THRIFTY WAYS WITH STALE CAKE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 79, 27 December 1940, Page 45

THRIFTY WAYS WITH STALE CAKE

HE subject of this week’s "Feature" was suggested to me by a Link in the Daisy Chain who wrote from Waiwera South, Otago. It is a very good idea, too, for, as she says, "None of us wants to waste even a crumb these days, when our help is needed to win the war; so perhaps you would print some of these recipes in The Listener." Several other Links agreed with her and sent in the following good ideas. Truffles Take 1% lb. each of stale plain cake, sugar, and ground peanuts, a, little vanilla flavouring, apricot jam, and a bar of plain chocolate. Rub the stale cake into fine crumbs, add the sugar and nuts. Flavour with vanilla, and mix to a firm paste with the warm apricot jam. Shape into round cakes the size of a walnut. Leave these to set in a cool place. Now melt the chocolate and coat each cake with it, and roll in coconut. These are very nice. (This was sent from Miramar, Wellington.) Fruit Squares Crumble the cake into a saucepan in which you have melted 2 tablespoons of butter, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar; then add a few currants or sultanas if the cake is plain, but if it is

fruit cake just a few more currants, and 1 teaspoon of spice. Put this filling between two sheets of pastry, prick and bake. Have the cake and fruit mixture fairly thick between the pastry. (Sent from Waituna West.) Fudge Fingers Bring % lb. butter, % Ib. sugar, and 1 tablespoon of cocoa to the boil, remove from the fire, add 1 well-beaten egg, 1 cup chopped nuts, 1% Ib. round or vanilla wine biscuit crumbs and small pieces. Pat down in a tin on greased paper to %in. high. When it is quite cold, cut it into fingers. It is better if kept two or three days, but can be used immediately. Good Boiled Pudding One cup of wholemeal, 2 cups of cake crumbs, 1 cup of shredded suet, 1 teaspoon of spice, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and fruit as liked-if fruit cake crumbs are used, you will not need very much extra fruit. Also enough milk to mix. Put in a basin or cloth, and boil for three hours. You may double the quantity, and make several in baking powder tins, and use as wanted. (Also from Waituna West.) Dixie’s Delight This was sent in by a Lonely Young Miss, South Taranaki, but I should think this "young miss" will not be lonely very much longer if she devises

such toothsome delicacies. Eight ounces of cake crumbs, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 ozs. of butter, 4 medium apples, 2 penny sticks of dark. chocolate, and 1 cup of whipped cream. Peel and core the apples, and stew till reduced to a pulp. Mix the cake crumbs, sugar and butter, and cook till set, and almost dry. The stewed apples and the cake mixture must be cool before the next step is taken. Put half the cake mixture on the bottom of a dish, cover with stewed apples, then spread with the rest of the cake mixture. Finally sprinkle with grated chocolate and cover with whipped cream. With Cheese The same Waituna West housewife says: "We like fruit cake crumbled with an equal quantity of cheese, a few chopped nuts, and a little milk; and then made into small balls and just heated trhough." CHEESE CAKES WITH CRUMB FILLING: Crumble stale cake into a basin, add a little dessicated coconut, moisten with jam or fruit juice, but do not make it too wet. Add a beaten egg white to each 244 cups of crumbs. Fill the tart shells with the mixture, and bake as usual. Cabinet Pudding Cut up or crumble stale sponge cake. Put it into a buttered pie dish, or basin, depending on whether you are going to bake or boil the pudding. Stale fruit cake may be used instead, if you wish. If using sponge cake, sprinkle with currants or sultanas. Make a custard

with hot milk and beaten egg-1 cup to half a pint of milk. Pour this over the cake, leave to stand a little, then steam or bake. Cake Crumb Macaroons Take 2 egg whites, 1 cup of castor sugar, 2/3 cup of cake crumbs, and 1 teaspoon of lemon essence. Beat the egg whites stiffly, add the sugar gradually, then the cake crumbs and flavouring. Beat the mixture until it is stiff enough to cut with a knife. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greaseproof paper. Bake in a slow oven. (From "Blue Slip," Blenheim.) Banbury Cake Four ounces of bread or stale cake crumbs, 4 ozs. sugar, 4 tablespoons of milk, 2 ozs. butter, 8 ozs. sultanas, 1 teaspoon of mixed spice, and a pinch of salt. Boil the milk, and pour it over the butter and sugar. Stir in the other ingredients. When cold, put between pastry and cut in two-inch squares, Brush over with milk and sprinkle with sugar, and bake slowly. (Sent in by " Bid," of Blenheim.) Stale Cake Pudding This one comes from Upper Harbour, Whenuapai. Two breakfast cups of any stale fruit cake, ordinary cake, or any crumbs; crumbled into a basin, with a little nutmeg, cinnamon and spice. Then put some raisins, sultanas, and any other fruit in a saucepan with 1 breakfast cup of water, 1 tablespoon of treacle, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Simmer all this for twenty minutes, and then while it is still boiling pour it over the crumbs in the other basin. Stir well till it looks something like a plum pudding. Next make some pastry, roll it fairly thin, and line a pie-dish or meat-dish, Put the mixture on the pastry, cover with more pastry, brush over with milk, and bake in a hot oven. Dust with icing sugar before serving. Lovely with cream. Another Steamed Pudding Quarter of a pound of stale cake, %4 Ib. sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup of milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavouring. Put three ounces of the sugar into a saucepan, add about a tablespoon of water, and boil slowly till it turns brown. Add the milk, and keep it over a gentle heat till it is well mixed. Pour over the crumbs. Separate the yolks from the whites, and beat the yolks with the rest of the sugar, and vanilla, and add to the mixture, lastly folding in the stiffly beaten whites. Steam for an hour, Serve with cream or custard. It is a little fussy to make, but well worth it. (Sent in by "Contant Listener.’’) Fudge Cake This recipe, unlike the one given above, has no eggs. Quarter of a pound of butter, % Ib. light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon cocoa, ¥% Ib. round wine biscuits, 2 ozs. walnuts. Bring the butter, sugar, milk, vanilla and cocoa to the boil, but do not let boil, Add crumbed biscuits and chopped walnuts. Put into sandwich tin and leave till cold.