Cooking through time - 10th June 1933 - Recipes from the Australian Woman's Weekly

AND THE WINNERS WERE…..

 

ORANGE FRITTERS AND RHUBARB CAKE!!!

 

Thank you to all who voted on which recipe to try from the first edition of the Australian Woman’s Weekly dated 10 June 1933. Here’s what I cooked:

Orange Fritters: (Recipe is at the end of the article)

These were basically thick slices of orange cooked in pancake batter. From the recipe, I wasn’t sure if it was a pancake which the slices sat in, or if the slices were dipped into the batter, so I did it both ways. The pancake way didn’t really work as it didn’t cook evenly through and ended up in the bin. The battered slices worked well, but there was a problem…they weren’t very nice! I’m being a bit mean, as my son and his friend ate them, but the majority of us didn’t like the sourness of the hot orange. However, if you had sweeter oranges, or served it with ice-cream, it might be better. Even trying them cold didn’t really redeem them.

 

Rhubarb Cake: (Recipe is at the end of the article)

Very yummy! This is more of what we would call a rhubarb pie. I love how the recipe just says to make a short pastry. I guess every woman worth her salt already knew how to make pastry without instructions – however, I’m not one of those women and I used a recipe for Mrs Beeton’s recipe book form the 19^th century. (Find recipe at end of article)

I halved the recipe as rhubarb is so expensive at the moment, and if I hadn’t of halved it, it would have been a very large pie! The rhubarb was cooked until soft, then sugar, eggs, and flour added and cooked until thick. This was poured into the tin lined with pastry and baked until pastry was golden. Sugar was sprinkled on top to finish it off. Served with ice-cream, This was really yummy and I don’t think it’s done any differently today.

  

 

Orange Fritters

250g flour

15g melted butter

2 eggs

Pinch salt

Enough milk to make it batter consistency

An orange or two

Mix flour with melted butter, eggs, and salt, then gradually add milk until right consistency. Thickly slice oranges and dip into the batter, before frying in a little butter in a frying pan until lightly golden.

 

 

Short pastry:

250g flour

30g icing sugar

45g butter

150ml boiling milk

Rub in butter into the flour then add icing sugar. Add the milk and combine until a soft dough forms. Roll out to required thickness

 

Rhubarb cake (Half size):

250g rhubarb

“A little water” – I used about 3-4 T

75g sugar

1 beaten egg

½ T flour mixed into a  little water.

Put rhubarb and water into saucepan and cook over med high heat until rhubarb collapses and purees. Add sugar, egg, and flour. Combine and continue to stir until mixture thickens. Pour into pie/cake tin lined with short pastry and cook at 180°C degrees until pastry is cooked through.