Today’s post comes under ‘F’ for frugal.

Since we have been away for a bit over 2 weeks there is not much in the way of prepared food in the house, however, there are plenty of staples and ingredients.  Tonight I made pizza for dinner so while the oven was on I also made a boiled fruit cake for snacks and lunches.  The recipe is one that has been passed down to me from my mother.

It is not only recipes but all sorts of kitchen hints and tips that are part of the connection between one generation and the next.  Simple things – like lining a cake tin.

What did we use before baking paper and silicone bakeware?  Butter wrappers and brown paper.  I use this method, especially for fruit cakes just as my mother does and her mother before her.

Cake tin lined with butter wrapper

I had finished making a batch of spreadable butter so had this wrapper which I used to grease the tin and then lined the tin with it.  A heavy paper bag cut to size completed the lining for the sides of the tin.  If the tin is round or irregularly shaped you can use the tip of the scissor blade to trace around the tin for a pattern so that the paper is an exact fit.

Ready to turn into cake tin lining

Prepared cake tin

Fruit cake mixture

The mixture is then added.

Ready to go in the oven

Once the paper is removed the end result is definitely worthwhile.

Fruit cake

Also, to prevent the top of the cake burning you can add several layers of heavy paper or newspaper on top of the cake tin (not touching the surface of the cake).

I will post the recipe in the next few days.

I have completed 1 of my 4 jobs for this week’s challenge. The car is completely cleaned inside and out.