Hankering for nutmeg

A cold snap has me hankering for comforting winter spices, in particular Nutmeg Cake served warn from the oven with cream and strawberries. It is a cake I make regularly, but in recent years I have misplaced the book the recipe it is in - a 1991 Vogue Australia Wine and Food Cookbook. And then I remember. It is on a book shelf at the shop, and soon enough we are reunited again.

Finding this recipe book is like seeing an old friend. I flip through the pages and find Victoria and Adrian Read's Nutmeg Cake recipe easily.It is the most fingered, torn and stained page in the book.

I make Nutmeg Cake for the boys. This is one of those one bowl recipes where you don't use a mixer. Heaven. The scent of the warming nutmeg fills the kitchen. When the cake is cool enough to pack I take it in to the school to pack in the boys' lunch boxes as a surprise.

When they arrive home I ask how they liked the cake. "It was delicious," Cormac answers. "Can we have more?". A sure sign of success.

Nutmeg Cake (Vogue Australia Wine and Food Cookbook, Victoria and Adrian Read)

Ingredients: 2 cups brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 cups flour sifted, 125g butter, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 cup milk, 1 egg beaten, 1 tsp nutmeg.

Combine the sugar, baking powder and flour. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Spread half the mixture over the base of a greased 20cm cake tin. (I use baking paper as well).

Dissolve the soda in milk, and add the beaten egg and nutmeg. Pour this on to the remaining crumb mixture and mix well. Pour into the cake tin on top of the crumbs and bake for one hour in a preheated 180 degrees Celcius oven.

When I shared a photo of the Nutmeg Cake on Instagram it really struck a chord with several cooks. I am not the only one who loves Nutmeg Cake. @homemadebykellie and @chrissi_dana make an Armenian Nutmeg Cake with walnuts baked into the top. How delicious.

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