June’s issue of Delicious offered the librarycook an embarrassment of choice. Recipe after recipe was photocopied, drooled over, and then, crucially, assessed for its CRR (Cooking to Reading Ratio). Those apparently time-saving, cook-in-one-pan recipes? Careful scrutiny revealed the librarycook might squeeze in a page. Two at the most.
Not them, then. The librarycook’s eye fell on recipe for Revani Syrup Cake. Lemon syrup. Almond meal. Semolina. Pistachios. Sold.
A quarter of an hour or so of cooking, followed by 35 minutes in the oven. More than enough time for a couple of chapters of Robert Drewe’s excellent Whipbird – his funny and evocative tale of a family reunion in Victoria’s wine country.
The book was good, then, so how about the cake? Mixed reviews. Quite heavy, almost stodgy, until the librarycook hit on the idea of heating it up, and magically transforming it almost into a sticky pudding. Not ideal to eat whilst reading, unfortunately, but sometimes, food trumps literature. Especially if sugar is involved.
