Mom’s Cape Breton Recipes

Mom's Cape Breton Recipes

Mom-Emma2Emma’s Recipes

If you enjoy Cape Breton Island you might just enjoy a few of Mom’s Cape Breton recipes, some?good home cooking and baking from my?Mother-in-law’s kitchen. While digging in boxes upstairs in the old homestead of my Mother-in-Law, I came across a bag full of old recipes, most of them written?on fragile paper pages and some well?used cookbooks. Here is just a few of Mom’s best…

Fish Cakes?- Barbecued Pork Chops?- Wonderful Pound Cake -?Steamed Molasses Pudding
Clear Sauce – Jumbo Raisin Cookies – Apple Muffins – Thick Molasses Cookies

Fish Cakes

1 lb. salt cod (or fresh fish plus 1 tsp. salt)
2 Cups slices potatoes
2 TBSP. butter
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/4 Cup milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
Dash nutmeg (optional)
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
Soak or scald codfish: drain and shred. Add potatoes and cover with boiling water. Cook until very tender. Drain and mash. Add butter, eggs, celery, onion, milk, pepper and nutmeg. Beat until light and fluffy. Chill. Shape into balls and flatten. Fry until brown on either side.

Barbecued Pork Chops

4 to 6 pork chops
1 tbsp. oil
1/3 cup chopped celery & onion
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Salt & pepper
2-8oz tins tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
Brown pork chops, approximately 5 minutes on each side. Place in casserole or Pyrex baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients together & pour over chops. Cover and cook in 325F oven for 2 hours or longer.

Wonderful Pound Cake

2/3 cup shortening
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 sifted cake flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
Mix shortening just to soften , gradually add sugar and cream together until light and fluffy. Add lemon rind, lemon juice and milk, and beat just enough to break up the creamed mixture. Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture and mix until smooth ? 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time beating 1 minute after each. Bake 300F for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Steamed Molasses Pudding

1 Cup raisins
3 TBSP shortening
1 Cup boiling water
1/2 Cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 Cup molasses
1 egg (beaten)
1 1/2 Cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
Place raisins and shortening in a bowl, add boiling water. Blend in sugar and molasses. Add beaten egg and sifted dry ingredients. Pour into greased 1 qt mold. Steam for 2 hours. Serve hot with desired sauce.

Clear Sauce (For the Steamed Molasses Pudding)

1/2 Cup sugar
1 TBSP flour
1 Cup boiling water
1 tsp. flavouring
1 TBSP butter
1/4 tsp. salt
Melt butter but do not brown. Stir in the flour. Add the boiling water and sugar, stirring all the time. Add flavouring.

Jumbo Raisin Cookies

2 cups raisins
1 cup water
1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 -4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
Bring water to boil; add raisins and boil 5 minutes. Cream shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add cooled raisins mixture and the remaining ingredients. Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet and bake at 350F for approximately 12 minutes.

Apple Muffins

1/2 Cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Egg well beaten
1 Cup milk
1/4 Cup melted butter
1 Cup chopped apples
2 Cups flour
4 tsp. Baking Powder
Mix in order given. Mix 2 TBSP white sugar & ? tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle over top before baking. Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes.

Thick Molasses Cookies

4 Cups flour
1 1/4 Cups shortening
1/3 Cups brown sugar
1 1/2 Cups molasses
2 Eggs
2 Teaspoons ginger
1 1/2 Teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon cloves
Little nutmeg
1/2 Cup boiling water
4 Teaspoons baking soda
2 Teaspoons salt (1 tsp was overwritten with 2 tsp)
Dissolve soda in hot water
There was no directions with this recipe, but I would assume bake at 350F for approximately 13-15 minutes.

Thank you for viewing!

23 thoughts on “Mom’s Cape Breton Recipes”

  1. Just found this site.I love recipes and old tried and true recipes are the best.I am gonna try some of those listed but am wondering if you could share more.my mom used to make molasses cookies but never used a recipe.wondering if you may have one…my favourite one was about a half inch thick with a solid cookie not adrop cookie.

    1. Thank you Annie! I did find a “Thick Molasses Cookies” recipe in Mom’s stack. Come back, I’ll have it posted soon along with a couple more recipes.

  2. I’ve been searching for years for a recipe for the Woolworth birthday cakes, with the pink and green flowers. Posting this in the hopes that maybe someone happens upon it and has that saved, I’ve never been able to find a cake that replicates those childhood memories!

  3. Many years ago when visiting Cape Breton, I had a bar cookie that was called a brunie (or broonie?) Have you ever heard of that? I would love the recipe!

    1. SINGING HINNIES
      Ingredients:
      4 c flour
      2 tsp sugar
      1 tsp baking soda
      2 tsp cream of tartar
      1 pinch salt
      1/4 c lard
      1/4 c margarene
      1 1/4 c currants or mix with sultanas
      2 tbsp milk (or enough to make a stiff dough)

      Method:
      Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt then rub in lard and margarene. Add currents and milk to make dough stiff enough to roll 3/4″ thick. Cut into thick rounds and bake on greased pan. Cook at a low temperature until brown. Turn and cook on the other side. Split and spread with butter and jam.

  4. My wife and I bought a house in L’ardoise over the labourday weekend. In the middle of April 2018 we retire and at that time we leave this godforsaken place called
    Toronto and move to a little piece of heaven that will be our home.

  5. The steamed Molasses pudding sounds delicious. How do you steam the pudding? I have never heard of steaming the pudding.

    1. Hi Lisa, the pudding mixture which is more like a cake is poured into a mold and goes in a steamer set double boiler pot of simmering water.

  6. Does anyone have a good recipe for oatcakes. These are one of my favorite treats to enjoy while in Cape Breton.

  7. Thank you for sharing Sarah, hope the wait is not too much longer for the day you come back!

  8. Thank You & ‘Blessings’ for Cape Breton Living!!! Visited in 2008 for 2 weeks; told work I wasn’t coming back for ANOTHER 2!! They could TELL I’d found MY Valhalla!! Stuck in Ontario for now – but CANNOT WAIT to MOVE Down!!! (My Beloved Sweetheart is from Annapolis Valley – WE Can’t Wait)
    Now…..A Taste of ‘HOME’!!!!! Thank You Thank You!!!!

  9. And I have been looking for the recipe for the “Clear Sauce” since my mom did. My family used to have it (flavored with vanilla) served hot, over homemade split chocolate cupcakes, just delicious. I’m glad I spotted this on a weekend and can try this.
    Thank you

    1. Hi Cindi, Glad you found the recipe and I hope it works out for you! Simply delicious served warm over any kind of cake.

  10. Whaaaaaaat? I’ve been trying to recreate the molasses pudding recipe for years! How long has this page been up?

    1. Glad you found this and hope that your Molasses Pudding is a success! The page has only been up a couple of week.

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