Cinnamon Teacake

65g butter, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup self-raising flour, sifted

1/3 cup milk

Cinnamon topping

10g butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons caster sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 4.5cm deep, 20cm round cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together for 2 minutes or until combined. Stir in half the flour, then half the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Level top.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn, top-side up, onto a wire rack.
4. Make topping Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Brush hot cake with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture. Cool. Serve.

Date and Walnut Loaf

We don't condone being quite so heavy handed with the butter as shown in the illustration.

1 cup pitted dates, chopped

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 1/4 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

3/4 cup traditional rolled oats

1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar

light cream cheese, to serve.

 

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 6.5cm-deep, 9cm x 19cm (base) loaf pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends.

Place dates in a heatproof bowl. Pour over boiling water and maple syrup. Stand for 15 minutes.

Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda together into a bowl. Add oats, walnuts and sugar. Stir to combine. Add the date mixture. Stir until well combined.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Smooth the surface. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand loaf in pan for 5 minutes. Lift onto a wire rack to cool. Slice and serve with cream cheese.

Rainbow Cake

This is quite involved, so you might want to make it for the Fair, or keep it in the vault for your next special birthday. Use the butter cake mixture below (which is actually three times the amount required for a normal cake) or buy three vanilla packet mixes. Another tip! Use the special gel colours from cake making shops to get this sort of brilliant colour.

4 1/2 cups of self raising flour
3 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups of milk
6 eggs
375g (4 oz) butter, melted
3 tsps vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 180oC conventional. Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat on medium speed for five minutes. That's it.
Divide your mixture up into the number of layers you want. You'll need about 1 1/2 cups of mixture per layer. Colour them their separate colours and bake each in about a 22cm tin for around 12 minutes.

To ice: trim the rounded tops of each one so the layers are completely flat ( you could use the offcuts for some psychodelic trifle?), and turn over so you are icing the firmer bottom.
Make an icing mix from icing sugar, butter and warm water and 'glue' the layers together. Coat the whole cake in a thin layer of icing and refrigerate for at least an hour for it go hard. This is called the 'crumb layer'.
Ice over the whole cake once the crumb layer is firm and you won't have crumbs in your icing.
Finish off with sprinkles, etc.

Classic Lamingtons

You can make the cake part of the lamington from scratch if you'd like. Or, you could just go and buy yourself a 23cm (or similar) square sponge cake.

23cm square sponge cake or similar
4 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
20g butter, melted
2/3 cup (160ml) milk
2 cups desiccated coconut

Cut the cake into 16 squares. Mix the icing sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. Place the saucepan over a pan of simmering water, and stir until the icing is of a coating consistency. Dip squares of cake in the icing, then into the coconut.

Basic Patty Cakes

Basic Patty Cakes
Whip them up and go to town with the decoration!

125g butter, softened
1 teas vanilla extract
2/3 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/4 cup milk

Preheat over to 180 degrees. Line two deep 12-hole patty pans with paper cases.
Beat butter, extract, sugar, eggs, flour and milk in  small bowl of electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are just combined. Increase speed to medium, beat about 3 minutes or until mixture is smooth and changed to a paler colour. Drop slightly rounded tablespoons of mixture into paper cases.
Bake for about 20 minutes.

Coconut Yogurt Cake

Coconut Yogurt Cake

Boring name, but a beautiful cake.

125g butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
200g greek yogurt
2/3 cup milk

icing
2 cups icing sugar
1 1/3 cups desiccated coconut
2 egg white, beaten lightly
pink food colouring

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease deep 23cm square cake pan and line base with baking paper.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a small mixing bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time. Transfer mixture to a larger bowl and stir in coconut, sifted flours, yogurt and milk in two batches. Spread mixture into pan and bake cake about 40 minutes. Stand in pan for five minutes before turning out.
To make the icing sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl (just to ensure you've now used every bowl in your kitchen), stir in coconut and egg white. Place half the mixture in a small bowl and tint with pink colouring. Mix it all back in together and spread over cooled cake.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread
Formerly a lunch box filler, now a status symbol!

8 tabs unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached, plain flour
1 teas baking soda
1/2 teas salt
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup shelled walnuts

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Cream butter and sugar with eggs. Add sifted flour, salt, baking soda. Fold in bananas, walnuts and vanilla. Spread into a loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes.

Berlin Apple Cake

Berlin Apple Cake
This is quite an ordinary looking cake, but you will not find a more perfect companion for a cup of tea.

1 cup white sugar
125g butter at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup self raising flour
40g tin of mixed spice
500g granny smith apples (or 400g tin pie apples), peel & sliced

Prehead oven to 170 degrees. Grease and line an 18cm tin. Place apples in a saucepan, add a little water and cook until soft. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Fold in flour and spice. Spread half of the mixture over the base of the cake tin. Spread this with the cooked apple in an even layer. Take care not to mix the apple into the cake mix. Layer the apple with dollops of the remaining cake mixture. It won't cover the top completely. Bake for 40 minutes, or until cooked when tested. Cool in the tin before turning out.