Seed Cake This is a very traditional British tea cake, and I’ve been making it since university (as it was very cheap to make!). I’ll reference this recipe from Nigel Slater, but it appears to be almost identical to the one from Delia Smith.
120g butter 120g caster sugar 3 large eggs 170g SR flour 50g ground almonds 2 tsp caraway seeds 2 tbs milk Heat the oven to 160C.
Brioche This recipe is adapted from Richard Bertinet’s recipe in Crust. The shopping list is very attractive in its simplicity: 500g flour, 1 250g block of butter and six eggs (plus a little sugar, yeast and salt).
Start around 6-7pm, to bake the next morning in time for lunch.
500g strong white flour 50g caster sugar 1 sachet (7g) yeast 10g salt 350g eggs (== 6 large, approx) Mix dry ingredients, then add eggs and combine well.
Scones Recipe from Richard Bertinet’s Dough. Makes 10 - 20 scones, depending on how you roll them out.
150g butter (salted, or add a small pinch of salt) 600g plain flour 150g caster sugar 40g baking powder 280g sultanas 190ml double cream 190ml milk 1 egg for egg wash Rub in butter and flour to the texture of breadcrumbs, but don’t overdo it; there should till be flecks of butter in the mix.
Rock cakes were a very traditional part of afternoon tea when I was young, although without the spices that were added in Delia’s version. That old, 1950s/60s version would have used no spice, and white caster sugar, with a little demerara sugar sprinkled on top; and, very probably, self-raising flour. These are quite sweet, so butter/jam is optional - we always ate them plain, anyway.
Ingredients 350g plain flour 0.
Borrowed from Felicity’s Perfect Dorset Apple Cake. I’m inclined to think that the wholemeal flour makes it too stodgy.
Ingredients 225g wholemeal flour 2 tsp baking powder Pinch of salt Grating of nutmeg or 1 tsp mixed spice 175g light muscovado sugar 150g butter, melted 2 large eggs, beaten 4 medium apples, preferably fairly tangy (I like Cox’s), diced Demerara sugar, to top 2 tbsp flaked almonds Directions Heat the oven to 160C and grease a 20cm cake tin.
Gingerbread Ingredients 115g butter 85g treacle 85g golden syrup 340g plain flour 2 tsp ground ginger 2 tsp mixed spice Pinch salt 115g light brown sugar 2 eggs 150ml milk 1 tsp bicarb (aka baking soda) Directions From George & Cecelia Scurfield, modified to be more like mum’s.
Set oven to 175C. Select either a 2 lb loaf tin, or a 12" x 9" baking tray.
From addmorebutter.com.
Ingredients Brioche recipe (makes brioche for two tarts) 260g strong white bread flour pinch salt 25g caster sugar 7g instant yeast 70ml warm milk 3 eggs 125g unsalted butter, room temperature zest of one orange Creme Patissiere (for one tart) 40g caster sugar 2 egg yolks 20g cornflour 250ml milk 1 vanilla pod 1 small cinnamon stick 20g unsalted butter To finish (for one tart) 6-8 ripe plums (approx 550g), cored and cut into 4 slices handful of roasted flaked almonds 100g apricot jam, to glaze Directions To make the Brioche dough and Creme Patissiere the night before:
From chocolateandzucchini.com.
Ingedients For the pâte sablée:
75 grams (⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon) sugar (I use unrefined cane sugar, but regular white sugar is fine) 150 grams flour — if you use American all-purpose flour, use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons 75 grams cold butter (I use salted, but you can use unsalted and add a pinch of salt) — if you use regular American butter (which has less butterfat than European butter), use 7 tablespoons Ice-cold water or milk For the filling:
Via David Lebovitz; adapted from Chez Panisse Desserts by Lindsey Remolif Shere. I have adapted it to use marzipan instead of almond paste, which is far more obtainable in the UK. For experimenters, marzipan is roughly 66% sugars/33% almond, whereas almond paste is 50%/50%.
Requires one 9-inch (at least 2" high) or 10-inch (23-25 cm) cake; alternatively you can bake this quantity in 2 x 2lb loaf tins. This keeps very well for at least a week (in a cake tin/Tupperware).
Sour Cream Coffee Cake The origin of this, I believe, is the Joy of Cooking.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Prepare streusel and set aside:
100g plain flour 165g soft light brown sugar 100g chopped walnuts or pecans 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 90g butter, melted Whisk together thoroughly and set aside:
300g plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt Combine in another bowl and set aside: