Tea and Cake on the River

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Those of you that know us also know we love a good cake.  Mum has been encouraging of Nick taking up the careful art of baking and in turn this leads to a growing collection of baking books. 

While thumbing through one of Nicks books (that my Mum had gifted to him at some point) I found and baked the following cake.  It was served last weekend while boating on the Hawkesbury River with friends and calls for big cups of tea!  I’d recommend it as a dense and most cake, really tasty and does look better than the photo I promise. 

One of the ingredients is milk powder which I don’t think I have bought for years if ever, I’m intrigued as to what people do with milk powder as there seemed to be a lot of it in the supermarket when I went looking   - any ideas? Make home made yogurt possibly….what else? And no it wasn’t baby formula – but I guess you could use it if you have access….why not.

From the book – A treasury of New Zealand Baking

Weekend Cake

Makes a 20cm round cake, preheat oven 180 C, lightly grease / line with baking paper your tin

1 whole orange

1 cup pitted dates

½ cup walnuts

125g butter softened

1 egg

6 tbsp milk powder

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup water

Chop the orange, including the skin, then whiz quickly in the food processor.  Add the dates and walnuts, processing until coarsely chopped.

Place the butter, sugar and egg in the food mixer and mix until smooth.  Sift the milk powder, flour and baking soda together. Combine the fruit mixture, water and dry ingredients.  Pour into the tin.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. 

Quick and simple, tastes great and keeps really well.

As a side we have a spectacular show of flowers on the Yucca plants at Castlecrag, if they weren't 12 foot tall and spiky I might have cut the flowers they are so beautiful.

Love

Mary