This is one of my Mum’s recipes, so for me it conjures up images of my childhood, but most of all, to me, it’s comfort food.

I wonder…can a cake-type treat be described as “comfort food”? Perhaps not, unless you were with me in my Mum’s kitchen, when I was a child, looking forward to our malt bread coming out of the oven!

Mum had one particular loaf tin that she cooked this recipe in, and now I have the same tin. There are no signs of rust on the tin at all even though the tin must be around fifty to sixty years old, bought around the time that my parents emigrated to Australia from England.

The recipe is very basic, only requiring seven ingredients. I recall that it was the very first loaf that I made alone, without Mum’s help. I will include both imperial and metric measurements here, as my recipe is actually in ounces.

So here it is, my taste of nostalgia!

Malt Bread

Put into a jug – ¼ pint of milk (1/2 cup) and ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.

Warm in a pan – 2 tablespoons each of Golden Syrup and Malt Extract.

In a basin – 8oz. Self-raising flour (225g)

4oz. Sultanas (120g)

1 egg

Add both the milk mixture and the malt mixture to the basin and beat together well.

Cook in a well greased and baking paper lined loaf tin at 350 degrees F (180deg. C) for ¾ to 1 hour.

Serve in slices with butter.