I was recently asked if I had a recipe for seed cake and I had never heard of it so after some investigation I found out it was a cake containing caraway seeds.
After further investigation I found out that it was a favourite of Dorothy Wordsworth the sister of the poet William Wordsworth who was born in the town where I live. So I decided I really needed to give it a go due to the local connection.
Seed cakes appeared in cook books from the 17th century and it is similar in texture to a Madeira cake.
It is a perfect cake sliced with a cup of tea in the afternoon. It can also be served buttered. I love a classic bake and this one definitely doesn’t disappoint.
Start by pre-heating the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease and line a 2lb tin with baking parchment.
Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the beater attachment fitted.
Mix until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add the flour, ground almonds, milk and caraway seeds. Mix until smooth.
Put the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and level the top with a small spatula, then sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top.
Bake 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin before removing, then slice to serve.
Caraway Seed Cake
Sarah’s servings: 10
Sarah’s skill: Easy
Baking time: 50 minutes
INGREDIENTS
175g unsalted butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs
175g self-raising flour
50g ground almonds
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp caraway seeds
2 tbsp flaked almonds
METHOD
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the beater attachment fitted. Mix until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add the flour, ground almonds, milk and caraway seeds. Mix until smooth.
Put the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and level the top with a small spatula.
Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top.
Bake 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin before removing.
Slice to serve.
Equipment Used
SARAH’S EXTRA SLICE
This cake can be frozen up to 3 months.
Make sure your butter is nice and soft before creaming with the sugar.
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