I wrote about a little recipe leaflet issued by Maxwell House coffee in the 50’s or 60’s, and I commented on how in some ways the recipes given for coffee morning treats were very different from what we might think of serving – scrambled egg sandwiches, sardine and parsley sandwiches, liver sausage and raw onion sandwiches? Probably not! However there were coffee morning treats I could imagine in the cake cabinet of a coffee-house today – apricot macaroons, cheese and walnut cookies,, and iced almond and cherry slice which sounds similar to a Danish pastry.
Carrot cake is very popular, but I can imagine old world gingerbread, presented in a modern way, might also become a favourite!
- 8 oz plain flour
- 4 oz butter
- 4 oz sugar
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz black treacle
- 4 oz sultanas
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
- a little warm milk
- sift dry ingredients together and add sultanas
- melt butter, sugar and treacle together in a pan and add to dry ingredients along with the beaten egg
- beat until smooth, adding the milk if and as you need it
- pour into 7″ greased and lined cake tin and bake for 1¾ hours 325ºF, 170ºC, gas mark 3
- turn out and cool on a wire rack
I can see this recipe cooked as muffins/cup cakes/buns with a swirl of frosted lemon/cream cheese topping and a little gingerbread man!
Lois Elsden 