Cake the podcast State Library of Queensland

How the realities of the tropics changed how we cook and may have led to an Australian icon: the Lamington.
Jacinta Sutton from the Collections Team at State Library of Queensland dives into the archives to find the characters who changed the way we cook.
Featuring:
Jacinta Sutton from the Collections Team at State Library of Queensland dives into the archives to find the characters who changed the way we cook.
Alison Alexander, author, foodie and radio commentator shares her Great Aunt’s bushman’s brownie recipe and talks about the struggles of cooking 100 years ago.
Emeritus Professor Maurice French, author of The Lamington Enigma: A Survey of the Evidence reveals who he thinks really invented the Lamington.
Host Kaitlyn Sawrey makes the original Lamington recipe published in 1900.

Chances are if you're a Queenslander you're obsessed with pineapple, but how did the original foodie influencer get us to start putting pineapple in our cakes?
Featuring:
Aunty Dale Chapman of My Dilly Bag talks about growing up in Western Queensland, and her memories of upside-down pineapple cake.
Ann and Anne of The Pineapple Princesses blog (inspired by Ruby Borrowdale, featuring over 1000 pineapple recipes) share their tips/tricks for cooking with pineapple.
A living relative of Ruby Borrowdale (of Golden Circle’s Tropical Cookbook fame) talks about what it was like having her come to Christmas lunch.
Kaitlyn Sawrey’s 99-year-old grandmother shares the secret recipe behind her pineapple pie.
 
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Uncle Gary’s version of Grandma Dean’s Pineapple Pie 
This makes two in an average dessert bowl 
 
Ingredients: 
Base 
½ cup of sugar 
4 x dessert spoons of butter 
Pinch of salt 
1 x egg 
5 ½ cups of flour  
Filling/topping 
2-4 cans of crushed pineapple (depending on how much you are making) 
1-2 tablespoons  custard powder, and water to mix 
Caster sugar (to taste, adding 1-2 tablespoons at a time) 
Cream 
Vanilla essence 
 
Method: 
Base 
In a bowl, mix together the sugar, butter and salt.  
Add an egg, then 5 ½ cups of flour, mix by hand until firm but soft.  
Roll out base on floured surface, then transfer to pie dish. 
Prick with a fork, and then bake in an oven at 250 degrees. 
 
Filling/topping  
Add the cans of crushed pineapple and caster sugar to a saucepan and cook on low heat. 
In a separate cup, mix 1-2 tablespoons of custard powder with water. Stir until lump free. 
Slowly add custard powder mixture to pineapple sauce. Take off heat and let cool.  
Whip cream, adding  caster sugar to taste and a dash of vanilla essence. 
Pour pineapple filling into baked base, then top with cream to serve. 

From Australia’s first female company director to the woman-led mill that produced a family dynasty and revolutionised baking with pre-mix recipes, to the mum of four becoming an international cake mogul - we look at how three women of Queensland have shaped and been shaped by cakes.  
Kate Atkinson (nee Maclurcan) - great-granddaughter of Hannah Maclurcan, author of Mrs Maclurcan's Cookery Book: A Collection of Practical Recipes, Specifically Suitable for Australia (Townsville, 1898) and company director of the Wentworth Hotel, reflects on her life.  
Ellen Morosini (nee O’Brien) - great-granddaughter of Ellen O’Brien, founder of Defiance Mill in Toowoomba, talks about how a widowed mother of ten ran the mill and created a dynasty. 
Cassie Watene - Founder of Cas Cakery talks about starting an internationally successful business from Emerald, in regional Queensland.  
 Check out Kaitlyn’s sad version of a heart-shaped cake, versus Cas’ beautiful one and her classes here.  

Doing a lot with a little - how the people of Cherbourg fell in love with fried scones and damper, despite the harsh memories of living off rations. We find strength and pride in the community and family through shared food.

Cake isn’t just fun and sprinkles; cake makes a difference. It’s a light in dark times bringing people together when they need it most.

Through memory, tradition and celebration - cake can help you find home, no matter where you are.