Mary's Sultana Cake

Mary is my husband Joe's grandmother and this is her legendary cake.

This easy, moist sultana cake is an old-fashioned family favourite, topped with chocolate and walnuts and perfect for smoko or afternoon tea.

When I submitted this recipe for my book 'A High Country Life' they wanted to know how many people this recipe would serve and I had to giggle. I went on to explain that if Hugh (my father in law) and Joe were involved then it would serve two, and if it was taken as a plate to an afternoon tea then it may serve twenty.

And while I love creating new recipes, I think there’s something pretty special about keeping the old ones going too. Recipes like Mary’s have been made for family gatherings, smoko, visitors and countless cups of tea over the years. Every time we make them, another generation gets to know them too.

This is exactly the sort of cake I love having in the tin. It keeps beautifully, slices well and is substantial enough that one piece with a cuppa will see you right through until lunchtime. Although I can’t promise you’ll stop at one.

Mary’s Sultana Cake is simple, delicious and very much loved in our family. And with that combination of moist sultana cake, walnuts and chocolate on top, it’s not hard to see why.

There’s a reason a good sultana cake has always earned its place in the smoko tin. It’s sturdy enough to survive a day in the ute, substantial enough to fill the hunger gap when you’ve been working outside, and doesn’t need anything fancy alongside it—just a hot cup of tea and five minutes off your feet.

Tips & Tricks for the perfect Sultana Cake

• Don’t skip soaking or boiling the sultanas if Mary’s recipe calls for it. This is what helps make a sultana cake beautifully moist rather than dry and crumbly.
• Let the sultana mixture cool before adding it to your other ingredients, particularly if there are eggs involved. You don’t want scrambled eggs in your cake!
• Don’t overmix the batter. Once the flour goes in, mix only until everything is combined.
• Keep an eye on the top. Sultana cakes generally have a decent amount of time in the oven. If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover it with tinfoil for the remainder of the cooking time.
• Check the centre before taking it out. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. With a deep cake like this, the outside can look ready well before the centre actually is.
• Give it time to cool before slicing. I know this is easier said than done, but the cake will slice much more cleanly once it has cooled.
• It’s even better the next day. Like many good old-fashioned fruit cakes, the moisture settles through the cake and the flavour develops once it has had a chance to sit.
• Perfect for the freezer. Slice it first and freeze the pieces individually. Then you can grab a slice for the smoko box as you head out the door.
• Don’t be shy with the walnuts and chocolate. They’re not just there to make it look pretty—the crunch of the walnuts and little hits of chocolate are what make Mary’s version particularly good.

Love a fruit cake? Try these recipes out too

Station Brownie https://whatsforsmoko.com/2022/02/06/station-brownie/

Anna's sultana Loaf https://justamumnz.com/2020/09/11/sultana-loaf/

Annabel fruit cake https://www.annabel-langbein.com/recipes/elizas-fruit-cake/3436/

Nadia's breakfast loaf https://nadialim.com/super-bran-date-carrot-and-banana-breakfast-loaf/