Before I get into this Trini Biscuit Cake recipe I have to clear the air over the recipe as to my actions in the past. I am guilty as charged for holding back this recipe from you all. At one time I even required visitors to subscribe to Compère Magazine before they got access to it.
About a year ago I first published this recipe in the magazine for subscribers and it was welcomed. And, being a throw back to yesteryear, biscuit cake really gave the readers a very nostalgic feeling. Today I want to give everyone that feeling once again so I have decided to share the recipe publicly.
As you all know I usually don’t write much at times, but I would be denying myself from sharing my food experience with biscuit cake. As I wrote on simply trini cooking last year, this has been quite a journey to actually reach to this point with the recipe. So here’s my most memorable experience when it comes to Biscuit Cake.Enjoy…..
Back in the eighties, my father and his friend Mr. Walters were busy with party meetings all over the constituency. They would sometimes be at Cantaro, Gasparillo (not the one down South), or even as far as Maracas Bay – and that’s where the story gets exciting. One evening, my father asked me if I would like to go with him to Maracas Bay for a meeting. “Maracas Bay! I would love to” I said in excitement.
All I could think of was the beach and the sea and maybe playing for a while on the sand….Wait. He said meeting! Ok I might still be able to go on the beach while they have the meeting. Anyway, I was really excited to get out of the house and be on the beach……
That evening Mr. Walters and his two sons, Robert and Richard, picked us up at home and off we went to Maracas Bay. Mr. Walters drove a Ford Cortina that had somewhat of a slow response on the brakes, but it got you from A to B in one piece.
As we drove, we passed the forest with lush trees; boughs stretching over the road. Their strong arms reaching out to each other as if in an embrace. Trees gave way to slight openings between the trees where you could ever so often catch a glance of the sea below as we drove along the North Coast road.
“Daddy, look de sea” I said my heart jumping for joy knowing we were very close to reaching our destination while Robert, Richard and I clamoured to look out the window in the backseat….
The sun was dying as the sky came alive in crimsons and oranges and all the rainbow colours in between. The road curved, twisted and spiraled up, then down, then up again, then down for the final time. All the while, we were chatting and playing in the back seat of the car while my father and Mr. Walters discussed the meeting’s proceedings. By then as we came down the final slope we could see Maracas Bay foaming and hurling in all her beauty…..
Without warning, the car turned into a side street before we reached the Bay and then went up a hill. The sun had already gone down and all hopes of playing on the sand were dashed. Anyway, the meeting didn’t last long as we thought, but we didn’t mind since we were having a good time playing. I didn’t really miss the beach somehow.
Not too long afterward we started feeling hungry. I mean it was a hunger you just couldn’t ignore. By then the meeting was finished and of course we said we were hungry. We quickly jumped into the car and not too long afterwards we were on the road looking for a parlour. It was already dark by now but up in the distance there was a light.
As we came closer it was a little parlour at the side of the road. Somehow the colour of the parlour that comes to mind is blue. Anyhow the man had all sorts of pastries like coconut tart (turnover), and currants roll in a little glass case……. Then it caught my eye……. a medium sized round biscuit or something topped with sugar in the corner of the glass case. My dad saw it too. He said “Yuh want biscuit cake boy?” I quickly replied “Yes”. At the time I didn’t know what it was but was too hungry to say anything else.
The man briskly grabbed two with a pair of tongs, put them in a brown paper bag and handed them to him. Robert and Richard were already “chowing down” on theirs while I had my first bite. It was exhilarating! My brain couldn’t make sense of what I was eating. Was it a cake? Was it a biscuit? It was somewhere in between the two I guess!
The sugar crusted top gave way to a semi hard centre that was somewhat milky but not too sweet at the same time. By the fifth bite I had only gotten down to about half and was already getting full. It was the perfect remedy for a hungry belly that evening as we drove on the dark winding road from Maracas Bay.
I think I had mine with a Red Solo too but my belly was too full by the time I reached home to empty the bottle…And you know driving from Maracas Bay to Maracas Valley, in a Ford Cortina, is no short a drive. lol!! Nevertheless, we didn’t get to play in the sand that evening, but we got something else that made up for it all and in my case an experience that lasts a lifetime….
BISCUIT CAKE
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp. salt
Sugar to dip
Direction:
Preheat the oven for 350 degrees F.
Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together.
In a small pot heat together the evaporated milk, sugar, and butter on a low flame, until the butter melts.
Remove from heat and leave to cool.
Add liquid to the flour, mix until you get a soft dough.
Separate the dough into four equal size balls.
Press down on a well greased sheet until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle sugar over each flattened dough.
Bake in a 300 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
Makes 4 biscuits
Note: When my father in law tasted this he said if you left it like a day or two it tasted even better. Will have to try that one lol!! 🙂
Of course you can leave a comment or two for this biscuit cake recipe if you like it.
Ah gone 🙂
Childhood
Yum 🙂
From many years ago; when I was a child. This will be a most treasured recipe.
Oh my…Felix yuh hit ah six with this one! Haven’t had one of these since childhood….
cant remember the last time i had this,have been looking for this recipe a long time ,thank u very much for the recipe and childhood memories
I Love biscuit cake, and thanks a ton for sharing this wonderful recipe Brethren. Many blessings to you and yours.
Thank you Phoenixx 🙂
Omg had love buying this in the bakery
Going to try this, yum yum
I loveeeeeeeeee this. There’s a bakery in south that sells them but I find it don’t taste how it used to when I was small. I will try this recipe to see if I can get back that childhood taste. One thing though, a lil taken aback. All that flour for 4 biscuits……Interesting
Girl, dem biscuits big 🙂
this biscuit recipe, I must try….they must be quite big as the dough is divided into 4 pieces…..I think I will make them smaller,,,,,thanks querino
yum
I love you <3
Best drink to wash down biscuit cake is a big glass of good strong mauby with plenty ice ! Go to heaven and come back !. Or a red Solo with evaporated milk !
After moving to the USA, I began to miss some of of the pastries, cakes and other items we took for granted back in Trinidad. Then I remembered this site, my family enjoys when I “try my hand” at some of these recipes. This on in particular is a favorite of mine.
I live in New York and the only time I get biscuit cake is when I visit home, which is not often or if my mom comes visiting….that’s all I ask for. Got up this morning and logged on for ideas to cook something nice today and what I could see after a lengthy discussion last night about finding the recipe for biscuit cake…..a nice story and ….you guessed it….biscuit cake lol. My but you made my day and I thank you so much for that. God Bless.
I am so happy to see this recipe. I too looked all over the web for it. I remember going to the parlour to buy this for lunch …ah eh want to eat what mammy give mih lol….. with a cannings big red. Thank you so much for this and keep up the fantastic work!
Amazing! Bless u for this recipe 🙂
my family still serves this favourite in our bakery Kamal’s bakery, El Socorro Rooad, San Juan. Im so surprised to see u posted this reciepe and it happens to be my first time visiting ur site so u have definitely baited the fish!
I absolutely adore ur sentiments of childhood and it was a pleasure to read, truly a nostalgia we share. Tha k you And best wishes always.
I don’t often post comments but I had to with this..Omg..my sister and I made this today. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It brought back true trini memories for us.. We live in the UK and wanted to make something authentic from home..this is a fantastic recipe and it tasted amazing..just like the one I remembered as a child! Even my English husband fell in love with the taste lol..
I’m glad you liked it Sue 🙂
I AM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR RECIPES FROM MY CHILDHOOD AND THIS ONE IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE THINGS I LONG TO EAT WHEN I GO TO TO TRINIDAD FOR HOLIDAYS BUT NEVER FINDING THE SAME TASTE AS WHEN I WAS A CHILD. THIS RECIPE IS DEFINETELY THE RIGHT RECIPE AND WANT TO THANK YOU FOR SHARING IT. THE ONLY THING IS THAT MY SISTER AND I MADE THEM BUT BAKED THEN AT 300F FOR ABOUT FOURTEEN MINUTES. Again its nice to see some trini’s willing to share a correct recipe.
First you said pre heat oven to 350- and then you say 300- just wondering what the correct temperature is for baking this…
Just as the recipe says: preheat the oven to 350 degrees F then lower to 300 degrees F and bake for about 10 minutes. Hope this clears things up.
Felix Felix Felix, you outdid yourself with this one. I am loving it.
I have been searching so long for a recipe for biscuitcake.
Thanks a million! You always come thru. Now, when is the book coming out 🙂