Almanaque Dulce 1939: Sweets from Around the World -

Almanaque Dulce 1939. Unión Nacional de Productores de Azúcar (Mexico). UTSA Libraries Special Collections.

Unión Nacional de Productores de Azúcar (Mexico). Almanaque Dulce. México, D.F. : Azúcar, S.A. [TX819.S94 .A4435]

On the third Monday of each month in 2015, La Cocina Histórica will feature a different volume of the issue of the serial publication Almanaque Dulce, sharing sweet treats from the 1930s to the 1970s.

The 1939 Almanaque Dulce is unique (at least among the early years of this publication) for including several sections organized by place of origin. In the gallery below, you’ll see Recetas Francesas, Recetas Sudamericanas, Recetas Inglesas, Recetas Americanas, Recetas Alemanas, and Recetas Rusas. The French recipes include classic pastries like magdalenas, eclaires, and crepes. South American recipes encompass recipes from countries as diverse as Cuba (Croquimol – a cooked-down coconut dessert), Bolivia (Arroz de Leche de Almendras – almond rice pudding), and Argentina (Alfajores – sandwich cookies). The English section focuses on hearty, homey desserts like pound cake and plum pudding, while the American pages offer doughnuts, fudge, and muffins. The dishes assigned to the last two nationalities have some surprises. The German recipes range from cherry tarts to brioche, to peanut cookies (which I confess I had never thought of as German) and the Russian section offers recipes that seem to heavily echo French cuisine, such as crepes, charlottes, and mousse.