Receta Biscuit Cake
As you all know I usually don’t write much at times, but I would be denying myself from sharing my food experience with biscuit cake. As I wrote on simply trini cooking last year, this has been quite a journey to actually reach to this point with the recipe. So here’s my most memorable experience when it comes to Biscuit Cake.Enjoy…..
Back in the eighties, my father and his friend Mr. Walters were busy with party meetings all over the constituency. They would sometimes be at Cantaro, Gasparillo (not the one down South), or even as far as Maracas Bay – and that’s where the story gets exciting. One evening, my father asked me if I would like to go with him to Maracas Bay for a meeting. “Maracas Bay! I would love to” I said in excitement.
All I could think of was the beach and the sea and maybe playing for a while on the sand….Wait. He said meeting! Ok I might still be able to go on the beach while they have the meeting. Anyway, I was really excited to get out of the house and be on the beach……
That evening Mr. Walters and his two sons, Robert and Richard, picked us up at home and off we went to Maracas Bay. Mr. Walters drove a Ford Cortina that had somewhat of a slow response on the brakes, but it got you from A to B in one piece.
As we drove, we passed the forest with lush trees; boughs stretching over the road. Their strong arms reaching out to each other as if in an embrace. Trees gave way to slight openings between the trees where you could ever so often catch a glance of the sea below as we drove along the North Coast road.
“Daddy, look de sea” I said my heart jumping for joy knowing we were very close to reaching our destination while Robert, Richard and I clamoured to look out the window in the backseat….
The sun was dying as the sky came alive in crimsons and oranges and all the rainbow colours in between. The road curved, twisted and spiralled up, then down, then up again, then down for the final time. All the while, we were chatting and playing in the back seat of the car while my father and Mr. Walters discussed the meeting’s proceedings. By then as we came down the final slope we could see Maracas Bay foaming and hurling in all her beauty…..
Without warning, the car turned into a side street before we reached the Bay and then went up a hill. The sun had already gone down and all hopes of playing on the sand were dashed. Anyway, the meeting didn’t last long as we thought, but we didn’t mind since we were having a good time playing. I didn’t really miss the beach somehow.
Not too long afterward we started feeling hungry. I mean it was a hunger you just couldn’t ignore. By then the meeting was finished and of course we said we were hungry. We quickly jumped into the car and not too long afterwards we were on the road looking for a parlour. It was already dark by now but up in the distance there was a light.
As we came closer it was a little parlour at the side of the road. Somehow the colour of the parlour that comes to mind is blue. Anyhow the man had all sorts of pastries like coconut tart (turnover), and currants roll in a little glass case……. Then it caught my eye……. a medium sized round biscuit or something topped with sugar in the corner of the glass case. My dad saw it too. He said “Yuh want biscuit cake boy?” I quickly replied “Yes”. At the time I didn’t know what it was but was too hungry to say anything else.
The man briskly grabbed two with a pair of tongs, put them in a brown paper bag and handed them to him. Robert and Richard were already “chowing down” on theirs while I had my first bite. It was exhilarating! My brain couldn’t make sense of what I was eating. Was it a cake? Was it a biscuit? It was somewhere in between the two I guess!
The sugar crusted top gave way to a semi hard centre that was somewhat milky but not too sweet at the same time. By the fifth bite I had only gotten down to about half and was already getting full. It was the perfect remedy for a hungry belly that evening as we drove on the dark winding road from Maracas Bay.
I think I had mine with a Red Solo too but my belly was too full by the time I reached home to empty the bottle…And you know driving from Maracas Bay to Maracas Valley, in a Ford Cortina, is no short a drive. lol!! Nevertheless, we didn’t get to play in the sand that evening, but we got something else that made up for it all and in my case an experience that lasts a lifetime….
BISCUIT CAKE
Ingredients:
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- Sugar to dip
Direction:
Preheat the oven for 350 degrees F.
Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together.
In a small pot heat together the evaporated milk, sugar, and butter on a low flame, until the butter melts.
Remove from heat and leave to cool.
Add liquid to the flour, mix until you get a soft dough.
Separate the dough into four equal size balls.
Press down on a well greased sheet until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle sugar over each flattened dough.
Bake in a 300 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
Makes 4 biscuits
Note: When my father in law tasted this he said if you left it like a day or two it tasted even better. Will have to try that one lol!!
Of course you can leave a comment or two for this biscuit cake recipe if you like it.
Ah gone