100 recipes in 1 year update: 72 recipes re-created and 28 left to re-create before October 1st!!
This weekend was time to cook a few sweet things…
Believe it or not, the sugar ration is way too generous for me, probably because I don’t actually consume many cakes nor desserts, so I always have plenty available. HOWEVER, as a 1940s housewife, I think to keep the home-front morale up, it would have been important to use the ration for sweet desserts, to keep those little pouty faces smiling…
This is a very simple eggless ginger cake recipe. I found it tasted rather boring when it came out of the oven so decided it needed livening up with some mock cream. I used this mock cream recipe but to make it less gritty I ground it down further using a pestle and mortar..
So my lunch was tea and ginger cake, which was rather nice for a change..
Eggless ginger cake
- 6 oz (175g) of self-raising flour or plain flour sifted with 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 2 oz (50g) of margarine (vegans use a dairy free alternative)
- 2 oz (50g) sugar
- 6 tablespoons (10 in North America) of milk (vegans use almond or hemp milk)
- 3/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoons of vinegar
Method
- Grease and flour a 7 inch cake tin
- Pre-heat oven to 190C (375F)
- Sift the flour (and baking powder if using) with the ginger into the mixing bowl
- Rub in the margarine, mix in the sugar and then the milk
- Blend the bicarbonate of soda and the vinegar (the mixture will bubble)
- Beat into the cake mixture
- Spoon into the tin and cook for 20-30 minutes
Wow!!! this tasted great when i made it!
I enjoyed this a lot! My first foray into wartime recipes, and the vinegar worried me a bit, but it turned out nicely! Definitely less sweet than I’m used to with modern cakes, but I drizzled some honey on it for a little more sweetness. I’m hoping to combine your recipes with Myfitnesspal and some other weight loss tools to help me lose a bit of the extra hanging around. I’ve got colcannon up on the menu next and am very excited about it 🙂
Hi, is it white vinegar or brown malt vinegar for this recipe please
Any old vinegar will do as its only a small amount. Preferably a white or cider or wine but OK with all (except savoury vinegars with garlic in and stuff LOL!)
Lemon or any acid will do as it’s only to activate the rising agent. You can also omit the acid if your liquid is buttermilk, sour milk or plain yogurt – it’s basic chemistry.
Here is the vinegar cake recipe from “We’ll Eat Again” by Margaritte Patten
6 oz self raising flour
3 oz margarine
3 oz sugar
1 tbl vinegar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 oz mixed dried fruit
Sift the flour. Cream margarine and sugar together. Mix the milk, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda (it will rise and froth) then blend altogether and then stir in fruit. Bake in a 7 ” lined tin at 350F/180c for 1 hour.
I love all this wartime and vintage cooking. I was so surprised to see vegan allowances (generous too I thought!)
Made this w/ Mock Cream 3. Terrific. Next time I think I will add a touch more ginger.