Don Bradman’s Favourite Cake

In 1988 My father Kevin Weldon published the personal scrapbooks of famous Australia’s much loved cricket legend Don Brandman. During this time his wife Jessie Bradman and my mother met and in true fashion exchanged recipes together.

Here is a copy of the letter and recipe from Jessie Bradman sent to my mum in answer to her question “What is Don’s favourite cake?

Jessie’s Spice Cake

Jessie Bradman would bake this cake in a loaf tin and freeze it - then slice it up on-demand for Don who loved it with butter

Pre-heat oven 175C

225 gsm butter
225 gms white sugar
1 cup warm milk
3 1/3 cups self raising flour
2 1/2 teaspoon all spice
2 teaspoon cinnamon
300 gms of currants and raisins
a few nuts (I used 1/2 walnuts and pecan)

Put all the ingredients in a bowl in this order and mix for 3 -5 minutes - then add the raisins and currants, mix well and then add the nuts.

Labels to print for your home-made gifts

A little kitchen sketch - ready for you to print out labels.

You will need to purchase AVERY C32303 Perforated labels from an office supply store or online - then download our label art designed to fit the template and and print.

Cecille Kitchen Sketch - Label Template

Picnic Joy - Breakfast muffins

These are perfect for breakfast picnic by the water - sliced in half and spread with cultured butter, smoked salmon and avocado or eaten at home with poached eggs.

Ingredients

Preheat oven 200°C

Makes 5 large muffins

1½ cups oat bran
½ cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup spelt flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup full fat yogurt
1 cup milk (can use soy)
1 large egg beaten
2 tablespoon onion jam or well cooked caramelised onion
1 tablespoon sunflower oil or softened ghee
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
3 slices prosciutto sliced in half

Instructions

Grease your muffin tins or line then with muffin baking cups.
Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. with a hand whisk. In another bowl beat the egg then add in the yogurt, milk, caramelized onion and ghee and mix well together.
Create a hole in the middle of the flour mix and pour in the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix gently with a spatula with a minimum of strokes till blended together.
Place a slice of prosciutto or even a spoon of caramelised onion in the base of each muffin tin and then pour the mixture in.
Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top and bake in a hot oven until a tester comes out clean about 25 minutes

Layla’s Lovely Lemonade Cordial

This is an old fashioned recipe named after my granddaughter Layla - who has an old lemon tree in the backyard of her new house on the Bellarine region of Victoria

Ingredients

500 gms sugar
500 mls water
Grated rind of 4 lemons
500 ml fresh lemon juice strained

Instructions

Add water to saucepan then the sugar and slowly melt the sugar - stirring with a wooden spoon. Allow the mixture to simmer for a while until it thickens a bit.

Take off the heat. Add the lemon juice and the rind to the saucepan and return to the heat – as soon as it boils remove from the heat and cool.

Make sure you clean your bottles and carefully sterilise them with boiling water Then carefully pour the cordial into the jar with a funnel and tightly seal the lid.

Keep in the fridge for up to 3 months