Saturday, January 26, 2008

Cakes for Australia Day


Today is Australia Day, so I give you a selection of cake recipes from a lovely little charity cookbook compiled by the Women’s Auxiliary for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The book is undated but looks to be from the late 60’s, or perhaps 70's.

Early Settler’s Birthday Cake.
Cream 2 cups dripping with 2 cups sugar. Add 1 emu egg, beating well. Flavour with vanilla.
Sift two teaspoons soda and 4 teaspoons cream of tartar with 6 cups flour. Add this a little at a time alternately with 2 cups milk. Add 2 cups currants.
Bake in 3 large tins in moderate oven.

Butterscotch Cake.
2 cups S.R. flour, pinch salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup shortening, 2 eggs, ½ cup strong, cold coffee (1 tablespoon coffee essence in half cup cold water) ¼ cup milk.
Combine milk and coffee, sift flour and salt, cream butter and sugar, add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add essence, then flour alternately with liquid and beat batter until smooth.
Bake in 8 inch pans in moderate oven 25-30 minutes.

Mission Loaf.
Put in saucepan and bring to the boil – 1 tablespoon butter, 1 cup stoned dates, 1 tablespoon full walnuts, 1 teaspooon carb soda, 1 cup boiling water, ¾ cup sugar.
Allow to cool and add – 1 egg well beaten, 1 cup S.R. flour, ½ cup plain flour, 1 tablespoon cocoa.
Bake 2 minutes.

7 comments:

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

Happy Australia Day, Janet! I would bake the Early Settler's Birthday Cake, but I'm not sure if I could get my hands on an emu egg! The Butterscotch Cake sounds tasty, with the use of coffee an interesting flavor option.

Liz + Louka said...

A belated Happy Australia Day from me too. I seem to remember reading somewhere (on the web) recently about the health benefits of emu eggs in relation to hen eggs. I'll have to see if I can dig it up.

Anonymous said...

I love these old community cookbooks :)

Rosemary said...

The Mission Loaf is a version of Manse Cake - the virtue being they keep for ever, against the moment of unexpected guests.

The Old Foodie said...

Hello Everyone; t.w - I am sure someone, somewhere has a conversion scale for emu eggs to hens eggs. I must find out, it would make an interesting postscript to the story.
liz louka - if you find the article, do please let us know (you send so many interesting comments - ever thought about having your own blog???)
maryann - I love them too - they are 'real' cooking not celebrity stuff.
rosemary - I've never heard of Manse Cake; thanks for the info. Another thing to find out about!

Liz + Louka said...

I think the emu egg thing might have been http://www.emuszine.com/Food/green_eggs,_anyone_by_maria_minnaar.htm but I'm not sure any more.
I do have my own blog, but it's not a food blog, it's baby blog, just for family and friends to keep up with. I find it hard enough to add an entry every week or so, let alone research new stuff every day like you do!

Liz + Louka said...

Ugh, that link got truncated. It's http://tinyurl.com/2vagvl