 |
     |
| Ingredients | | For flouring the tins | | 1 tablespoon flour | | 1 tablespoon caster sugar | | For the cakes | | 2 eggs | | 3 tablespoons (45g) caster sugar | | 1 dessertspoon (2 teaspoons) golden syrup (you could use malt syrup instead of the golden syrup for a rich, malty flavour) | | 2 large tablespoons (60g) flour | | 1 teaspoon cinnamon | | ¼ teaspoon baking soda | | 1 teaspoon ground ginger | | ¼ pint (150ml) cream, whipped |
|
| Cinnamon Oysters |
| 25 / 08 / 08 Alexa Johnston |
| Photography by Aaron McLean |
| Small, feather-light cushions of cinnamon sponge cake, split and filled with cream – these are simplicity itself. Professor Helen Leach has noted that Cinnamon Oysters made their debut in the 1951 League of Mothers’ Cookery Book and Household Hints, produced to mark the 25th anniversary of that organisation. The recipe was contributed by Mrs Douglas Brown of Anderson’s Bay in Dunedin. It has appeared in countless cookery books through the years, but the ingredients have not changed – although caster sugar makes for easier beating. Mrs Brown invented a much-loved New Zealand classic, yet her instructions to the home baker were extremely brief: “Make in patty tins. Split open and fill with whipped cream. Delicious.” |
Method |
For flouring the tins
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Lightly grease a tray of 12 patty tins (see note) with butter, then sift the 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon caster sugar over it. Turn tray upside down over the sink and tap it to remove the excess.
For the cakes
Warm the mixing bowl and break in the 2 eggs.
Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, adding the sugar gradually until the mixture is extremely light and fluffy. Pour in the slightly warmed golden syrup and keep beating for at least another 5 minutes. When you lift the beaters out, the mixture should fall in ribbons and remain on the surface for several seconds before sinking.
Sift the dry ingredients, including the baking soda, onto the egg mixture, and fold them in very gently using a large metal spoon, turning the bowl as you go.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins and bake for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes until the cakes shrink away from the tins a little.
Turn out carefully, loosening them if necessary with a round-bladed knife.
Cut a slit in the side of each cake with a small serrated knife, and spoon or pipe in some whipped cream. Dust with icing sugar and serve. You can freeze them quite successfully, cream and all.
Makes 12.
Note: Try to find real cinnamon oyster tins, which have shallow, round-based indentations, so you can serve the cakes rounded side up. Otherwise, regular shallow patty tins work fine; muffin tins are a bit too deep, but will do at a pinch. 
|
|
