I don't think there is a household in New Zealand that doesn't have the famous Edmonds cookbook in the kitchen drawer. It's not one of the pretty books with enticing photos you display on the coffee table......or have on the bedside cabinet for dipping into late at night before you go to sleep. I've never even put mine on the book shelf. It sits in the drawer and only sees the light of day if I want to make a banana cake or afghan biscuits.
It's a good basic cook book with traditional recipes. You'll find all your childhood favourites like afghans, lamingtons, melting moments, peanut brownies. It covers pastry making and preserving, pickles, chutneys,meat, vegetables. In fact everything you need to know is in this book. I should cook from it more often.
My copy is a bit battered, the back cover is missing and the rest is held together with a rubber band.
The banana cake is one of those simple cakes you can mix up in a flash. Back in the '80's when I owned a little lunch bar in Auckland I'd make a couple of these every day. The original recipe suggests baking in two sandwich tins and filling with whipped cream. I bake it in one tin and ice the top with a butter icing.
BANANA CAKE
125 g (4 ozs) butter
175 g (6 ozs) sugar
2 eggs
2 mashed bananas (or 3 if bananas are small)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
2 tablespoons boiling milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
225 g (8 ozs flour)
METHOD
Grease a medium cake tin ( I use a 19cm springform pan)
Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, mashed bananas, then bicarb of soda dissolved in boiling milk.
Lastly add flour and baking powder, previously sifted.
Spoon into cake pan and smooth top.
Bake in a preheated 180C (350F) oven. Cake will take about 30 - 40 minutes depending on size of pan and how efficient your oven is.
Remove cake from pan and cool on wire rack.
Ice with 1 1/2 cups icing sugar blended with a tablespoon of softened butter and a little milk added to make a spreading consistency
