23 January 2013

Good Little Cakes


There has been some baking in the kitchen this morning.  A first-time recipe for me, using my Great Grandmother's 'Good Little Cakes' recipe.  This is a photo of her, on her farm in Tassie, collecting eggs.  Maybe she was off to bake some Good Little Cakes herself?

The recipe was handwritten at the back of the Hobart Cookery Book, along with other recipes such as Green Gooseberry Jam, Ointment for Cracked Hands, Anzacs, Ginger Drops and Raspberry Slice.


It was lovely to think that here I was in 2013 baking something my ancestor, Elizabeth baked years earlier.  If she had been baking these Good Little Cakes early in her marriage which took place in 1897, then this recipe has been baked, shared and loved for at least 116 years.


I wondered about the mention of "new" milk and also the "small" cup measures of flour, but the mixture looked fine (and tasted good) so on I went.



Would you like the recipe?  Great Grandma Elizabeth's Good Little Cakes :

Beat together well 3 eggs and 3/4 cup sugar.
Add 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup new milk and 3 small cups flour
with 2 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar and 1 1/4 teaspoons of bi-carb soda.
Mix well and add 1/2 cup sultanas, 1/2 cup currants and some peel.

Put into patty tins and bake in a moderate oven for 15 minutes.


After all the romantic notions of collecting the chook eggs and using fresh milk from Bessie the cow and measuring the flour in a pretty tea cup and guessing the exact amount, it was definitely enough for this little black duck, so I reached for Betty Crocker's Creamy Deluxe Milk Chocolate Frosting and finished the job off!  It was time for tasting anyway and I had two very eager helpers at the ready.



I'm not sure what Great Grandma Elizabeth would think of the green icing, but I'm sure she'd be happy her recipe is still being used and enjoyed.  Yes, they were yummy!

On the crochet-front, this is where I'm up to with Girl 2's cheery and bright blanket.


One-third of the way through, having decided on a grid of 7 x 9.  Nine different patterns, seven of each.  21 squares done, 42 to go and still enjoying it.


Trudy

10 comments:

  1. Oh Trudy those cakes look devine!!! I am so going to try them sometime! And to think they originated around where I am! Loving the crochet too!

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  2. Fantastic amount of crotcheting you have done...keep up the good work, will it be finished by winter? Look forward to you sharing the other recipes you have...

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  3. They certainly were good little cakes Trudy......... and yummy frosting as well.
    It is nice to think that recipes are handed down through the generations....maybe tweaked along the
    way but still going strong over 100years later.
    I'm guessing there's not too many left by now!!
    The blanket is coming along beautifully, I'm so glad you are still enjoying it and you are getting there.
    Can't wait to see it finished it will be amazing....you should have a parcel arrive this week, so keep an eye
    out for the postie.

    Claire x

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  4. I can't eat the cakes I'm afraid, but I could the crochet, it's yummy, what yarn are you using? :) x

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    1. I’m so predictable with the yarn I use! I always use 8 ply, I always use wool and I try to support Aussie sheep!! So these are Cleckheaton Country.

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  5. The cakes look very yummy - I shall have to attempt baking again! The crochet is delightful and cheerful, thanks for sharing! Maggie.

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  6. What a lovely post. I love a recipe that has been handed down to me by someone else - it's a little piece of social history. That photo is great too. I imagine living on a farm in 1897 must've been hard work.

    Gillian x

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  7. How lovely to use a recipe from your Great Grandmother, and how proud she would be to know her Great Granddaughter was following in her footsteps!
    Loving your crochet squares!
    Angie x

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  8. lovely baking grandmother cakes! the blanket's going to be fab, i wonder how you will join them? it's coming along quickly, Heather x

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