Recipes from Tilly Pamment's The Plain Cake Appreciation Society: 52 weeks of cake

It's a chilly afternoon in the Blue Mountains, where she lives with her husband and two young children; and she's got a moment to herself, albeit she's chatting to me. It's an interview where we both joke that it would have been more fun to do it face to face, so we could have shared a cuppa and a slice of the lemon cake she'd baked that morning, and just have a good old-fashioned chat.

For that's the power of cake.

"Cake is the best way I know to forge and cement friendships, to bring a little joy to the everyday, and to let the people around me know I care," she says.

And this is how The Plain Cake Appreciation Society came to be during the pandemic. Pamment would bake, share actual cake where she could within the bubble, and then she started doing virtual meetings with her social media followers and the idea just took off.

"Conversations were started and friendships were formed through the medium of cake - all without having to leave my kitchen," she says.

She started her blog, Tilly's Table, and her Instagram @tillys_table about five years ago, after leaving corporate life in Sydney. On her site she shares seasonal recipes and sells beautiful linen tea towels and cards covered in floral prints she has photographed.

During the pandemic she started writing a cake recipe every week and sharing it on Instagram. Now they've been compiled in her first cookbook, The Plain Cake Appreciation Society - 52 simple, seasonal cake recipes.

"People really rediscovered a love of cooking during the pandemic, in a lot of ways it had fallen out of fashion," she says.

"People think they don't have time, but then we kind of had time, with everyone squashed at home, [we had] little pockets of time and people needed some small joys and that's where baking really came in."

Pamment is a self-confessed self-taught home cook.

"Both of my parents were really good cooks, they grew a lot of their own food, but my mother didn't have a sweet tooth," she says.

"From a very early age I started baking for myself and my brothers because that was the only way we were going to get cake."

Both of her grandmothers played a role too.

"My English grandma made excellent sponge cakes and infamous trifles; my Australian nanna, who had a no-nonsense approach to cooking, and indeed life, had a real love of whipped cream."

If you're looking to up your cake game, Pamment suggests bringing it back to basics.

"It doesn't have to be complicated, it doesn't have to be a big extravagant production.

"A plain cake is really simple to make and it's really delicious. A plain butter cake or a plain cake with seasonal fruit is really wonderful and it's not complicated.

"Don't expect them to look perfect, homemade cakes are never going to look perfect, and that's fine.

"Everybody will always love a homemade cake, cakes made with a little bit of care, a little bit of love, they taste better, even if they're a little bit squidgy or burnt around the edges.

"Those are the cakes that I want to eat anyway."

When we think about cooking seasonally, we don't often think about how that philosophy can apply to cakes.

Her wintery cakes are full of spices such as cardamom, ginger and vanilla, bursting with fruits such as dates, pears and apricots.

"Writing it weekly was the best way to do it as it made me think about what was in season, what was around, what I wanted to be eating," she says.

"I do love fresh fruit in a cake, it's one of my favourite things, so there are quite a few in the book."

Pamment worked for the tea company T2 in a number of different roles over the years and each recipe in the book is matched with a tea.

"For as long as I can remember, tea has been part of my daily routine," she says.

"My parents were big tea drinkers, the first thing you'd do when you went to someone's house, or had someone over, was to have a cup of tea, even before you said hello."

Flowers, too, help set the scene. Match a classic Victoria sponge with a cup of French earl grey and roses from the garden. A perfect, ideal world.

She has a couple of go-to birthday cakes for her children, Olive and Kip.

"The buttermilk chocolate cake is always a winner or we do my nana's rainbow cake.

"That's a really special one for me, it's not all the colours of the rainbow, just layers of vanilla, chocolate and pink, sandwiched together with a lightly sweetened whipped cream.

"The kids love it because it's a very simple, uncomplicated cake."

An uncomplicated cake, in an uncomplicated life, sounds just the very thing.

"A while ago, I spent a couple of days working in a little studio looking out on the most gloriously laden lemon tree I have ever seen - fruit drooping from its branches by the dozen. It truly was a magnificent sight. In honour of that beautiful tree, and the philosophy of The Plain Cake Appreciation Society - the appreciation of good, simple cake - I give you my weekday lemon cake. A (very) simple melt-and-mix number, perfect for when cake is in order, but fuss is not."

Ingredients

Lemon glaze:

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced and grease a 1.5-litre loaf tin thoroughly with butter. Dust with a little plain flour, tapping out any excess.

2. Place the caster sugar and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest through the sugar, releasing the oils and perfuming the sugar. Add the flour to the bowl and whisk to combine. Pour in the melted butter, eggs, yoghurt, milk and lemon juice and whisk to a smooth batter, taking care not to overmix.

3. Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top with a spatula and tapping the tin lightly on the bench to remove any air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. When the cake is cool, make the lemon glaze. Combine the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and stir until smooth. Check the consistency of the glaze and add a little more lemon juice if needed until you have a nice drippy glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and allow to set (or not) before cutting the cake into thick slices and serving with a big cup of tea.

5. This cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days.

Tea and blooms to match: Earl grey and white peonies.

Makes 1 loaf cake.

"As a cake baker and recipe writer, I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm going to: I think this is my favourite cake. A comfortingly simple butter cake, with just the right ratio of cake to sunny passionfruit buttercream. This is the cake I make first when I've been away from home, and the one I crave with a big cup of tea when my mum is not around for a hug."

Ingredients

Passionfruit buttercream:

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced and grease a deep 20cm round tin thoroughly with butter. Line the base and side of the tin with baking paper.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, caster sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together. Add half to the creamed butter mixture, stirring gently, before adding half the buttermilk.

4. Once incorporated, follow with the remaining flour, then the remaining buttermilk, stirring gently until the batter is smooth.

5. Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top with a spatula and tapping the tin gently on the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles.

6. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden, risen and cooked through. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

7. When the cake is cool, make the passionfruit buttercream. Mix the butter and half the icing sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and passionfruit pulp and beat until light and fluffy. Spoon the buttercream onto the cooled cake, smoothing it out to evenly cover the surface, and top with a little extra passionfruit pulp, if you like.

8. Serve at room temperature in thick slices, with a large pot of tea and a good friend. Any leftover cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days; just return to room temperature before serving.

Tea and blooms to match: Darjeeling and spring blossom.

Makes 1 x 20cm cake.

This cake is a sturdy autumnal number - gently spiced with chai tea and cardamom, and with a pleasant chew from semolina. Serve at room temperature with a cup of tea, or warm with a puddle of cream for a more pudding-y vibe.

Ingredients

Chai syrup:

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced. Grease a 20cm round springform tin with butter and line the base with baking paper.

2. Place the two teaspoons of chai tea leaves in a small spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind until fine. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until very light and fluffy. Add the ground chai and beat again briefly. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Place the flour, semolina, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together to combine. Add half to the creamed butter mixture, stirring gently, before adding the yoghurt. Once the yoghurt is incorporated, follow with the remaining flour mixture, stirring gently until combined. Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top and tapping the tin gently on the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles.

5. Slice the pears in half and scoop out the cores. Slice each pear half thinly, leaving 2cm intact at the top. Fan the slices out and place them gently on top of the cake batter. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is golden and cooked through. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so while you make the chai syrup.

6. For the chai syrup, place the sugar and tea leaves in a small saucepan along with the boiling water. Cook over medium heat until boiling, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for five to 10 minutes or until glossy and slightly thickened. Strain the syrup, discarding the tea leaves.

7. Remove the cake from the tin and brush with the hot syrup. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

8. While best eaten on the day it is made, this cake keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two - just return to room temperature before serving.

Tea and blooms to match: Milky chai and eucalyptus blossom.

Makes 1 x 20cm cake.

"When I was at university, I worked part-time in a tea shop. Every morning in winter we would make gigantic pots of milky chai to serve throughout the day. It made the entire shop smell deliciously spicy and warm - and I drank litres of the stuff. I make it at home now, albeit in a slightly smaller pot!"

Chai for one

Place two teaspoons of loose-leaf chai in a small saucepan and cover with a splash of boiling water. Add 250ml of milk (any type you like - oat or soy work well) and place over low heat. Bring to just below a simmer, turn off the heat and allow to sit for a few minutes. Strain into a cup, sweeten with honey if you like, and enjoy!

"This is a very simple chocolate cake. It's a melt-and-mix number that delivers a nostalgically light, uncomplicated cake. Quite a lot of sour cream in the batter helps keep it lovely and soft, and topped with a simple chocolate icing and sprinkles or dried petal confetti, it's pure childish delight. In fact, I can be sure that as soon as I get out the scales and chocolate, Kip - my three-year-old - will stop what he's doing, push his little stool up to the bench and say, "Can I help you make a cake?".

Ingredients

Chocolate icing:

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced. Grease a 22cm round tin with butter and line the base and side with baking paper.

2. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Sift in the cocoa and baking powder, before adding the salt and caster sugar and whisking to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter together until smooth. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix gently until the batter is smooth.

4. Spoon the batter into the tin, smoothing the top and tapping the tin gently on the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes, or until the cake has risen and is cooked through. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

5. When the cake is cool, make the icing. Place the icing sugar, cocoa and butter in a mixing bowl. Add the boiling water and stir until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake and top with sprinkles or edible flowers (if using).

6. Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days.

Tea and blooms to match: Wattleseed tea or English breakfast and anemones, sweet peas and roses

Makes 1 x 22cm cake.

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