Nutmeg cake

Hello everyone, I have been on quite a mission this year to actually get to lots of different cafes and restaurants that are reviewed and make me think "Hmmm, that sounds like a good place to try" (but often don't do anything further about it). During the week I had dinner with my friend Maria at Finola's in the Balmain Bowling Club http://www.balmainbowls.com/finolasrestaurant.html , as I have heard lots of great things about the food there. It's an interesting setting, as you are right there in the bowling club with the greens to one side and a crowd playing poker in the bar (good for cheap drinks!). The menu is quite Irish influenced and I enjoyed my fish pie. Then today I am going to Revolver at Annandale, lured by a review that mentioned they do very good hot chocolate there. Yes, I know that most of you think it's way too hot and humid for hot chocolate, but in the interests of research I am prepared to go there!

This week's recipe is for a really, really good cake that I must have made a thousand times over the years. I remember discovering it in a Vogue Wine And Food Cookbook from 1991 when I was first living out of home and it seemed quite sophisticated to me (probably because it wasn't the usual chocolate). It's very easy and has a great texture. I think you'll like it.

Have a lovely week, love from Jane xx

Nutmeg cake

What you need:

• 2 cups of brown sugar
• 2 teaspooons of baking powder
• 2 cups of plain flour, sifted
• 125g butter
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line with baking powder.
3. Combine the brown sugar, baking powder and flour in a large bowl.
4. Rub in the butter until the mix looks like breadcrumbs.
5. Spread half of the mix over the base of the prepared cake tin.
6. Dissolve the baking soda in the milk.
7. Add the beaten egg and nutmeg to the milk.
8. Pour the milk into the remaining sugar and flour mixture and stir together well.
9. Pour this mix into the cake tin on top of the first lot of crumbs.
10. Bake for an hour or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake shows it's cooked.

This cake is delicious served with thick cream or Greek yoghurt, or icecream of course.