the early 1900s Creme de Mente and Creme de Cacao cocktail of the same name
The exact origin of the grasshopper pie is unclear, but it's believed to have started
circulating in cookbooks in the early 60s as a means of selling products from specific
alcohol brands. Its popularity was proven when the St. Petersburg Times was inundated
with grasshopper pie recipes in 1968, after publishing a letter from a reader inquiring
about one. Grasshopper pie was still a commonly enjoyed treat into the 70s, but its popularity
dropped after that. So what makes this pie so popular? It may be the easy, no-bake nature of
the grasshopper pie, making it perfect to prepare for a summer day. The pie is set by using melted
marshmallows as the base for the boozy filling, with some recipes even adding a touch of white
chocolate liqueur. After the pie is assembled into an Oreo cookie crust, it's popped in the freezer
for a few hours. While you may see grasshopper pie make an appearance on certain green-themed
holidays, we think the mint and chocolate combination deserves a place on the dessert
table year round