World War II Cupcakes and Saving Private Ryan

This will be a rather short post. I just got back from work, dealing with 13-year-old students all day, and I'm exhausted. A good kind of exhausted, but exhausted nevertheless. But in many ways, the movie of the week, Saving Private Ryan, needs no words. As one of the most powerful and realistic war movies ever made, Saving Private Ryan captures the horror of war through haunting images and melodies (this is a Spielberg film after all, and in his best movies, Spielberg is above all a painter on a celluloid canvas). Besides the famous D-Day scene, the sequences from this film that stand out in my mind are those of melancholy simplicity: a close-up of raindrops spattering on a pond, flickering lights in an abandoned church, a lilting Edith Piaf song rising above the rubble of a former town.

That's one of my cats in the background, fyi

I first saw this movie in the History Through Film class I taught last school year. When my students initially began watching Saving Private Ryan, they weren't sure how to react. They giggled nervously during moments in the D-Day scene like when a soldier's helmet saves him from a bullet...and then he gets hit again and killed when he takes the helmet off. Keep in mind that most of my students were teenage boys who never saw war images outside of a video game. By the end of the film, though, many of my students were tearing up. If anything, I hope that this film taught students that war isn't a grand adventure but rather a whirlwind of tragedy and sacrifice for those involved. I'd like to dedicate this post to our veterans...thank you for your bravery in face of such horror. Thank you to Steven Spielberg for exposing these horrors to new generations with his films. And now for Dan's thoughts.

Saving Private Ryan


By the 90s Steven Spielberg had established himself as a filmmaker worthy of tackling the historical dark spots closes to his heart. Schindler’s List surprised many and silenced others who said he could never grow up. There were some flops in between, (Amistad failed to make an impression and for good reason), but five years after Schindler’s List, Spielberg once again built a solid monument to his fascination with WWII.

 Saving Private Ryan, a harrowing story of eight soldiers searching through war-torn France for the soul-surviving Ryan brother in order to send him back home, is his second masterpiece of the 90s. The most shocking part of the movie, actually, has little to do with the central plot. The first twenty minutes or so are the most brutal and heartbreaking recreations of the battle of D-Day ever filmed. Although The Longest Day was clearly an influence, Spielberg’s vision is far purer than Hollywood typically allowed.


This is a film of many virtues and the performances are not the least of them. Tom Hanks’s Capt. Miller blows his other memorable performances, even his work in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, out of the water. It’s fun to se how many future stars got a running start here including Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Giovanni Ribisi, and even Vin Diesel.

In between brilliant scenes of valor and humanity are great moments of camaraderie and brotherhood. The final product is both the most vivid depiction we have of one of history’s darkest moments outside of the memories of those who lived through it as well as perhaps the greatest testament to Steven Spielberg’s ingenuity as a filmmaker.

Thanks, Dan. And now for the recipe.

In an homage to the home front lives of WWII, I made applesauce cupcakes without sugar or butter, since those items were rationed during the war. I got the recipe from the American Girl website, as I am still a fan at age 22 of this historical fiction series for girls! With an appealing blend of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, these cupcakes are perfect for the holidays. Honey replaces sugar and gives the cakes a nice golden color. I don't usually like raisins but they work well in this recipe; the original recipe calls for walnuts as well but I leave them out so I don't clutter the taste. Finally, I find that cream cheese frosting best tops of this recipe. Remember: rationing didn't mean you had to cut sugar completely, just limit how much you used.

World War II Cupcakes

Adapted from American Girl: Molly's World Recipes  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 cup raisins, unsweetened
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I leave this out)
• Frosting (cream cheese frosting recommended)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake tray with paper or aluminum liners.
2. Put sifter into a medium mixing bowl. Sift together into the bowl the sifted flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add honey and continue to beat for 2 more minutes. Stop occasionally to scrape sides of bowl with spatula. 
4. Add half the applesauce and half the dry ingredients into the shortening mixture. Mix at medium speed until flour disappears. Add the remaining applesauce and dry ingredients. Mix until everything is blended.
5. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the raisins and walnuts. 
6. Spoon batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full.
7. Bake cupcakes for 25 to 30 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out smooth, remove cupcakes from oven and place on a rack to cool.
8. After 10 minutes, let cupcakes out of the pan and let cool completely. Spread frosting on top of cakes before eating.  

Next Time: Eggnog Bread Pudding and Brazil