This book was first published in 1970 but my copy is more recent. Even so, the book shows many signs of use and even includes a recipe for Brawn: a food memory that still makes me feel ill. However, despite its age, it has simple and easy to follow recipes, if you can still obtain some of the ingredients. It also describes cuts of meats, various vegetables and conversion of Imperial measures to metric which can be very useful.
The book was never under any threat of being removed from the cookbook shelf as it is still used often for some old favourites. A recipe review was due and the more exotic ingredients were running low. In addition, the eggs were reaching their expiry date. Lemons were in the fruit bowl, walnuts in the nut, bean and dried fruit cupboard and the other ingredients were available.
As anyone who has read this blog knows I have a fondness for lemon flavoured desserts and a hatred of my Kitchen Aid mixer. The crumb of the cakes it produces is coarse and adding flour when mixing often results in extensive cleaning. Very soon I plan to purchase an Australian made hand mixer which will take up less room and, hopefully, produce a better result.
Enough unimportant information. Onto the cake.
The Recipe
As it is now winter, the butter required a little attention from the microwave so it could cream. The sugar was added and then the eggs. Removing the mix from the mixer, the flour was added and beaten by hand (holding a wooden spoon) alternately with the milk. After adding the walnuts and lemon rind as directed it was placed in a loaf tin and then the oven. Instead of only finely grated lemon rind, I included some less finely grated to intensify the lemon flavour.
Wandering away, I contemplated why my search for the lemon cake of my childhood continued to elude me. When in a supermarket, I search shelves of cake mix for a lemon cake, but it appears it is no longer popular. Who want a red velvet (pah!) cake when the heart longs for a Lemon Pudding Cake?
When the cake appeared cooked, it was removed from the oven and icing prepared.
Icing applied; the cake was not permitted to cool before it was tested. Again, the crumb was too coarse but the flavour of lemon and walnuts was appealing.
As anticipated, TAWWC (The Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook will remain on the shelf.
(Since cooking the above recipe, I made Cream Scones from the same cookbook and was very impressed at how quick they were to make and resulted in light and tasty scones. The recipe is included below.)
Apologies for how short this review is but the recipe is extremely simple and for the delayed review of Chez Kimchi. Some contributors are very busy at present.