by Jola Piesakowska

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 cup of sunflower oil
• 3 cups self-raising flour
• Crystalised orange peel chopped finely in squares
• Grated orange peel from 1 orange and half a lemon
• Sachet of vanilla sugar

Butter and flour a bundt cake tin.

Pre heat the oven – gas mark 3 1/2 or electric 170- 180 degrees for 50-55 minutes.

1. Beat the eggs with the sugar until pale
2. Mix in the oil
3. Add the grated orange and lemon peel and the yogurt
4. Add the flour slowly and mix well / fold in the flour
5. Pour the mixture into the buttered + floured bundt tin

In the 1970s My dad was given this recipe for an Easter babka by a lady who was in his AK group. She was a fantastic cook and would bake this for his combatants association Easter get together.

Just after Easter and at Christmas during the Carnival period the AK and Cichociemni (Polish Resistance Army and SEO paratroopers) combatants would hire a Polish owned space in Ealing or wherever and celebrate with an afternoon coffee, cake and a glass of wine. There would be some singing of war songs and a few speeches but soon huddled serious conversations started. They would be talking about their war time experiences and not for our ears. Spouses were often left at home or were going to their own combatants group meeting while us kids would make coffee, serve and wash up.

It was very organised and emotionally very sad, but this was a safe space, a Polish “dom” a large house bought by the Polish community for meetings such as scouts, Polish school, Polish dance classes. You could rent the room and there was a kitchenette with everything you needed, all super clean but basic. Everyone brought something to the feast and one of the organisers would bring the wine. I loved helping and it was exciting to see all the amazing cakes arriving. There was one elderly man who baked the most amazing gateau – a tort. It was twice the height of any gateau I have seen and at least 20 inches wide. He would shuffle in with it, it was massive and very heavy. Beautifully decorated with piped butter cream. Layer upon layer of cake and butter cream and a base layer of sourish plum butter (powidla) on a pastry base.

He didn’t share his recipe…

In the 1990’s I used to use this Yogurt recipe as a base to make 6 extra large muffins on a Sunday night for my son’s lunch box, it’s so fast to rustle up and its very moist. I would add a tbsp each chopped dried apricots, raisins and tbsp of mix of seeds along with a small tsp baking powder and a squirt of the fresh lemon juice.