Caraway Seed Cake
A dense, buttery household cake, perfumed with caraway seeds which give it a slightly aniseed note. It keeps well and can be sliced on the road or at teatime.
A dense, buttery household cake, perfumed with caraway seeds which give it a slightly aniseed note. It keeps well and can be sliced on the road or at teatime.
This is the cake one takes on a journey, for it keeps for days without going stale, wrapped in a clean cloth at the bottom of the basket. One beats the butter and sugar until they whiten, adds the eggs one by one, then the flour and a good spoonful of caraway seeds which perfume the whole crumb. On my roads to Avignon, a slice of this cake and a sip of tepid tea often served me for a whole meal, and I found myself none the worse for it.
- •Butter — half a pound (richness of the batter)
- •Sugar — half a pound (sweetness)
- •Eggs — four (binder)
- •Wheat flour — half a pound (structure)
- •Caraway seeds — a good spoonful (signature flavour)
Caraway Seed Cake
A dense, buttery household cake, perfumed with caraway seeds which give it a slightly aniseed note. It keeps well and can be sliced on the road or at teatime.
Why this dish? Harriet travelled widely, from Surrey to Avignon and Provence where she died. Seed cake, dense and not too crumbly, kept for several days and slipped easily into a travel basket: the ideal pastry for long journeys by coach and train to the South.
This is the cake one takes on a journey, for it keeps for days without going stale, wrapped in a clean cloth at the bottom of the basket. One beats the butter and sugar until they whiten, adds the eggs one by one, then the flour and a good spoonful of caraway seeds which perfume the whole crumb. On my roads to Avignon, a slice of this cake and a sip of tepid tea often served me for a whole meal, and I found myself none the worse for it.
Ingredients (period version)
- Butter — half a pound (richness of the batter)
- Sugar — half a pound (sweetness)
- Eggs — four (binder)
- Wheat flour — half a pound (structure)
- Caraway seeds — a good spoonful (signature flavour)
Ingredients
- Softened butter — 200 g (richness)
- Sugar — 180 g (sweetness)
- Eggs — 4 (binder)
- Flour — 220 g (structure)
- Baking powder — 1 tsp (lightness)
- Caraway seeds — 1 tbsp (signature flavour)
- Lemon zest — 1 (freshness (optional))
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a loaf tin.
- Beat the softened butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
- Fold in the flour mixed with baking powder, then the caraway seeds (and lemon zest if using).
- Pour into the tin and bake for 45 to 55 minutes: a knife inserted should come out clean.
- Allow to cool, then unmould; the cake keeps for several days wrapped in a cloth.
How it was made : Seed cake (caraway seed cake) was a classic of English domestic baking from the 17th to the 19th century, valued precisely for its good keeping qualities. Before baking powder became widespread (from the 1840s), it was leavened by beating the whole eggs thoroughly.
The contemporary twist : Served warm in thick slices with a spoonful of bitter orange marmalade, another pride of the English table.
Sources : Eliza Acton, Modern Cookery for Private Families, 1845 · Isabella Beeton, Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861
Harriet Taylor Mill · Charactorium