Granny’s Potato Cake

Granny’s Potato Cake is not what I would call a potato cake, it’s not deep-fried, and isn’t on any fish and chip shop chalkboard menu. It’s a cake you can make with left over mashed potato! I’m not sure that my ancestors had someone like me in mind, there’d hardly ever be left over mashed potato from a meal I’d prepare. Because mashed potato. Mashed. Potato.

Anyway, I visited Adelaide recently to see my brother and his wife’s newly born triplets (that’s a whole OTHER exciting story!), and in between hospital visits and helping my mum serve drinks at the local bowls club (a warm and caring bartender I am not) we looked at some of the recipes to prod me into making this project a bit more real. We sorted and grouped items by type; cakes, biscuits, sweets, etc. There is going to be a whole section on Christmas cookery, which I am looking forward to. The recipe we thought we would cook with the minimum of fuss first up was the one below — Granny’s Potato Cake. We cooked it twice. The first effort was somewhat hideous — brown sugar really shouldn't be used if white sugar is in short supply — but this version below surprised us at how light and tasty it was.

Granny’s Potato Cake

¾ cup of mashed potatoes. Mix with butter & milk [as for dinner]

¾ cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 cup sultanas

2 cups self-raising flour

A few drops vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Mix potato and sugar, making sure of no potato lumps, then add the sultanas and milk. Mix throughly. 

Sift the flour into the mixture, combine all ingredients well. 

Place into greased and papered flat baking tin, such as a lamington tray.

Topping

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon desiccated coconut

Nutmeg, to sprinkle

Rub butter, sugar and coconut together. Spread as evenly as possible over cake mixture, then lightly dust with nutmeg.

Bake for 45-55 minutes.

Serve with tea and enjoy!


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For those of you who are not in Australia, please find here a selection of Measurement & Temperature Conversion Charts which should help with the accuracy of your own cooking.