Quick Mix Cake

Quick Mix Cake

This cake breaks all the rules when it comes to the mixing, but it’s never failed to turn out great. Use it as a base for all sorts of cakes, add a fruity sugar glaze, dried fruit and some spice, cocoa for a chocolate cake or  use it to make pineapple upside down cake!

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 3 teaspoons of butter/margarine or vegetable shortening for a vegan version

2 cups of self raising flour with a pinch of salt added (or plain/all purpose flour with 3 teaspoons of baking powder)

1 cup of caster sugar

1/2 cup milk (use soy milk for a vegan cake)

2 eggs (or equivalent amount of vegan egg replacer)

vanilla essence

Method

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C or 375 degrees F

Grease and flour a 22cm or 9″ tin if you want to double the mix and make two layers. If you only want one layer, use a 20cm or 8″ tin.

Sift your flour into a bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until it’s light and creamy.

Pour into your tin and bake for 30 – 45 minutes or until it springs back when poked lightly in the centre.

Mugly rice pudding dessert from 1898

Mugly

An unusual and sweet 19th century rice pudding dessert.

Ingredients

135gm or 4 1/2oz of sticky rice. I have used medium grain rice.

1 1/4 pints or 600ml water

4 tablespoons of sugar (15ml tablespoons)

1 cinnamon stick

roasted unsalted peanuts

Makes 2 – 3 serves

 Method

Put the rice, water, sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan and cook over a gentle heat until all of the water has been absorbed.

Turn off the heat, put on a close fitting lid and leave to cool.

Remove the cinnamon stick.

Rinse some small jell-o (jelly to my non-US viewers) moulds out with water and leave them wet.

Press the rice into the moulds.

Put them in the fridge to set completely.

Put a plate on top of the moud, flip upside down and remove the mould.

Decorate with peanuts.