I recently found an old tin baking dish, and instead of simply putting it back in the box, I started wondering:
What cake was this actually made for?
The answer was hiding right on the tin.
It says “Mondamin” and “Wiener Nuß-Kuchen.” I don’t understand German, but I could work out one important word — Nuß-Kuchen means nut cake. So naturally, I had to go searching for the recipe. And not just any nut cake recipe — I wanted to find the recipe that was actually meant for this exact little tin.
And then there was the question of the tin itself.
I spent a rather ridiculous amount of time searching the internet, trying to find out when these Mondamin baking tins were made. From what I could find, tins like this are thought to date from around the 1920s–1930s, which means mine could be close to 100 years old.
I love the idea that this little tin may have already baked cakes almost a century ago — and now it has somehow ended up on my mind…
But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I didn’t just want to bake a walnut cake in it. I wanted to find the cake.
So now my little project is to go back in time and see if I can find the original Mondamin recipe from the 1920s or 1930s. I have already found references to a Wiener Nusskuchen made with Mondamin, so I think I’m getting closer.
I think I absolutely have to try. What do you think?
Ilze
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Of course you have to try it! Mondamin is an old traditinal brand of cornstarch – can you get it in Latvia? If not, I don’t think it will make much difference to the final product if you use your usual brand.
Yes, cornstarch! I forgot to mention that 🙂 I would use one I can get. Thank you for the comment! How are you, I haven’t been on your (or other blogs) because of my health issues…. I hope I will all be sorted soon 🙂 Have a lovely weekend.
Btw, the recipes I saw use hazel nuts not walnuts – finely ground.
Oh, this is good! Somehow I trusted AI and it’s saying “German walnut cake”! Now it makes sense – hazelnuts are common in German (and Latvian – influenced by Germans… and Russians) cuisine. Thank you!
The recipe popped up immediately when I googled it – in German. Shall I translate it for you, or can you do that yuorself with DeepL or AI? https://www.kochbar.de/rezept/426871/Wiener-Nusskuchen.html
Go for it, your readers want to know too. 🤔 I saw an article recently that mentioned that Latvia has a man shortage, is this true? Are there more women than men?
Just Go for it Ilze ! 🙂
I dove right in… I’m enjoying being back… kindcof.
How cool!
Thank you! I think it is cool! I hope I can find the RIGHT recipe!
Happy hunting and I hope you find the recipe. Let us know if you find it and then bake the cake.
Sounds like a fun project! (Sadly not for me as I cannot eat nuts in any form).
I love that, Ilze! If you find the recipe, or even a different recipe, and make the cake, please let us know 🙂
What a fun ‘historical ‘exercise’ – good luck with it! Until recently when it got lost in my latest move, I had an Estonian cookbook dating back to 1938 – I spent quite some time reading how food was meant to be cooked way back then – mostly would not have copied now but got some interesting ideas.
Oh good luck finding the recipe!