Baking that evokes or makes memories

STICKY date anything always seems to be a winner and this simple luscious cake is no exception.

It is light but at the same time quite densely moist. The dates enrich the cake’s deep, delectable texture and the grape juice provides the tang.

As a child, I remember very vividly the warm, comforting and homely smell of baking wafting through the house. As a result of all this activity, the cake tins were always full despite the fact that a number of ingredients were in short supply.

Afternoon tea was always quite an occasion. Sometimes we accompanied our mother to what was essentially a ladies afternoon tea.

We, the children, had our eyes glued to the tea trolly. What would we choose? I've recently talked to a number of friends about this and they too remember the rule. We were allowed to choose two pieces from the tea trolly and only two. This was the time when children were encouraged to be seen and not heard, so of course, there was no discussion on whether we liked what we had chosen.