So, do any of you remember going to the school yard vendor and buying Sugar Cakes for a penny? Of course you do. At Dolphin Government school where I attended middle school, I distinctly remember the two ladies who were the school yard vendors. Their names were Mrs Gaughter and Mrs Gilbert, and they sold sugar cakes, tamarind balls, sugar dumplings, picked gooseberries, and pickled mangoes. Everything was served in a piece of brown paper torn from large brown paper bags. We even licked the paper clean after we consumed those wonderful snacks.
Today, whenever I make Sugar Cakes, I store them in an air tight container and snack on them very sparingly on movie night with my kids at home. I bet these are good enough to take to the movie theaters as well. Who needs popcorn? Here is my version of Sugar Cake.
Grated Sugar Cake
1 medium sized coconut grated
1 cup of brown sugar (Demerara preferred)
2 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp vanilla essence
½ cup of water
Method:
In a sauce pot, add sugar and water
Bring to a medium boil until it becomes
a thick syrup and caramel in color
Add ginger, vanilla and grated coconut
Stir well cooking on low heat
Continue to cook until it bubbles and thickens
Line a flat baking sheet with wax paper
Drop spoonfuls of hot mixture to form a mound
Cool for 15 minutes on one side
Flip over and cool for another 15 minutes
** (These are also known as Macaroons here in the US) **
7 comments:
G'd evening Deborah, Alfred here...
i'm glad you were able to have that experience. Where is the school located?. I did some growing up in Mackenzie myself(now Linden... of course). I will never forget Mrs Davidson selling similar items out of her house close to the Mackenzie primary school. In addition to the two types of sugar cake, larger and amaller grate, there was fudge and ice blocks, green mango with pepper and salt... lots of good stuff... lots of good memories.
Please have a good weekend...
Gosh Alfred! I forgot about Ice block and Flutie. I will add that now. You have a terrific weekend, and thanks for sharing your memories, they are special to me.
My sister went to Dolphin's too! :) I love custard block and flutees too!
I was going to say you should check out .... http://www.tasteslikehome.org/ ...but looks as if Cynthia has beaten me to the punch
Hey Sean,
Thanks for writing in. Cynthia is my friend, and I can't wait for her cookbook to come out as well. The more the merrier, her photos are always on the money, and she is thorough in her research and writings, as well as her recipes. Sean, I am a huge fan of that woman...
I just discovered your blog and had a grand laugh when your story about treats at school made me remember when I got myself into some trouble because of those treats.
My dad had a bus and the coins used to be for my brother and I after we'd help clean on weekends. So, one Friday, I figured I could treat my friends since I'd be able to pay for it from my weekend 'earnings'. I went to Ms. Desiree outside and 'trust' tamarind syrup, sugar cake and chicken foot for my friends and I. We had a grand time eating it, bill came up to 5 strapping dollars in 1989. So you know that was plenty money for any child to be spending.
Weekend came and no money because Daddy took the bus to be professionally claimed. I kept putting Ms. Desiree on a waiting game only thing is, she got impatient and told my mother one morning, the debt was paid and my bottom was sore when I got home. All for them juicy treats!
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