The 1950s Pillsbury Grand National Contest

Orange Kiss-Me-Cake

Pillsbury Flour Mills first held a contest for wheat growers before the famous “Bake-Off.” The first baking contest, which included 97 women and three men, was held in 1949.

When time allows, I will post and tell stories of former Pillsbury Bake-off Winners and their recipes. I have a complete collection of the recipe books featuring 100 recipes per booklet; from 1949 to 2014, Pillsbury printed a cookbook you could purchase at the grocery check stand. I will also update the winning recipe for today’s kitchen. The first year’s winners published the recipe in newspaper ads for the sale of flour.

In December 1950, the Pillsbury Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest was held for the second time at the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.

My first grand prize winner is from the Senior Contestants (over 21 years of age), Mrs. Peter Wuebell. While doing research, I was trying to find out her first name. I finally found it with the 1950 Census. Before, women had credit cards in their name (1994 with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) ). Her name was Lilly (1888-1977).

Lilly married Peter, a baker at St. Matthews Bakery on 3^rd Street in San Mateo. She was born in Germany, migrated to Chicago, and they both moved to Northern California. While in New Mexico, Lilly came across a recipe for an Orange Cake, using the entire orange, rind, pulp, and juice. She claims the recipe is all her own without her baker husband having to do with any part of it.

Lilly submitted her handwritten recipe to Pillsbury for the second Grand National contest. She was one of the top 100 entries. With this honor, she was awarded $100 ($1303 in today’s dollars)—a trip to New York City with accommodations at the iconic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Lilly took the train from California to New York City, visiting for the first time alone.

Lilly’s Orange Kiss-Me-Cake (a clever play on the Broadway show “Kiss Me Kate”, which was still running at the New Century Theater on 58^thStreet when she arrived in the city for the contest) won the grand prize of $25,000 (equivalent to $326,000 today). After a few days of publicity and enjoying New York City, Lilly took the train back to California, stopping in Chicago to visit family and friends

Lilly Wuebell (left), The Dutchess of Windsor (Wallis Simpson) (Center), Phillip W. Pillsbury, President of Pillsbury Mills (Right).

If you would like the recipe and the rest of the story about Lilly, you can become a paid subscriber here: