To celebrate Mother’s Day, I asked two special women in my life – my mother, Mary, and my mother-in-law, Lynnette – to share a recipe with Mrs M Loves. Enjoy!

Mary’s French Tea Cake

I love this cake – it brings back memories of growing up on our cattle property, gathered around the wood stove in winter, enjoying fresh, hot tea cake sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Now, it is one of my ‘go-to’ recipes as I always have the ingredients on hand and it is so quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, separated
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup milk
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 30 grams butter, melted
• 1 cup SR flour
• Extra butter, cinnamon and sugar for topping

Method:

• Beat egg white stiffly, gradually beat in sugar, and then egg yolk.
• Stir in milk, vanilla and melted butter.
• Sift flour and fold carefully in.
• Turn into a greased 18cm sandwich tin and bake in a moderately hot oven (190°C/180°C fan forced) for 20-25 minutes.
•  While cake is still hot, brush with extra butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
• Serves 8

Lynnette’s Apricot Oysters

My mother-in-law makes amazing sweet treats (her pavlovas are legendary) so I was delighted when she agreed to share one of her recipes. I’ve kept the imperial measurements to preserve the integrity of her recipe.

Ingredients:

• ¾ lb SR flour
• 4 ounces corn flour
• 4 ounces sugar
• 6 ounces butter-may need little more
• 2 eggs
• About ½ lb apricots soaked for a few hours –  tender but not mushy.

Method:

• Sift flours together.
• Cream butter and sugar, add well beaten eggs and beat again
• Stir in sifted flours to make good biscuit dough.
• Roll out fairly thin and cut into rounds that will take half an apricot on half the rounds (add sprinkling of sugar when dried apricots are used).
• Cover with remaining rounds and press edges firmly together.
• Shape with back of knife to represent oysters.
• Cook in moderate oven for 15 minutes.
• May be iced – or coated with egg white and sprinkled with sugar before baking.

What recipes are close to your heart?

Love, Mrs M xx