This week, we are turning to our trusted loaf tins for some simple baking inspiration. I remember taking up home economics as an impressionable 12-year-old, fresh-faced in the world of secondary school. As most of us will hazily recall, the crossover from sixth class to first year was one of the more humbling experiences as a child. From hero to zero, like snakes and ladders, returning all the way back to where we started.
Luckily, I discovered an interest and purpose in this wonderful subject from the start. While others took on sporting endeavours and teenage discos, I found solace in classroom B5, filled with battered tables, wobbly chairs and a collection of retro ovens and hobs straight from a 1970s advertisement. Our bible was Smart Cooking – a recipe book tied with wire binding, published by CJ Fallon and written by Marita McGeady and Martina Cribben. The recipes were functional and flavoursome – in the right hands I might add.
I remember someone once put Fairy Liquid in my fairy cakes as a joke. They reacted with the baking powder and exploded in the oven within minutes. I was so insulted that someone would so callously disrespect the food. What was worse was that we had to clean the oven afterwards. I’d love to say this stuck in my mind and drove me on to greatness ... but it didn’t. In hindsight, it was pretty funny, but I would like to know who did it (tips welcome). Thankfully, we had a great teacher, Brian Dooley, who encouraged anyone with an interest in food to pursue it and see where it took us. I’m glad I did.
In honour of those days, I’m cooking two recipes inspired by the half-infamous Smart Cooking. There was definitely a chapter on cakes and bakes, as I remember making something every day after school for at least three months in third year. This was probably the period in our family photo album where we all got a little chunky.
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Coffee and walnut loaf cake is a simple sponge recipe using equal quantities of butter, sugar and flour. It’s scented with instant coffee and finished with a rich cream cheese topping sweetened and laced with walnut pieces. Served with a mug of tea in the evening, it’ll leave you ready for bed.
The second recipe is a little denser in texture. It’s essentially a batter flavoured with ground spices, butter, treacle and golden syrup. I serve it with clotted cream for a simple and satisfying loaf that’s sure to bring back memories.
This is simple cooking with simple equipment – as my father says, “Life is simple, it’s human beings that complicate it!”
