Taking the Cake

In addition to bringing us roads, we have the Romans to thank for the humble fruit cake. When Mrs Maunder’s Boiled Fruit Cake placed second at the 1975 Wee Waa Show, she was unwittingly contributing to the legacy of an ancient cake that is so dense that it’s sometimes referred to as ‘doorstop.’

The fruit cake’s roots extend back to the days when the Roman legions marched on their stomachs and needed easily transportable, high-energy food. As time passed and dried fruits and spices became more readily available, the cake evolved, and variations proliferated across Europe: Italy’s panettone, Germany’s stollen, and Britain’s plum pudding.

Migrating to the colonies with the early settlers, the ubiquitous cake was a long keeper which was more than could be said for most foods in the sweltering summer heat. Fruit cake recipes featured in the Country Women’s Association’s (CWA) annual cookbooks for decades. Today, across NSW, home bakers following in the Romans’ footsteps continue to showcase their fruit cakes at local Agricultural Shows.

At the heart of the competition is the cake itself. To keep the playing field level, bakers are usually required to use an identical recipe. The judges, armed with a sharp knife and, ideally, CWA Land Cookery accreditation, adhere to a list of stringent criteria: appearance, texture, flavour, and aroma are all considerations.

Each entry is sliced through the middle to assess its quality. A well-baked cake is smooth-sided, evenly firm, golden-brown in colour, moist and cuts cleanly – there are no bumps, hollows, or sunken centres here. Flavour and aroma take the cake to the next level, the ultimate fruit cake is perfectly balanced, with no one flavour overpowering another.

And what of the icing on the cake? There is none! The goal of the agricultural show is to highlight the finest Australian produce, and icing would be a frivolous distraction. While she didn’t take home first prize, Mrs Maunder’s place in the hotly-contested event is a testament to her culinary prowess and the enduring legacy of the doorstop.