For generations teatime has been one of the most popular meals of the day, no matter what the season.
In winter you can enjoy hot toast, toasted scones or muffins with cakes around the fire, and when summer comes take tea in the garden with cucumber sandwiches and cherry tarts.
Every part of Britain has its own excellent traditional teatime recipes, ranging from interesting breads to light cakes and pastries.
Dried fruit has long been used in British recipes, brought to the islands with spices and silks by our merchant seamen.
Pastry has been made in Britain for hundreds of years; Chaucer mentions it in The Canterbury Tales.
Cakes were originally based on a bread dough, but, as raising agents and lighter flour became available, a wider variety of cakes was created.
This chapter traces the development of teatime as an important feature of the day and gives a range of recipes from Britain and other countries that share this love of a good cup of tea in the afternoon.
Hotels who had allowed their teatime menus to languish have now discovered how much their guests enjoy a good tea, and are presenting sumptuous spreads to tempt them.
A traditional tea is a wonderful way to entertain at home, too. The baking and food preparations, such as making sandwiches, can be done ahead, so you can relax and enjoy the occasion.
Part of the pleasure of tea is its presentation: a cherished tablecloth, pretty china cups, old-fashioned cake stands and linen napkins will all enhance the sense of occasion.
Yet teatime is informal: you can sit round the fireside or in the garden.
The secrets of success in baking the recipes in the following chapters can be summed up quite simply:
|
Take the trouble to weigh or measure ingredients carefully. There must be the right balance of the flour, fat and other ingredients. Choose the type of flour, etc., that is recommended in the recipe. |
|
Follow the directions regarding the method of mixing the ingredients, for these are important. Words like ‘folding’ and ‘whisking’ occur in recipes. Folding is a gentle flicking and turning movement; a more vigorous action could spoil the texture of the mixture. Beating and whisking, on the other hand, are brisk energetic actions. |
|
Follow the baking instructions given but be aware that ovens vary slightly; so use the knowledge of your oven, acquired through experience, and adjust the temperature if necessary. |
|
Use the right sized tin (pan) where possible. For example, if the recipe states an 8 inch/20 cm cake tin, and you substitute a 9 inch/23 cm tin you are spreading the mixture over a wider area. As a result the cooking time will be about 15-20 minutes shorter. If you substitute a 7 inch/18 cm tin – having first checked that the mixture will fit into it – it will take 15-20 minutes longer cooking time because of the greater depth. Check that the cake does not overbrown during this time: you may need to reduce the heat. |
|
Test the cake or bread carefully before assuming it is cooked. Advice on how to do this is given in the recipes. |
Freezing Teatime Food
Most cakes, breads and scones freeze well, so do sandwiches, unless the filling includes salad ingredients, cooked eggs and a generous amount of mayonnaise. Rich fruit cakes are better stored in an airtight tin to mature. Biscuits keep well in airtight tins.
If you slice large cakes and loaves before freezing you can take out the required number of portions without defrosting the whole cake or loaf. Cakes topped with cream or icing or of a delicate texture should be frozen on an open tray. When quite hard pack or wrap. Remove from the wrapping before defrosting. Glacé icing on a cake does not freeze as well as butter icing.
There are a number of recipes using yeast in this book, as it has been an important ingredient in British cookery for centuries. I give fresh (compressed) yeast in the recipes. This is quite easy to obtain; it keeps for 6-7 days in the refrigerator if it is well wrapped and stored in a screw-topped jar. It should be pale putty-coloured, smell pleasant and crumble readily.
You can freeze fresh yeast for up to 3 months; cut it into convenient sized portions, wrap them well and then freeze.
Dried (active dry) yeast is an excellent alternative. It keeps for a long period; see the packet for details. In place of 1 oz/25 g (1 cake) of fresh yeast use ½ oz/15 g (2 teaspoons) of dried yeast. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of sugar in the warm liquid before adding the yeast; wait for 10 minutes, blend well and continue as for fresh yeast.
There are various forms of dried yeast. The ‘Easy-Blend’ type means you can add the yeast to the flour. ‘Fast Acting’ means you can cut down on the time required for proving (rising). Follow the packet instructions carefully.
To Follow the Recipes
The recipes in this book are given in Imperial, metric and American measures. The American measures are in brackets. Always follow just one set of measures. In some recipes you will find a slight deviation from the standard metric weights. For example, 3 oz is generally 75 g but occasionally it is given as 85 g, and 4 oz as 110 g instead of 100 g. The reason is to preserve the correct balance with other ingredients in the recipe. If your scales do not register 85 g or 110 g do not worry but remember to be slightly generous with that ingredient.
Spoon measures should be level. Sometimes you will find the word ‘level’ inserted. This is to stress that the cake, or other dish, could be spoiled if you are over-generous with that ingredient.
I have not given the metric equivalent of teaspoons or tablespoons in the recipes. You may like to know that an American or British teaspoon is equivalent to a 5 ml spoon, a British tablespoon equivalent to a 15 ml spoon. One British tablespoon equals 1 ¼ American tablespoons. American tablespoon measures are expressed in brackets as (tbsp).
Egg sizes are given only where the size of egg used will affect the end result.
The key to successful slimming is to have well-balanced, low-calorie and enjoyable meals. This will help you avoid the feeling of hunger which so often makes people forsake their diet and seek a quick snack, which may be high in calories. The longest gap seems to be the one between lunch and the evening meal, but this can be broken by having a light and well-chosen teatime meal.
Tea is an ideal beverage for anyone on a slimming diet, because it is virtually calorie-free. You can have tea with lemon or with skimmed milk or by itself. Make teatime last as long as you can; sip the tea and eat the food slowly: this often makes one feel the meal is larger and more satisfying than it really is.
Sandwiches
Cut thin slices of bread. A slice of bread from a small loaf weighing 1 oz/25 g has about 70 calories.
Spread the bread thinly with butter, margarine or special low-fat spread, then sandwich the slices together with a generous amount of salad ingredients, such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, watercress or grated carrot. Season with a little sea salt, ground black pepper and lemon juice.
Blend low-fat cottage or ricotta cheese with chopped herbs for a savoury filling or with a little dried fruit for something sweeter.
Crispbreads are low in calories and can be used as the base for open sandwiches.
Scones and Cakes
Plain scones or Scotch Pancakes (see pages 86-87) are perfect for tea. If they are really fresh, you need very little butter or margarine or low-fat spread. An average scone has about 90 calories; a Scotch Pancake, weighing 1 oz/25 g has approximately 75 calories.
As most cakes contain a generous amount of fat and sugar they are high in calories. The Sponge Cake on page 103 is a good choice for slimmers, since a 1 oz/25 g portion has about 75 calories. The same weight of the Dundee Cake on page 90 has 120 calories.
Most practical slimming diets suggest you give yourself an occasional ‘treat’, and what better time to indulge yourself than teatime.
The Regency period extended from 1811 to 1820, when the Prince of Wales, who later became King George IV, assumed the powers of regent during the illnesses of his father, George III. The Prince Regent loved a carefree life. At this sociable period in history, tea gardens, described on page 12, were immensely popular; many people were well acquainted with the delights of taking tea. Public social gatherings, known as assemblies, as well as grand balls, were an essential part of fashionable life in London, Bath and Brighton.
The word ‘rout’ was used to describe a fashionable gathering or assembly of the kind that was much in vogue in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and gave its name to the small cakes and biscuits (cookies) on the opposite page. It is quite likely that rout cakes would be offered when people returned home, late at night, almost certainly with a cup of tea.
The credit for establishing afternoon tea as an event belongs to Anna, wife of the seventh Duke of Bedford, who lived from 1788 to 1861. She filled the gap between luncheon and evening dinner with tea and light refreshments because ‘she had a sinking feeling’. There is no doubt that other fashionable ladies would have followed her excellent example. Madeira cake may well have appeared on the Duchess’s tea table, and may also have been offered to mid-morning callers with a glass of Madeira wine.
‘Thank Heaven I was not born before the coming-in of tea!’
Reverend Sydney Smith (1771-1845)
These are like Ratafias (see page 63) but the mixture is bound with the yolk of an egg, not the white.
The nut topping makes the biscuits beautifully crisp. Lightly grease 3 flat baking (cookie) sheets or trays. Heat the oven to 375-400F/190-200C/Gas Mark 5 or 6. Choose the lower setting if your oven cooks quickly.
Blend all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and form into very small balls. If sticky use damp fingers or chill the mixture for a short time. Put the balls on the prepared sheets or trays and carefully press a few chopped almonds into the top of each one. Brush the nuts with whisked egg white. Place the trays in the oven and bake for 5-6 minutes only. The nuts should be crisp and the biscuits firm on the outside but moist in the centre.
To Make a Change
Rout Biscuits. Cream 4 oz/100 g (½ cup) butter with 4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar and ½ teaspoon of orange flower water or rose water. Beat in 1 egg yolk. Add 8 oz/225 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour and 4 oz/110 g (⅔ cup) currants.
Knead the mixture well. Roll out on a floured surface until about ¼ inch/6 mm in thickness. Cut into small fancy shapes. Put on to ungreased baking (cookie) sheets and bake for 15 minutes in preheated moderate oven, 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4. Store in an airtight tin.
Makes up to 60
4 oz/110 g (1 cup) ground almonds
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
a few drops of almond or ratafia essence (extract)
1 egg yolk
For the topping
approximately 2 oz/50 g (½ cup) almonds, blanched and finely chopped
1 egg white, lightly whisked
This recipe gives an idea of the flavour of bread in the Regency period, when the flour that was termed ‘white’ was certainly not the white flour we know today.
The dough was generally formed into a large round about 1 inch/2.5 cm thick, but you can make a different shape if you wish.
First cream the yeast. Warm the ale and water to blood heat. Add the honey and stir to dissolve. Carefully mix this liquid with the yeast in a bowl. Sprinkle a little of the flour on top and put in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until the surface is covered with bubbles.
Sift the brown and white flours with salt into a mixing bowl. Add the yeast liquid and blend well. You should have a soft dough, but one that can be kneaded quite easily. If it is too dry, add a very little more warm water. Flours vary, even today, in the amount of liquid they absorb. Knead the dough until it is smooth. It is sufficiently kneaded when the dough springs back when pressed with a floured finger. Return the dough to the bowl. Cover and leave at room temperature for approximately 1½ hours, or until it has risen to nearly twice its original size. Knead again then form into the desired shape.
Place the dough on a warmed baking (cookie) sheet or tray. Cover with lightly oiled polythene and leave for 25-30 minutes until it has nearly doubled in size. Meanwhile heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7. Place the tray in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes. To test if cooked, tap the loaf on the bottom, it should sound hollow.
Makes 1 loaf
½ oz/15 g (½ cake) fresh (compressed) yeast (for time-saving yeasts, see page 50)
¼ pint/150 ml (⅔ cup) brown ale
¼ pint/150 ml (⅔ cup) water
2 teaspoons clear honey
12 oz/350 g (3 cups) brown strong (hard wheat) flour or plain (all-purpose) flour
4 oz/110 g (1 cup) white strong (hard wheat) flour or plain (all-purpose) flour
½ teaspoon salt
Traditionally offered to mid-morning callers with a glass of Madeira, this cake soon became a teatime favourite as well.
Grease and flour, or line, a 7 inch/18 cm round cake tin (pan). Heat the oven to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3.
Cream the butter, sugar and lemon rind together until soft and light. The higher amount of sugar gives a sweeter taste and helps to produce a very light-textured cake. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the flour if necessary to prevent the mixture separating.
Fold in the plain flour and baking powder or the self-raising flour. If you use plain flour and baking powder the cake will be flatter on top. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
Place in the centre of the oven and bake for approximately 1¼-1 ½ hours. After 30 minutes’ cooking time, open the oven door and place the peel on top of the cake (do not remove the cake from the oven). If the cake seems to be getting too brown, lower the heat slightly.
If preferred, the lemon peel can be put on the cake before baking and covered halfway through the cooking period with a piece of foil to prevent it becoming dry or burned. Test the cake by pressing firmly on top. Turn the cake out carefully and leave to cool on a wire tray.
To Make a Change
The flavour and texture of this Madeira Cake are enhanced if 2 oz/50 g (½ cup) ground almonds are substituted for the same weight of flour. Sift the baking powder with 6 oz/175 g (1½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour and add the ground almonds.
Serves 6-8
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) butter
6-7 oz/175-200 g (¾- ⅞ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind, optional
4 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo)
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder or self-raising flour
1 large thin slice candied lemon peel
In the old days ginger bread, as it was called – since it was served as bread, not as cake – was gilded with gold leaf for special occasions.
From this custom came the expression ‘gilding the gingerbread’.
Line a 7 inch/18 cm square cake tin (pan) with greased greaseproof (wax) paper. Heat the oven to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger into a mixing bowl. Add the ground almonds and blanched chopped almonds.
Place the butter or margarine, sugar and syrup into a heavy saucepan over a moderate heat, stirring until the ingredients have melted. Pour this liquid over the flour mixture and stir briskly. Beat in the egg. Pour the milk into the saucepan, stirring over a gentle heat to incorporate all the remaining syrup mixture. Add to the mixture in the bowl and beat.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until the gingerbread is firm to a gentle touch. Leave to cool in the tin. When cold, the gingerbread can be iced with glacé icing (see page 105) and topped with blanched and browned almonds.
To Make a Change
Fruit Gingerbread. Add 4 oz/100 g (⅔ cup) mixed dried fruit or chopped dates to the ingredients above. Bake in the same way as Almond Gingerbread.
Oatie Gingerbread. Omit the ground and chopped almonds from the main recipe. Decrease the amount of flour to 6 oz/175 g (1 ½ cups) and add 2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) fairly coarse oatmeal. If you wish, substitute black treacle (molasses) for the syrup to give a dark gingerbread. Bake as Almond Gingerbread.
Serves 6-8
7 oz/200 g (1 ¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 oz/25 g (¼ cup) ground almonds
2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) blanched chopped almonds
3 oz/85 g (⅜ cup) butter or margarine
3 oz/85 g (⅜ cup) brown sugar
3 oz/85 g (¼ cup) golden (light corn) syrup
1 egg
5 tablespoons (6 tbsp) milk
Afternoon tea originated in the Regency period among fashionable households. In the Victorian era that followed, it became popular in most British homes. Genteel ladies would invite their friends and acquaintances to take tea at their ‘At Home’. In the country, fruit cakes and various breads had long been served at the end of a working day at a high tea for farmers and their more prosperous employees. This was also the period when the delightful ‘nursery tea’ first made its appearance.
A good Victorian tea table would be an impressive sight, groaning under the weight of food. The meal would start with an assortment of delicate sandwiches. The sandwich (attributed to Lord Sandwich, so keen to stay at the gambling table he invented something he could eat without leaving it) was first known in 1780, so that by the time Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837 sandwiches had become quite commonplace. For a polite afternoon tea, sandwiches were necessarily small. Watercress and various homemade potted foods would be used as fillings. In summertime you would undoubtedly be offered cucumber sandwiches. These would be followed by fragile, wafer-thin slices of bread and butter, scones and homemade preserves. The cakes may well have been arranged on 3-tier cake stands and the tea poured from exquisite china or silver teapots.
‘Tea cleared my head and left me with no misapprehensions.’
Duke of Wellington (1769-1852)
This light cake was a favourite with Queen Victoria.
It is sometimes known as a ‘Butter Sponge’. The traditional method of calculating the amount of fat, sugar and flour was to weigh them against the eggs.
Grease and flour or line two 7 ½-8 inch/19-20 cm sandwich tins (layer pans). Heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4. If your oven is very gentle use 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5.
Cream the butter or margarine and sugar until soft and light. Beat in the eggs one by one, adding 1 tablespoon flour with each. Fold in the remaining flour and the baking powder, if used. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins and smooth the tops. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until no impression is left when you press the centre of the sponges gently but firmly.
Allow to cool for 1 or 2 minutes in the tins. Place a folded teacloth on the palm of one hand and turn one sponge layer out on to it. Invert the layer on to a wire tray, top side uppermost. Repeat with the second layer. When cool, sandwich the layers with jam or lemon curd. Dredge the top with sugar.
The Modern Touch
All-in-One Sponge. Substitute soft margarine, preferably polyunsaturated, for the butter. Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and cream for 2 minutes or process for 1 minute in an electric mixer or 30 seconds in a food processor. Bake as above. To counteract the fact that the mixture is not aerated as well as when using the traditional method of creaming, you may like to sift 1 level teaspoon baking powder into the self-raising flour or 1 extra level teaspoon into plain flour.
Serves 6
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) butter or margarine
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
3 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo)
6 oz/175 g (1 ½ cups) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
For the Filling
jam (jelly) or lemon curd
For the topping
caster (granulated) or icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
This is sometimes called a ‘Church Window’ cake, for the two-coloured squares of sponge with the marzipan coating resemble stained glass.
Line an oblong cake tin (pan) measuring 10 x 7 inches/25 x 18 cm with greased greaseproof (wax) paper, making a pleat in the centre of the paper that stands up in the centre, dividing the tin lengthwise in half. This will separate the two different coloured cake mixtures. Heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4.
Prepare the Victoria Sandwich mixture. Spoon half into one side of the tin. Add a little food colouring to the remaining mixture and spoon this into the other side of the tin. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Turn out on to a wire tray to cool. Meanwhile make the marzipan by blending together all the ingredients.
Cut each piece of cake lengthwise in half to give 4 strips. Arrange the strips with a coloured and a plain one side by side. Top the plain strip with a coloured one and the coloured one with a plain strip. Join all these together with jam.
Roll out the marzipan on a sugared board to a size that will completely enclose the sponge cake, except for the short ends. Brush all round the cake, but not these ends, with jam. Place the cake in the centre of the marzipan, wrap it around the cake and seal the edges. Turn the cake so the join is underneath. Neaten the ends with a sharp knife. Flute the 4 top edges of the marzipan with finger and thumb. Arrange the cherries and angelica decoratively on top.
Serves 8-10
1 quantity of Victoria Sandwich cake mixture (see opposite)
a few drops of pink food colouring
For the marzipan
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) ground almonds
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
4 oz/110 g (1 cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, well sifted
2 egg yolks
few drops almond essence (extract), optional
For the coating and decoration
6 tablespoons (½ cup) sieved apricot jam (jelly)
a few glacé (candied) cherries, halved
1 small piece of angelica, cut into leaf shapes
This light sponge has been one of the most popular cakes in Britain for many years.
Both the sponge mixture and the filling can be varied as shown opposite.
It can become a truly modern roulade too.
The addition of butter makes a moister sponge that keeps a little longer.
Plain flour is used as the mixture is aerated by whisking the eggs and sugar, but if you have not made a whisked sponge before, you could use self-raising flour to ensure the mixture rises.
Line a 12 x 8-9 inch/30.5 x 20-23 cm Swiss roll tin (jelly roll pan) with greased greaseproof (wax) paper or non-stick silicone paper. Heat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5.
Sift the flour on to a plate and keep it warm. Put the eggs and sugar into a mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk until thick and creamy and the whisk leaves a trail when lifted.
Sift the flour into the egg mixture, then carefully fold in with the butter, if used. The mixture should be of a pouring consistency. If it is slightly stiff, add the water. Spoon or pour into the prepared tin, making sure the corners are filled. Bake towards the top of the oven for about 9 minutes or until firm to a gentle touch.
Meanwhile warm, but do not overheat, the jam. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on a working surface and sprinkle with caster sugar. Invert the tin over the sugared paper with the short end towards you. Remove the tin and peel off the cooking paper. If it sticks to the sponge, damp the paper with a brush dipped in cold water. If the edges of the sponge are crisp, cut these away. Immediately spread the sponge with the warm jam. Make a light cut across the sponge about ½ inch/1.5 cm from the short end nearest to you then make a firm fold.
Using the sugared paper, firmly roll up the sponge. Place the roll on a wire tray to cool completely in a draught-free place.
Serves 6
3 oz/85 g (¾ cup) plain (all-purpose) or self-raising flour
3 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo)
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
1 oz/25 g (2 tbsp) butter, melted, optional
1 tablespoon (1 ¼ tbsp) hot water, optional
For rolling and filling
a little extra caster (granulated) sugar
jam (jelly)
The Swiss Roll recipe given opposite can be varied in many ways, simply by changing the filling or the flavour of the sponge mixture.
Cream-filled Swiss Rolls
Turn the sponge out on to the sugared paper and roll it up immediately with the paper in between the layers, so they do not stick together. When it is cold, carefully unroll the sponge. Spread with warm jam, redcurrant jelly or a sweetened fruit purée, such as raspberry, then top with ¼ pint/150 ml (⅔ cup) whipped cream. The cream can be flavoured with a little vanilla sugar or essence (extract) or with a little liqueur.
Here are two particularly delicious fillings.
Black Cherry. Drain cooked or canned black cherries; or remove the stones from really ripe fruit. Soak in a little cherry brandy; do not use any more than the fruit can absorb.
Spread the sponge with a little melted redcurrant jelly then with whipped cream. Add the cherry mixture and re-roll. Decorate with a few whirls of whipped cream and cherries.
Chocolate and Rum. Make a plain or chocolate-flavoured Swiss roll. Whip about ¼ pint/150 ml (⅔ cup) of double (heavy) cream. Add a little sugar, some grated or finely chopped chocolate and a dash of rum. Spread the sponge with sieved apricot jam (jelly), add the cream mixture and re-roll. The completed roll can be decorated with whirls of whipped cream and chocolate leaves.
Flavouring the Sponge Mixture
Chocolate Sponge. Replace ½ oz/15 g (2 tbsp) flour with cocoa powder (unsweetened cocoa), or replace 1 oz/25 g (4 tbsp) flour with sweetened chocolate powder.
Nut Roulade. While you can replace the flour with the same weight of finely chopped nuts, it is easier to use the following combination: 1 ½ oz/40 g (6 tbsp) flour and 2 oz/50 g (½ cup) finely chopped hazelnuts (filberts), pecan nuts or walnuts.
Prepare, cook and fill the sponge as in the basic recipe.
The secret of a rich cherry cake, where the cherries stay in position, is to use a relatively small amount of baking powder and to bake the cake slowly.
If you do this it is unnecessary to wash the cherries.
Do not be disappointed if the cake does not rise very dramatically; the cherries are heavy and very little raising agent is used.
If you want a deeper cake, use the 7 inch/18 cm tin (pan).
Grease and lightly flour or line a 7 or 8 inch/18 or 20 cm round cake tin (pan). Heat the oven to 300F/150C/Gas Mark 2.
Cream the butter or margarine and sugar until soft and light. Gradually beat in the eggs. Mix the flour and baking powder with the halved cherries. Fold gently, but thoroughly, into the creamed mixture. Do not add any extra liquid.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth it flat on top. Bake in the centre of the oven. The 7 inch/18 cm cake will take approximately 1¾ hours and the 8 inch/20 cm cake about 1½ hours. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out to cool completely on a wire tray.
To Make a Change
Cherry and Almond Cake. Replace 2 oz/50 g (½ cup) of the plain (all-purpose) flour with 3 oz/75 g (¾ cup) ground almonds. Do not add almond essence, for the flavour of the ground almonds should be subtle. Put the cake mixture in the prepared tin then top with about 2 oz/50 g (½ cup) blanched and flaked almonds. Bake as above.
Serves 8
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) butter or margarine
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
3 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo) or 4 smaller eggs
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) glacé (candied) cherries, halved
Almonds have been used in cooking for centuries.
The Victorian cook would skin, chop and pound the nuts to make ground almonds – a laborious process.
Line two baking (cookie) sheets or trays with rice paper. Heat the oven to 350F/18OC/Gas Mark 4.
Whisk the egg whites until just frothy. Add the almond essence, ground almonds and sugar. If slightly soft, add the rice flour, cornflour or more ground almonds. Form the mixture into 12-18 soft balls and place them on the rice paper, spaced well apart. Top each ball with a blanched almond.
To produce sticky macaroons, put a bowl of water in the oven under the biscuits as they bake. Bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 20 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, cut round the rice paper.
To Make a Change
Almond Paste Tartlets. Use only 1½ egg whites to make a stiffer mixture. Roll out until very thin on a sugared surface. Cut into 15-18 rounds to fit small patty tins (pans). Bake for 10 minutes at 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3. Cool slightly then lift from the tins. When cold fill with homemade conserve (jelly).
Ratafias. Ratafia essence is extracted from the kernels of cherries, apricots or peaches. Follow the recipe for Macaroons, but roll the mixture into 60-70 small balls and reduce the cooking time to 10 minutes.
Makes 12-18
rice paper
2 egg whites
a few drops of almond or ratafia essence (extract)
5 oz/150 g (1 ¾ cups) ground almonds
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
1 teaspoon rice flour or cornflour (cornstarch), optional
To decorate
12-18 blanched almonds
Meringues could be made fairly readily from the beginning of the eighteenth century, when sugar was more widely available.
When sandwiched together with cream they were known as ‘kisses’.
Do not use egg whites that are less than 24 hours old; very fresh or cold egg whites do not whisk well. If stored in the refrigerator leave to stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover left-over egg yolks with cold water to prevent a skin from forming, and use for mixing pastry or in baked custards.
While caster sugar is given in the ingredients, you can use half caster and half sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar or substitute light brown sugar for the caster sugar.
Prepare the baking (cookie) trays well; meringues are inclined to stick. Use non-stick silicone paper or silicone-coated trays or, if using ordinary tins (pans), brush them lightly with olive oil, or a few drops of melted butter, or line with oiled or greased greaseproof (wax) paper. Heat the oven to 200-225F/90-110C/Gas Mark 0 or ¼ or S. If you prefer to cook the meringues slightly faster, so they are softer in the middle, use 225-250F/110-120C/Gas Mark ¼-½.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff but do not overwhip them. Add the vanilla essence. Either, whisk in half the sugar then fold in the remainder or, if using an electric mixer, set it to a low speed and add the sugar steadily.
Fill a spoon with meringue mixture, take a second spoon and scoop out the mixture on to the prepared surface. Use a rolling movement and you will achieve a good shape. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Alternatively, place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe 12 meringues in decorative shapes. Dust with a little extra sugar if desired.
Bake for 2-3 hours. They will feel crisp on the outside when adequately cooked. Remove from the sheets with a warmed knife and leave to cool. Store in an airtight tin until required.
To make ‘kisses’, gently break just the bottom surface of each meringue. Sandwich them together in pairs, bottom to bottom, with whipped cream.
Makes 12 large shells or 6 ‘kisses’
2 egg whites
a few drops of vanilla essence (extract)
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
For the filling
¼ pint/150 ml (⅔ cup) double (heavy) cream, whipped
These crisp wafers have been made for centuries. It is believed they have evolved from the old English wafers known as ‘gauffres’.
Originally a teaspoon of brandy would have been added. They can be served plain, or filled with whipped cream.
Grease 2 or 3 baking (cookie) sheets or trays. Heat the oven to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3.
Place the butter and sugar with the syrup or honey into a saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. This could be done in a basin in a microwave oven. Cool slightly then add the flour, ground ginger and brandy, if used. Mix well.
Put teaspoons of the mixture on to the prepared sheets or trays, allowing space for the mixture to spread. Place the first tray into the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the edges become firm. In order to allow time to roll the thin biscuits (cookies) it is advisable to bake one batch at a time, so put the second batch into the oven as you remove the first.
Grease the handle of a wooden spoon. Let the brandy snaps cool for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove one with a palette knife and roll it around the spoon handle; hold in position for a few seconds then slip out the handle and place the biscuit on a wire tray with the overlapping edge downwards. Repeat with the remaining biscuits. If they begin to harden on the trays before you can roll them, warm for a short time in the oven.
Store brandy snaps separately in an airtight tin.
Makes 15-16
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) butter
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
2 oz/50 g (3 tbsp) golden (light corn) syrup or honey
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
½-1 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1 teaspoon brandy, optional
Although England is a comparatively small country it has always maintained very strong regional customs and differences, many of which, as in other cultures, are related to food, particularly the kind of food served at that most English of meals, teatime.
In the North of England, for example, you will be offered deliciously light Eccles Cakes (page 82) and Yorkshire’s Fat Rascals (page 74) spread with a generous amount of butter.
Devon and Cornwall, in the West Country, are famous for their cream teas. I have given a recipe for real Devonshire Splits on page 71. If you do not have time to make them, choose the recipe for Scones on page 87, but in either case, serve with fruity jam (jelly) and lots of clotted or whipped cream.
Sally Lunns (page 69), a special teacake, are reputed to have originated in the Roman city of Bath, but have now become available in most parts of England, including the North. Similar cakes are known in other countries too.
‘Stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?’
The Old Vicarage, Grantchester. Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)
Teatime sandwiches can be made in many attractive shapes. If you are entertaining people who enjoy playing cards then cut the sandwiches in the shape of clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades (special cutters are available). Neat finger shapes are easy to cut if you are in a hurry. It is usual to cut off the crusts for afternoon-tea sandwiches.
Rolled sandwiches look very attractive. Cut large thin slices of fresh bread and spread with butter. Top with a smooth-textured filling, then roll the bread firmly. If the bread is difficult to roll, treat each slice as though it was pastry and roll a rolling pin firmly over the bread before spreading it with the butter and filling. This makes the bread very pliable. To make pinwheel sandwiches, cut the rolls in thin slices.
Open sandwiches look colourful and appetizing. Top fingers or rounds of buttered bread with a small amount of topping; too much can easily fall off.
Keep sandwiches in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Cover the plates or dishes or flat trays with foil or cling film (plastic wrap).
Freezing sandwiches. Most sandwiches freeze well, but not those containing salad ingredients, egg or a generous amount of mayonnaise. Freeze on a flat tray then wrap. Unwrap before defrosting.
Sandwich fillings
Based on Cheese
Blend cream or curd cheese with finely chopped dates or nuts, well-drained pineapple, diced cucumber, shredded lettuce or watercress leaves.
Add sufficient mayonnaise to grated cheese to give it a soft consistency.
Based on Eggs
Chop hard-boiled eggs and add enough mayonnaise to make a spreading consistency, spread the buttered bread with lumpfish roe (mock caviar) and top with the egg.
Mix scrambled egg with watercress, or mustard and cress, or finely diced red (sweet) peppers. Flavour scrambled eggs with a pinch of curry powder and chutney.
Based on Fish
Flavour smoked salmon with a squeeze of lemon juice and use as a sandwich filling with crisp lettuce.
Cooked fresh salmon, flaked smoke trout or mackerel all make excellent sandwich fillings. Blend the fish with a little mayonnaise or horseradish cream.
Potted fish (see page 145) is an ideal filling.
Fill the bread and butter with thinly sliced cooked chicken, ham or tongue. To add extra flavour to the sandwiches add crisp lettuce and blend a small amount of mustard or chutney to the butter used for spreading the bread. Pâtés of all kinds can be used.
Based on Salads
Any of the crisp salad greens can be used as a sandwich filling combined with sliced cucumber, chopped peppers or thinly sliced raw mushrooms blended with a little mayonnaise. Be restrained with sliced tomatoes, too many of which make the bread over-soft.
To make traditional cucumber sandwiches, peel the cucumber, if liked, then slice thinly and place on a plate with a little salt and pepper. Cover and leave for an hour. The excess liquid will run out, leaving the cucumber beautifully firm.
Sally Lunn was famous for the cakes she sold in Bath in the eighteenth century.
It is believed she gave her name to this teacake.
A second theory is that the name comes from the French ‘le soleil et la lune’ (the sun and the moon), presumably because they tasted good any time of day or night. Single cream is believed to have been used in the original recipe and it makes a very rich teabread, but milk is quite adequate.
Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Cream the yeast in a bowl, warm the cream or milk to blood heat and add it to the yeast. Blend thoroughly. Sprinkle a little flour on top and leave in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until the surface is covered with bubbles.
Rub the butter or margarine into the flour and add the sugar. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in the yeast liquid. Add the eggs and blend thoroughly. The dough should be soft but easy to knead on a floured surface until it is smooth in texture.
Return the dough to a large mixing bowl, cover and leave to ‘prove’ (rise) until almost doubled in size. This will take approximately 1½ hours at room temperature.
Meanwhile grease three 5 inch/12.5 cm round cake tins (pans) and leave in a warm place. Heat the oven to 450F/230C/Gas Mark 8.
Knead the risen dough again and divide it into three portions. Shape into balls and place in the tins. Cover and leave for 30 minutes or until well risen. Bake for 15-20 minutes. To test the loaves, tap the bottom; they should sound hollow.
Serve with butter or clotted cream.
Makes 3 small loaves
12 oz/350 g (3 cups) strong (hard wheat) flour or plain (all-purpose) flour
a pinch of salt
¾ oz/20 g (¾ cake) fresh (compressed) yeast (for time-saving yeasts, see page 50)
¼ pint/150 ml (⅔ cup) single (light) cream or milk
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) butter or margarine
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
2 eggs
These are among the richest and most delicious of all yeast cakes.
Do make them at home; sadly the buns that you buy bear no resemblance to the traditional bun that originated in the city of Bath.
If you cannot obtain loaf sugar use granulated or even demerara sugar.
Follow the directions for making Sally Lunns on page 69, adding the dried fruit and peel to the flour. Knead the dough and allow to prove (rise) in exactly the same way as given in that recipe.
Meanwhile grease 2 or 3 flat baking (cookie) sheets or trays. You need to allow plenty of space between the buns, for the soft dough spreads as well as rises during cooking.
Form the dough into 12 rounds. The traditional bun is fairly large, but you could make smaller ones if preferred. Place on the warm sheets or trays. Press the crushed sugar lightly but firmly on top of the buns. Lightly cover the buns with oiled cling film (plastic wrap); leave in a warm place for 20-25 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size.
Meanwhile heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7. Make sure the oven is really hot before baking. Bake the buns for 15 minutes or until well risen and firm. Smaller buns would take a slightly shorter time. Bath Buns should not be allowed to become too brown in colour – they should be golden.
Makes 12
Ingredients as Sally Lunns (see page 69) plus:
2 eggs
4-6 oz/100-175 g (¾-1 cup) mixed dried fruit
2-3 oz/50-75 g (⅓-½ cup) candied peel, chopped
For the topping
8-10 lumps of loaf sugar, lightly crushed, see method
Both Cornwall and Devon take pride in their traditional teas of splits, served with clotted cream and jam (jelly).
Nowadays you will often be served light scones (biscuits) for splits instead of these yeast buns.
Cream the yeast in a bowl then add the water and a sprinkling of flour; leave in a warm place until the surface is covered with bubbles.
Put the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl; add the yeast liquid and the butter or margarine. Mix together well. Add the egg and knead to make a smooth dough. The mixture will be fairly soft at this stage, but this is as it should be.
Continue kneading the dough until it is smooth. To test for readiness, press the dough with a lightly floured finger; if it leaves an impression, continue kneading. When the dough is ready any impression comes out.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 1¼-1½ hours, or until nearly doubled in size. Meanwhile, grease and flour 2 or 3 baking (cookie) sheets or trays and leave in a warm place. Turn the risen dough out on to a floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide into about 20 portions.
Form them into rounds like buns or slightly larger and flatter rounds. Fold these in half so that the splits can be broken open, rather than cut. Place on the warmed sheets or trays; cover with lightly oiled cling film (plastic wrap). Leave for 20-30 minutes, or until risen to almost twice the original size.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 450F/230C/Gas Mark 8. Bake the splits for 10 minutes, or until firm but pale in colour; they should not be too brown.
Serve with bowls of clotted or whipped cream and jam (jelly).
Makes 20
1 oz/25 g (1 cake) fresh (compressed) yeast (for time-saving yeasts, see page 50)
8 fl oz/225 ml (1 cup) warm water
1 lb/450 g (4 cups) strong (hard wheat) flour or plain (all-purpose) flour
a good pinch of salt
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) butter or margarine, melted and allowed to cool
l egg
The word ‘muffin’ is used to describe several kinds of teacake. There are 2 British variations, one not unlike a Scone (see page 87), and the other, which is given below, a traditional yeast recipe cooked on a griddle. The second recipe is for the delicious American version, which are baked in tins, ‘puff up’ and are very light.
Yeast Muffins
Cream the yeast in a bowl and add the milk. Sprinkle a little flour on top and leave in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until the surface is covered in bubbles.
Sift the flour with the salt into a mixing bowl. Add the yeast liquid and mix well. Knead until a smooth but soft dough is formed. Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature for 1¼ hours, or until the dough has doubled in size. Knead it once more, and divide into 12 equal portions.
For a perfect shape you should use 12 muffin rings about 3 inches/7.5 cm in diameter. Place them on to greased trays. Form the dough portions into pieces to fit the rings (if you have no rings simply make dough circles of the same size). The muffins should be fairly thick. Cover lightly and leave for about 25 minutes or until well risen.
Heat a griddle and grease it lightly. Lift the muffins – in their rings if you are using them – on to the griddle. Cook for 4-4 ½ minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. Turn and cook the other side in the same way. Serve hot or warm with butter.
Makes 12
½ oz/15 g (½ cake) fresh (compressed) yeast (for time-saving yeasts, see page 50)
½ pint/300 ml (1 ¼ cups) warm milk
14 oz/400 g (3 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
½ teaspoon salt
This basic recipe can be varied with the addition of fresh fruits – blueberries are the classic – or dried fruit.
A little of the flour can be replaced by bran. Try savoury muffins, using seasoning instead of sugar and a little grated cheese. Serve with butter.
Heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7. Grease 12 deep patty tins (pans). Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl with the salt. Add the sugar, milk, egg and butter and mix well. Spoon into the tins. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until well risen.
Makes 12
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) self-raising flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder or plain (all-purpose) flour with 3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (2 ½ tbsp) caster or granulated sugar
8 fl oz/240 ml (1 cup) milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons (2 ½ tbsp) melted butter
These are a Yorkshire speciality; they are light and slightly sweet scones (biscuits) that are traditionally served with butter.
Dust an ungreased baking (cookie) sheet with a little flour to prevent the bottom of the scones becoming too brown. Heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7.
Rub the butter or margarine into the flour, or flour and baking powder. Add the sugar and currants. Mix with the milk to give a soft rolling consistency. Knead lightly to form a smooth round and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out until approximately ¾ inch/2 cm in thickness; cut into rounds or triangles. Brush each Fat Rascal with a little milk to glaze and sprinkle with a little sugar. Place on the prepared sheet and bake towards the top of the oven for 10 minutes, or until firm when pressed on the side. Transfer to a wire tray to cool.
Makes 10-12
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) butter or margarine
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) light brown sugar
2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) currants approximately ¼ pint/150 ml (⅔ cup)
milk milk and a little caster or granulated sugar, to glaze
It is interesting that in Britain we tend to use saffron, which comes from the stamens of a certain crocus, to flavour cakes, rather than adding it to savoury dishes, as is done in other countries.
Measure the saffron powder carefully, for it is expensive and thrifty Cornish cooks would not use too much.
If using saffron strands put them into a cup with 1 tablespoon boiling water and leave to stand until the water is cold. Most people strain the liquid and use it in place of some of the milk, but I have seen the strands left in these small cakes and they are really quite pleasant.
Lightly grease 2 baking (cookie) sheets or trays. Heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7.
Sift the saffron powder with the flour and baking powder if used and the cinnamon. Rub in the butter or margarine. Add the sugar, dried fruit, candied peel, caraway seeds and the egg. Mix very thoroughly. Slowly add just enough milk or saffron water to make a sticky consistency.
Put the mixture into 12 small heaps on the sheets or trays, leaving room for the cakes to spread. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm and golden brown on the outside.
Makes 12
¼ teaspoon saffron powder or 10-12 saffron strands
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of ground cinnamon, optional
4 oz/110 g (¼ cup) butter or margarine
4 oz/110 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) currants
2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) seedless raisins
2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) candied peel, finely chopped
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
l egg
a little milk, to mix
This is based on the type of eggless fruit cake that was such a standby during the years of rationing in Britain. It is ideal for people who are allergic to eggs.
Line an 8 inch/20 cm round cake tin (pan) with greased greaseproof (wax) paper. Heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4.
Sift the dry ingredients together. Pour the tea into a large saucepan and add the orange rind, butter or margarine, sugar and marmalade. Heat until the butter and sugar have melted then add the dried fruit. Boil the mixture for 1 minute only. Add the candied peel and leave to become quite cold. Pour the tea mixture over the dry ingredients and beat well. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth flat on top. Bake for 1¼ hours or until firm to the touch. Check after 55 minutes and reduce the heat slightly if the cake is becoming too brown.
The Modern Touch
It is important to include plenty of fibre in the diet. This cake is extremely pleasant if made with wholemeal (wholewheat) flour in place of white flour. There is no need to increase the liquid content.
Serves 6-8
10 oz/300 g (2 ½ cups) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
7 fl oz/200 ml (generous ¾ cup) moderately strong blended or Darjeeling tea, well strained
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
3 oz/85 g (⅜ cup) butter or margarine
4 oz/100 g (scant ½ cup) brown sugar
1 tablespoon (1 ¼ tbsp) orange marmalade
4 oz/100 g (⅔ cup) seedless raisins
1 oz/25 g (3 tbsp) candied orange peel, finely chopped
Most of the counties of southern and south-west England have their traditional recipes for apple cakes. This is one of the simplest and nicest.
The secret is to use really good cooking (baking) apples.
Line the base of an 8 inch/20 cm round or 7 inch/18 cm square cake tin (pan); grease and flour the sides.
Heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4.
Cut the peeled and cored apples into neat ½ inch/1.5 cm dice and combine with 1 oz/25 g (2 tbsp) of the sugar and the ground cinnamon. Rub the butter or margarine into the flour and baking powder, if used, until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs. Add the remaining sugar, then the apples. Mix together thoroughly. Add the egg and milk and stir briskly. The dough may appear a little stiff and crumbly at first but it very quickly binds together. Spoon into the prepared tin and sprinkle demerara sugar on top.
Bake in the oven for 1¼ hours. If the cake is becoming a little too brown on top reduce the heat after 1 hour. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes in the cake tin, then turn out carefully on to a wire tray.
Like most apple cakes, this is nicest served very fresh and even slightly warm.
Serves 8
2 medium cooking (baking) apples yielding 8 oz/225 g (2 cups) when peeled and cored
6 oz/175 g (scant ¾ cup) demerara sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
5 oz/150 g (⅝ cup) butter or margarine
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder
l egg
1 tablespoon (1 ¼ tbsp) milk
For the topping
2 tablespoons (2 ½ tbsp) demerara sugar (light brown)
The cakes well known to the French as ‘Madeleines’ are plain and fairly flat in shape.
The English version, given here, is a castle shape, coated with jam and coconut. The tall pudding tins (pans) in which they are baked are called dariole moulds.
Grease and flour 12 large or 16 smaller dariole moulds. Heat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6.
Cream the butter or margarine and sugar until soft and light. Gradually beat in the eggs, then fold in the flour, or flour and baking powder. Spoon the mixture into the prepared moulds. It is important that they are only just over half filled, for the cakes should not rise above the top of the tins during baking. Tap each mould lightly on the work surface to make sure they are filled at the base.
Place the moulds on a flat baking (cookie) sheet or tray. Place in the oven towards the top, and bake for 10 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Cool for a minute then turn out carefully on to a wire tray to cool.
Warm the jam slightly and spread the coconut out on a flat plate. Brush or spread the jam over the top and sides of the cakes then roll them in the coconut until evenly coated. You will find this easier to do if you insert a fine skewer in the base of the cake and hold this. Top each cake with a halved cherry and leaves of angelica.
Makes 12-16
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) butter or margarine
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
2 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo)
4 oz/110 g (1 cup) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the coating and decoration
approximately 4 tablespoons (5 tbsp) raspberry or apricot jam (jelly), sieved
2 oz/50 g (⅔ cup) desiccated (shredded) coconut
6-8 glacé (candied) cherries, halved
a small piece of angelica, cut into leaf shapes
The proportions used below are correct for puff pastry, but the method is that generally used to make rough puff, which is a little easier.
The pastry does not rise quite as dramatically as when the classic method is used, but it is ideal for the recipes in this book.
This quantity is equivalent to 12 oz/350 g (¾ lb) commercially frozen puff pastry.
Cut the butter, which should be at room temperature, into ¾ inch/2 cm pieces. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter, turning it in the flour to coat the pieces. Mix the lemon juice and water. Stir it into the flour, blending together with a palette knife (spatula). Do not break the pieces of fat. The amount of liquid given should be sufficient to make a pliable dough. Flours vary slightly in the amount of liquid they absorb, so add a little more water if necessary. Form the dough into a neat shape.
Flour a pastry board and rolling pin. Roll the dough to make an oblong 3 times longer than its width.
Bring the bottom third of the dough over the middle third, giving the effect of an opened envelope. Bring down the top third, thus closing the ‘envelope’. Turn the dough 90 degrees so you have an open end towards you. Seal both open ends with the rolling pin and depress the pastry dough with the pin at regular intervals: this is known as ‘ribbing’ it.
Roll out the dough with short sharp light movements to re-form an oblong. Fold as before, turn the pastry, seal the ends and ‘rib’ the pastry. Cover and chill for about 30 minutes. Do not let it become too hard.
Repeat the process of rolling, folding and ribbing 3 times more. Chill the pastry before using, completely covered so that a skin does not form.
The Modern Touch
Homemade puff pastry can be successfully frozen. Make a large batch and divide it into neat portions. Cover lightly, freeze until firm then wrap.
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) butter
6 oz/175 g (1 ½ cups) strong (hard wheat) or plain (all-purpose) flour
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
about 6 tablespoons (½ cup) ice-cold water
Some sources say that these famous cakes were prepared by the ill-fated Anne Boleyn (mother of Elizabeth I) to please Henry VIII.
Others say they were made for Anne by her own maids of honour.
Roll out the pastry and cut it into rounds; line 12-15 deep patty tins (pans). Chill well while preparing the filling. Heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7.
Blend all the ingredients, except the currants, together. Spoon the mixture into the pastry cases and sprinkle the currants over the filling. Bake for 10 minutes in the hot oven, then reduce the heat to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3 for a further 15 minutes, or until both filling and pastry are firm.
To Make a Change
Sometimes Maids of Honour are topped with a round of glacé icing. Blend 4 oz/100 g (1 cup) sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar with a few drops of lemon juice and enough cold water to make a spreading consistency. Spoon a wafer-thin layer on the tarts. Decorate with glacé cherries and angelica.
Almond Maids of Honour. This filling is firmer, but equally delicious, and also attributed to Anne Boleyn. Whisk 1 egg and 1 egg yolk with 2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar until thick. Add 1 teaspoon of orange flower water, 1 teaspoon brandy, 4 oz/100 g (1 cup) ground almonds and 1 oz/25 g (¼ cup) fine cake crumbs. Mix well. Put into the pastry cases and bake as above. These can be iced if desired, as above.
Makes 12-15
1 quantity Puff Pastry (see page 79)
For the filling
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) cottage cheese, sieved
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) butter
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
1 oz/25 g (¼ cup) ground almonds
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons brandy
½ teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons (2 ½ tbsp) currants
These small fruit tartlets are ideal for teatime in hot weather.
It is a good idea to bake a large batch of tartlet cases and keep these in the freezer.
Small strawberries can be used instead of cherries for the filling.
Sift the flour and cornflour into a bowl; rub in the butter or margarine until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, drop in the egg yolk and blend the ingredients together with a palette knife (spatula). Gradually add sufficient water to make a rolling consistency. If the mixture is a little soft wrap it and chill for an hour in the refrigerator.
Knead the dough lightly (this pastry can be handled more than a shortcrust pastry). Roll out on a lightly floured board until ¼ inch/6 mm in thickness, then cut into rounds to fit small patty tins (pans). Insert the pastry rounds into the tins; press down firmly and prick the bases with a fork. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5. Bake the pastry for 15 minutes or until firm and pale golden in colour. Cool for a few minutes in the tins then lift on to a tray. Leave until cold.
Wash, dry and stone the cherries; use either a proper cherry stoner or insert the bent end of a new fine hairpin into the fruit and gently pull out the stones. Do this over a basin, so no juice is wasted.
Put the cherry juice, or water, with the lemon juice and redcurrant jelly into a saucepan; stir over a low heat until the jelly melts. Cool slightly.
Arrange the cherries in the cases, brush the glaze over the fruit. Leave for a short time for the glaze to stiffen, before serving.
Makes approximately 15
For the biscuit crust pastry
4 oz/100 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 oz/25 g (¼ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
3 oz/75 g (⅜ cup) butter or margarine
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
1 egg yolk
approximately ½ tablespoon water
For the filling and glaze
12 oz/350 g (¾ lb) ripe dessert cherries
1 tablespoon (1 ¼ tbsp) cherry juice or water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons (4 tbsp) redcurrant jelly
Eccles Cakes date back to Tudor times when they were part of the fare for ‘Wakes’ (the Lancashire name for a holiday).
Although the festivities have changed, the cakes are still popular.
Preheat the oven to 425-450F/220-230C/Gas Mark 7-8.
Roll out the pastry until it is very thin; cut into 10 rounds using a large saucer as a guide.
Cream the butter or margarine and sugar. Combine well with the rest of the filling ingredients. Divide the mixture between the rounds of pastry, brush the edges with a little water and gather together. Seal firmly, then turn the cakes with the joins underneath. Roll the cakes gently and shape with your fingers to make perfect rounds of about 2 ½-3 inches/6.5-7.5 cm in diameter.
Make 2 or 3 slits on top of each cake with kitchen scissors. Brush the cakes with a very little milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Place on an ungreased baking (cookie) sheet and bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4 for a further 5-6 minutes.
To Make a Change
Banbury Cakes. Follow the recipe for Eccles Cakes, but make the pastry into oval shapes. Add 2 oz/50 g (½ cup) fine cake or Almond Macaroon crumbs (see page 63) to the fruits.
Makes 10
1 quantity Puff Pastry (see page 79)
For the filling
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) butter or margarine
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) light brown sugar
2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) sultanas (seedless white raisins)
2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) currants
2 tablespoons (2 ½ tbsp) mixed candied peel, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon (1 ¼ tbsp) lemon juice
¼ teaspoon mixed spice
To glaze
a little milk
approximately 1 tablespoon caster (granulated) sugar
These have always been a great favourite.
The crisp pastry is topped with jam (jelly), then the light macaroon mixture.
Two methods of baking are given below.
Heat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter or margarine. Add the sugar, then the egg yolk; add enough water to give a firm rolling consistency. Roll out the pastry and use to line a 10 x 7 inch (25 x 18 cm) Swiss roll tin (jelly roll pan).
If you like very crisp pastry prick it with a fork to prevent the bottom rising; bake ‘blind’ (without a filling) for approximately 15 minutes or until firm, but still pale in colour. Spread with the jam.
Whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add the almond essence, ground almonds and sugar. Spread this mixture carefully over the jam, sprinkle flaked almonds evenly on top. Return to the oven, lowering the heat to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4 and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown in colour.
If you do not want to precook the pastry, you can spread the uncooked pastry with jam then add the macaroon topping. Bake for 15 minutes at the higher temperature then reduce the heat and continue cooking for a further 10-15 minutes or until the topping is firm and golden brown in colour.
Whichever method you choose, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then mark into slices. Remove from the tin.
Makes 16 slices
For the pastry
6 oz/175 g (1 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
a pinch of salt
3 oz/85 g (⅜ cup) butter or margarine
1 oz/25 g (2 tbsp) caster (granulated) sugar
1 egg yolk
water to bind
For the topping
4 tablespoons (5 tbsp) sieved apricot jam (jelly)
2 egg whites
a few drops of almond essence (extract)
4 oz/110 g (1 cup) ground almonds
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
2 oz/50 g (½ cup) blanched and flaked almonds
These are typical of many similar crisp ginger biscuits (cookies) you will find throughout Britain. The best known are the Shahs of Ireland (see below) and Fairings served in the West Country.
Self-raising flour can be used in place of the plain flour and bicarbonate of soda.
Grease 1 or 2 baking (cookie) sheets or trays. Heat the oven to 375-400F/190-200C/Gas Mark 5-6.
Sift all the dry ingredients together very well. Put the butter or margarine, sugar and golden syrup into a saucepan. Heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Add the flour mixture and blend thoroughly.
Form the mixture into 10-12 small balls; if the mixture seems slightly sticky dampen your fingers slightly. Place on the prepared sheets or trays spaced well apart. Place near the top of the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Move the sheets or trays to a lower position and reduce the heat to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until cracked on top and firm.
Allow the biscuits to become nearly cold before removing from the sheets or trays. Store in a completely airtight tin.
If you have an electric fan oven where all cooking positions have the same heat, then set the oven to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3 and bake without changing either setting or position in the oven.
To Make a Change
Shah Biscuits. The above recipe differs from the Irish one, which includes egg, but you will have much the same result if you put pieces of candied peel and/or raisins on the biscuits before baking.
Makes 10-12
4 oz/110 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½-1 teaspoon ground ginger
½-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½-1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) butter or margarine
1 oz/25 g (2 tbsp) caster (granulated) sugar
2 level tablespoons (2 ½ tbsp) golden (light corn) syrup
According to the fascinating book The Scots Kitchen, by F. Marian McNeill, originally published in 1929, teatime in Scotland reached as high a point of perfection in the nineteenth century as the renowned Scottish breakfast. We read that ‘cakes apart, visitors were surprised at the variety of scones and light teabreads’. The book paints a picture of an elegant tea table beside a glowing fire and continues ‘for many of us this made the tea hour the pleasantest hour of the day’.
Lavish farmhouse teas were also described; the contemporary English teatime meal is referred to as an inferior competitor. Whatever the truth of it, it’s a sign of the enduring Scottish national pride in their splendid baking.
Traditional teas in Scotland are still as lavish and delightful as ever.
‘I don’t want any more hugs;
Make me some fresh tea…’
It’s No Use Raising a Shout
W. H. Auden (1907-1973)
These thick soft pancakes, often known as ‘Drop Scones’ because the mixture is dropped from a spoon on to the heated surface, are an irresistible teatime favourite. They are best eaten on the day they are prepared.
Sift the flour, or flour and baking powder, with the salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add the egg, then gradually beat in the milk. Whisk until a smooth batter is formed. The butter or margarine can be added just before cooking to make a softer and slightly richer pancake. The sugar is a matter of personal taste; add with the butter or margarine.
Lightly grease a griddle or heavy frying pan (skillet) and preheat. To test, drop a teaspoon of the mixture on to the hot surface. It should set within 1 minute. Place spoonfuls of batter on the griddle and cook for approximately 2 minutes, or until the top is covered with bubbles. Using a palette knife (spatula), turn the first pancake over and cook for 2 minutes more. Repeat with all the pancakes.
To test if the pancakes are ready, press the side gently but firmly with the blunt edge of a knife. No batter should come out.
Place a clean teacloth on a wire tray and place the pancakes on top. Cover with a second teacloth to prevent them hardening.
To Make a Change
Scots Crumpets. These are thinner than Scotch Pancakes. Cream ¼ oz/7 g (¼ cake) fresh (compressed) yeast with 1 teaspoon sugar; add 7 fl oz/200 ml (⅞ cup) warm milk and mix well. Top with a sprinkling of flour. Leave for 10 minutes or until the surface is covered with bubbles. Sift 4 oz/100 g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour with a pinch of salt. Add the yeast liquid, 1 egg and 1 tablespoon (1 ¼ tbsp) melted butter. Beat well for several minutes. Cover and leave at room temperature for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Beat again and cook as above.
Makes 12-15
4 oz/100 g (1 cup) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten lightly
¼ pint/150 ml (⅔ cup) milk
1 oz/25 g (2 tbsp) butter or margarine, melted, optional
1 tablespoon caster (granulated) sugar, optional
Scones are a favourite all over Britain and appreciated in other countries too.
In Australia, for example, they have the name of ‘Gems’ or ‘Gem Scones’.
In the old days, when milk was inclined to go sour easily, it was used in scone-making to produce a really light texture.
Nowadays, pasteurization and refrigeration have made sour milk a thing of the past. When fresh milk was used it was traditional to blend ½ level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and 1 level teaspoon cream of tartar with 8 oz/225 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour.
This you can still do, but modern self-raising flour or the equivalent in baking powder with plain (all-purpose) flour are perfectly adequate.
The secret of a good scone is to make the mixture a really soft rolling consistency (busy cooks can just pat out the dough to the desired thickness instead of using the rolling pin). Handle the dough quickly and bake the scones as soon as possible after making.
It is essential that the oven is preheated adequately before baking.
There is no need to grease baking (cookie) sheets or trays. They can just be lightly floured to keep the bottom of the scones from getting too brown. Heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7.
Sift the flour, or flour and baking powder, with the salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter or margarine. Add sufficient milk to make a soft rolling consistency. Roll or pat out the dough until approximately ¾ inch/2 cm thick. Cut into rounds or triangles. Put on the sheets or trays.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes towards the top of the oven. To test if they are cooked simply press the sides of the scones: your fingers should not leave an impression. Place on a wire tray to cool.
To make muffins from this unsweetened scone mixture, add a little more milk to give a slightly softer texture. Divide into 6 portions, and pat them into rounds with floured hands. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Makes approximately 12
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
1-2 oz/25-50 g (2-4 tbsp) butter or margarine
milk to mix
The following receipes demonstrate the number of delicious variations on the basic unsweetened scone.
Sweet Scones
Add approximately 2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) sugar to the flour and fat mixture. If you like you can sweeten and flavour the scone dough by using honey, marmalade or black treacle (molasses) instead of sugar. Blend in these sweeteners before adding the milk, so that the dough is not too wet.
Flavoured Scones
Sift up to 1 teaspoon mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg or other spices into the flour. Add the finely grated rind of 1 or 2 lemons or oranges. In this case use a little fruit juice, instead of all milk, to bind the dough.
Dried fruits of various kinds and candied peel can be added. Alternatively, try using a few ripe blueberries or blackcurrants.
Savoury Scones
Sift a fairly generous amount of salt, pepper and dry mustard powder with the flour. Add up to 2 oz/50 g (½ cup) finely grated cheese. Often cheese scones are mixed with an egg as well as milk. Scones made with strong Lancashire cheese are particularly successful. Bake at a slightly lower setting, i.e. 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6, and for a few minutes longer.
Oatmeal Scones
These are particularly good and of course extremely healthy since all forms of oatmeal provide fibre.
Use 6 oz/175 g (1½ cups) flour and 2 oz/50 g (scant ½ cup) rolled oats in any of the recipes given here. Add ½ teaspoon baking powder to self-raising flour and an extra ½ teaspoon to plain (all-purpose) flour.
Potato Scones
Use 4 oz/100 g (1 cup) flour and 4 oz/100 g (½ cup) mashed potato instead of all flour. Add 1 teaspoon baking powder to self-raising flour and 1 extra teaspoon baking powder to plain (all-purpose) flour.
This is one of the richer ‘speckled breads’, and when fresh it can be served as a cake.
Old recipes suggest you take proven bread dough and work the fats, sugar and fruit into it. This recipe gives instructions on making the dough first.
Cream the yeast in a bowl, add the warm water and sprinkle a little flour on top. Leave for 10 minutes, or until the surface is covered with bubbles. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the yeast liquid and the sugar. Melt the butter and lard so it is soft enough to incorporate into the dough, but do not let it become oily. Work the fats into the dough with a wooden spoon or with your hands. Finally work in the sultanas. Knead the dough until smooth.
To test if the dough is sufficiently kneaded, press with a floured finger. If the impression stays then extra kneading is necessary. When the dough is sufficiently kneaded, return it to the bowl, cover and allow to rise. This will take at least 1 ½ hours in a warm place. Towards the end of this time grease and warm a flat baking (cookie) sheet or tray.
Knead the dough again and form into a large round shape. Place it on the sheet or tray, cover lightly with oiled clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave for about 30 minutes or until almost doubled in size.
Meanwhile heat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5. Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for 1-1¼ hours. Reduce the heat to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3 after 45 minutes. When the loaf is ready it will sound hollow if tapped on the bottom.
Makes 1 loaf
1 oz/25 g (1 cake) fresh (compressed) yeast (for time-saving yeasts, see page 50)
½ pint/300 ml (1 ¼ cups) warm water
1 lb/450 g (4 cups) strong (hard wheat) or plain (all-purpose) flour
½ teaspoon salt
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) butter
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) lard (shortening)
1 lb/450 g (2 ½ cups) sultanas (golden raisins)
This is one of the best-loved cakes in Britain. It owes its name to the important seaport on the east coast of Scotland.
Ground almonds have always been included in the cake, enhancing the flavour and keeping it moist. The flavour is best allowed to mature for at least 1 week and up to 1 month, stored in an airtight tin.
Grease and flour or line a 7 or 8 inch/18 or 20 cm cake tin (pan). Heat the oven to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3.
Cream the butter and sugar until soft and light. Add the grated rind, if using. Gradually beat in the eggs; save the shells with a little egg white adhering to them. Fold the flour and baking powder into the creamed mixture then mix in all the remaining ingredients.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin; arrange the blanched almonds, which must be perfectly dry, in a neat design on top of the cake. Brush them with the egg white left in the shells to glaze.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 300F/150C/Gas Mark 2. If cooking the smaller cake allow a further 1½ hours. The shallow wider cake needs another 1¾ hours. Test to see if the cake is cooked by pressing gently but firmly on top. It will have shrunk away slightly from the sides of the tin. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out carefully on to a wire tray to cool completely.
Serves 8-10
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) butter
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
a little grated lemon or orange rind, optional
3 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo)
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 oz/25 g (¼ cup) ground almonds
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) glacé (candied) cherries, quartered
2 oz/50 g (⅓ cup) mixed candied peel, chopped
1 lb/450 g (3 cups) mixed dried fruit
2 tablespoons (2 ½ tbsp) sherry or milk
To decorate
1-2 oz/25-50 g (
- ⅓ cup) blanched almonds
This is one of the simplest biscuits (cookies) to prepare but one of the most delicious.
Shortbread is an essential part of a good Scottish tea.
Heat the oven well ahead at low to very moderate, 300-325F/150-160C/Gas Mark 2-3. This is important to keep the shortbread a good shape. Do this while the mixture is standing in the mould (see below).
To make a real shortbread shape, dust a wooden shortbread mould with rice flour or cornflour (cornstarch).
Sift the flours into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into pieces then rub it into the flours. Add the sugar. Turn the mixture out of the bowl and knead until smooth. Press the mixture into the mould and leave for 1 hour for the shape to set. Turn out carefully on to an ungreased baking (cookie) sheet or tray.
If you have no wooden mould, form the dough into a neat round about ½ inch/1.5 cm thick and flute the edges.
Prick the biscuit evenly all over with a fine skewer. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes until firm, but still pale. Mark into 8 triangles and leave to cool on the tray. When cold, sprinkle a little sugar on top.
To Make a Change
Petticoat Tails. One theory about this name is that these biscuits, a favourite of Mary Queen of Scots, were called after fashionable skirts of the day. Make the shortbread mixture but roll it out until only ¼ inch/6 mm thick. Form into two rounds. Place on greased sheets or trays, mark in triangles and dust with caster sugar. Bake for only 15 minutes. Separate the triangles before the biscuits are cold. Dust with sugar.
Makes 8
4 oz/100 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 oz/50 g (scant ½ cup) rice flour or ground rice or cornflour (cornstarch)
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) butter
2 oz/50 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
To decorate
a little caster (granulated) sugar
A line from a well-loved song from Wales (Cymru) announces:
We’ll keep a welcome on the hillside
We’ll keep a welcome in the dales
and there is no doubt that the hospitable inhabitants of this principality have always enjoyed entertaining.
The mountains that separate Wales from England made travel rather difficult in the past, so supplies of exotic foods would not have been readily available in remote areas. That is why much of the traditional teatime cooking of Wales depends upon dried fruit, caraway seeds and food that can be stored, and why strong Welsh traditions have developed and been retained. Most cooking in Wales depends upon homegrown ingredients.
Bara is the Welsh name for bread, of which there are various types. The best known, of course, is the speckled bread – Bara Brith – for which the recipe is opposite.
Here though, great Anna! whom three realms obey,
Dost sometimes counsel take – and sometimes Tea.
The Rape of The Lock, Alexander Pope (1688-1744) (on Queen Anne)
This is the famous Welsh ‘speckled bread’, related to the Selkirk Bannock of Scotland and Ireland’s richer Barm Breac, or Barm Brack (see pages 89 and 100).
Cream the yeast in a bowl and blend in the milk, or milk and water. Sprinkle over a little flour and leave for 10 minutes, or until the surface is covered with bubbles. Meanwhile sift the flour, salt and spice into a large bowl. Rub in the lard or butter and add the sugar. Stir in the yeast liquid. Mix well. Add the egg and dried fruits and blend well.
Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead until smooth. Return to the bowl, cover and leave for about 1½ hours, or until the dough has almost doubled in size. Turn out of the bowl and knead again. During this proving process grease and warm a 2½ lb/1.2 kg loaf tin (pan) or a baking (cookie) sheet or tray.
Mould the dough to fit the tin or make a neat oblong and place it on the sheet or tray. Cover lightly with oiled cling film (plastic wrap). Leave for 30 minutes, or until almost doubled in size.
Meanwhile heat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5. Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes; if necessary reduce the heat slightly for the last 10-15 minutes. The loaf is ready if it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Brush the loaf with honey to give a pleasing shine.
Makes 1 loaf
¾ oz/20 g (¾ cake) fresh (compressed) yeast (for time-saving yeasts, see page 50)
8 fl oz/225 ml (1 cup) warm milk, or milk and water
12 oz/350 g (3 cups) strong (hard wheat) or plain (all-purpose) flour
½ teaspoon salt
½-1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) lard (shortening) or butter
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) sugar, preferably brown
1 egg
8 oz/225 g (1 ¼ cups) currants
6 oz/175 g (1 cup) seedless raisins or sultanas (golden raisins)
2-3 tablespoons (2 ½-3 ¾ tbsp) chopped mixed candied peel
To glaze
a little honey, warmed, optional
Seed cakes have been popular for generations, particularly in Wales.
The flavour of this Welsh seed loaf is enhanced by the addition of candied orange peel and orange flower water (available from chemists).
Grease and flour or line a 2½ lb/1.2 kg loaf tin (pan). Heat the oven to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3.
Cream the butter or margarine and sugar with the orange flower water until soft and light. Gradually beat in the eggs then fold in the flour, or flour and baking powder, the caraway seeds and candied peel. Stir in the milk gradually to give a soft consistency.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle the caster sugar and caraway seeds on top. Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour. Reduce the temperature to 300F/150C/Gas Mark 2 and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, or until firm to a gentle touch. Turn out and cool.
Serves 8
8 oz/225 g (1 cup) butter or margarine
8 oz/225 g (1 cup) caster (granulated) sugar
1 teaspoon orange flower water
3 eggs
10 oz/300 g (2 ½ cups) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
3 oz/75 g (scant ½ cup) candied orange peel, finely chopped
4 tablespoons (5 tbsp) milk
For the topping
1 tablespoon (1¼ tbsp) caster (granulated) sugar
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
Pour, varlet, pour the water, The water steaming hot!
A spoonful for each man of us, Another for the pot!
Barry Pain (1864-1928)
I often think that the appearance of these flat cakes belies their delicious flavour.
No true Welsh tea is complete without them.
Currants are always included, but I like to add some seedless raisins too.
Sift the flour, or flour and baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter or margarine. Add the sugar and currants. Mix in the egg and enough milk to make a soft rolling consistency. Roll out on a lightly floured board until the dough is about ½ inch/1.5 cm in thickness. Cut into small rounds with a pastry cutter.
Preheat and lightly grease the griddle, which in Wales is sometimes called a ‘bakestone’. When it is ready, a little flour shaken on top will take at least 1 minute to turn golden brown. Alternatively, use a greased heavy frying pan (skillet).
Put the cakes on to the hot surface and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning once, until they are golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a wire tray to cool. When cold, dust with a little sugar.
Makes 16-18
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) butter or margarine
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster granulated) sugar
4 oz/100 g (⅔ cup) currants, or a mixture of currants and seedless raisins
l egg
a little milk to bind
To decorate
caster (granulated) sugar
These crisp cakes are a speciality of Aberffraw, on Caernarvon Bay in beautiful Anglesey. The dough is moulded around scallop shells before baking.
Scallops, like other shellfish, are plentiful off the Welsh coast.
Lightly grease 2 flat baking (cookie) sheets or trays. Heat the oven to 350-375F/180-190C/Gas Mark 4-5.
Put 1 oz/25 g (2 tbsp) of the sugar on one side. Add the rest to the butter and cream until soft and light. Add the flour and knead well with your hands until blended. Divide into 12 portions.
Sprinkle a little of the reserved sugar into a scallop shell or over the back of the shell if you prefer to mould the dough on that side. Flatten one portion of the dough and press it against the sugared surface until it has acquired the shape. Gently remove the pastry shell and place it on the sheet or tray. Repeat with the remaining portions. If the shells are large you can mould over the centre part only, but try to make a neat edge.
Bake for 15 minutes at the higher setting; if your oven is inclined to be rather hot, it is better to use the lower setting and bake for 20 minutes. They should be crisp and golden. Cool then remove from the sheets or trays.
Serve cold, plain, or dusted with sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar or filled with jam (jelly) and whipped cream just before serving.
To Make a Change
Rich Berffro Cakes. You will need 10-12 small scallop shells. Increase the quantity of sugar and butter to equal the flour, i.e. 6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) of each. Follow the method above but grease the inside of the scallop shells and press the mixture into them. Preheat the oven to very moderate, 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3 and bake the cakes for 15-20 minutes. Cool slightly then remove carefully from the shells. Dust with caster sugar.
Makes 12
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) butter, preferably unsalted (sweet)
6 oz/175 g (¾ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
The selection of cakes and pastries offered by Ireland is as wide as that in any other part of Britain but traditional Irish breads are so delicious, and so very easy to make, that I have concentrated mainly on these.
The Irish affection for and dependence on potatoes as an important ingredient in their cooking is reflected in the way they use them not only as part of the day’s main meal but also in teatime foods. The Boxty Bread, which is equally good made with a sweet or savoury bias, is a case in point. You may be surprised to find potatoes in a cake recipe, but that is not unusual in Ireland: they give a light texture and pleasant flavour to the cake. The Irish are not alone in using potatoes as an ingredient in baking: many other European countries use potato flour in baking to lighten the dough.
Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea.
Love in Several Masques, Henry Fielding (1707-1754)
No Irish teatime would be complete without slices of this light, delicious bread spread with incomparable Irish butter.
It can be cooked in the oven or on a griddle. Buttermilk is the liquid left after making butter, low in fat and slightly salty. If you cannot obtain it use skimmed milk and double the quantity of cream of tartar.
Lightly grease 1 or 2 flat baking (cookie) sheets or trays. Heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7.
Sift all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Gradually blend in the buttermilk. Different flours vary a little in the amount of liquid they absorb. The dough should be soft in texture but easy to handle. Knead lightly until smooth.
Form the dough into 1 or 2 rounds about 1-1½ inches/2.5-3.5 cm thick. Place on the baking sheets or trays. Mark each round into quarters, known as ‘farls’. You could mark the large round into eight, if liked. Bake 1 large loaf for 30 minutes, 2 small ones for 20-25 minutes. After about 15-20 minutes reduce the temperature slightly if the bread is getting too brown.
To cook the bread on a griddle, preheat, but do not grease, the griddle. It is the right heat when dry flour turns golden in colour within 1½-2 minutes. Form the dough into 1 or 2 thinner rounds, about ¾ inch/2 cm thick. Mark in farls very gently. Place on the griddle and cook for 6-7 minutes on each side, turning once.
The Modern Touch
If you prefer not to eat white bread, use wholemeal (wholewheat) or brown flour, both of which make delicious Soda Breads. You will need a little extra milk to give the correct balance as both these flours absorb more liquid. As a result the cooking time will be a few minutes longer than given in the recipe.
Makes 1 or 2 loaves
1 lb/450 g (4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
½-1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
approximately ½ pint/300 ml (1¼ cups) buttermilk
One might say that the word ‘Boxty’ is synonymous with the Irish love of potatoes.
The basic mixture below for a baked bread can also be cooked on a griddle in the same way as Soda Bread (page 98) or made into pancakes or dumplings. Use bacon fat instead of butter for a more savoury flavour.
Lightly grease a flat baking (cookie) sheet or tray. Heat the oven to 325-350F/160-180C/Gas Mark 3-4. Choose the lower setting if your oven is on the hot side, for Boxty must be baked steadily.
Grate (grind) the raw potatoes by hand or in a food processor. Place in a cloth and squeeze very firmly over a basin to catch the liquid. Leave to stand. Mix the grated potatoes with the mashed potatoes immediately so they do not discolour. Add the butter or bacon fat.
Gradually work in the flour and seasoning to taste. Carefully pour away the potato liquid from the basin, leaving the starch sediment behind. Add the starch to the flour and potato mixture, and combine well. Place the mixture on a floured board and form into a round ½ inch/1.5 cm in thickness. Place on the prepared sheet or tray and mark into 8 sections (farls). Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until firm.
Serve freshly cooked or, better still, really hot, with butter.
To Make a Change
Boxty Pancakes. Omit the butter or bacon fat. Sift ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) into the flour. Blend with enough buttermilk or ordinary milk to make a thick batter. Heat a little fat in a strong frying pan (skillet). Drop tablespoons of the batter into the hot fat. Cook steadily for 4 minutes or until firm underneath, then turn and cook the other side for the same time.
Serve hot spread with butter, or butter and sugar.
Makes 1 loaf
8 oz/225 g (½ lb) uncooked potatoes, weight when peeled
8 oz/225 g (1 cup) cooked and mashed potatoes
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) butter or bacon fat, melted
2 oz/50 g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Barm Brack or Breac is a celebration Irish bread, made for Hallowe’en.
Often a ring, wrapped in paper, is baked in the bread.
Tradition has it that whoever finds the ring will be married within a year.
Use plain (all-purpose) flour rather than strong (hard wheat) flour as the texture should be more like a cake.
Cream the yeast in a bowl and blend in the milk. Sprinkle over a little of the flour. Leave for 10 minutes, or until the surface is covered with bubbles. Meanwhile sift the flour and nutmeg into a large bowl. Rub in the butter or margarine and add the caraway seeds and sugar. Stir in the yeast liquid, mixing well. Add the fruit, peel and finally the eggs. Blend the mixture thoroughly. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough. If it seems a little soft, flour your hands; gradually the dough will become more manageable. Knead until smooth then return to the bowl, cover and leave for about 1½ hours, or until doubled in size. Turn out and knead again until smooth and no impression is left when pressed with a floured finger. While the dough is proving (rising), grease and warm a 9 inch/23 cm round cake tin (pan). Mould the dough to fit into the tin. Cover and leave until nearly doubled in size.
Meanwhile heat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5. Bake the loaf for 1-1¼ hours. Reduce the temperature to 325F/160C/Gas Mark 3 after 45 minutes. When the loaf is cooked it will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
When fresh this fruit bread can be served as a cake.
Makes 1 loaf
¾ oz/20 g (¾ cake) fresh (compressed) yeast (for time-saving yeasts, see page 50)
8 fl oz/225 ml (1 cup) warm milk
12 oz/350 g (3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon ground or grated nutmeg
4 oz/100 g (½ cup) butter or margarine
1-2 teaspoons caraway seeds, optional
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
8 oz/225 g (1 ¼ cups) currants
8 oz/225 g (1 ¼ cups) seedless raisins
4 oz/100 g (¾ cup) mixed candied peel, finely chopped
2 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo) or 3 smaller eggs
The majority of Irish breads are not made with yeast, so they are quick and easy to prepare. Treacle Bread is best served hot or warm with plenty of butter. If you cannot obtain buttermilk, omit the bicarbonate of soda and use ordinary milk with self-raising flour.
Lightly grease 1 or 2 baking (cookie) sheets or trays. As treacle burns if the oven is too hot, preheat to moderately hot, 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6.
Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Rub in the butter or margarine. Add the sugar and treacle and mix very well. Gradually add enough buttermilk to make a dough that is soft in texture, but easy to handle. Knead lightly until smooth.
Form the dough into two rounds each about 1-1 ½ inches/2.5-3.5 cm thick. Place on the baking sheet(s) or tray(s). Mark into quarters (farls). Bake for 20-25 minutes and reduce the heat slightly after 15 minutes.
To cook the loaves on a griddle, grease the griddle lightly before preheating. For testing the griddle and cooking the bread see Irish Soda Bread, page 98.
Makes 2 loaves
1 lb/450 g (4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
½-1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
a pinch of ground ginger, optional
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) butter or margarine
2 oz/50 g (¼ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
2 tablespoons (2 ½ tbsp) black treacle (molasses)
buttermilk to mix
Even though few modern homes boast a day nursery and most children have tea with the rest of the family, the idea of a ‘nursery tea’ is still inviting. Perhaps it’s time for the custom to be revived – and not only for the children!
Once upon a time children were instructed to eat up all their bread and butter before they were allowed to eat cake. Children do not have to be so restrained these days, but many of them really enjoy bread and butter. Savoury sandwiches are a great favourite, especially if they are thin, cut into triangles or other shapes and have the crusts removed.
Children love individual one-portion foods, such as Cup Cakes (page 104) and Scotch Pancakes (page 86). Miniature versions of both can be made for a dolls’ tea party or teddy bears’ picnic.
‘Take some more tea’, the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
This is the true sponge, often called a fatless sponge.
It is ideal for young children and it can be iced for a birthday or other special occasion (see page 105). Plain flour is used as the mixture is aerated by whisking the eggs and sugar, but if you have not made this type of sponge before, you could use self-raising flour to ensure the mixture rises.
Grease and flour or line an 8 inch/20 cm cake tin (pan). As this cake is inclined to stick prepare the tin very carefully. Heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4.
Sift the flour on to a flat plate and leave in a warm place while whisking the eggs and sugar; this lightens the flour.
Put the eggs and sugar into a mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, and whisk until the mixture is thick and creamy; you should be able to see the trail of the whisk.
Sift the flour into the egg mixture and fold it in carefully and thoroughly and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the sponge is firm to gentle pressure. Finally fold in the hot water. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
Cool for 2-3 minutes in the tin then carefully invert on to a wire tray to cool, away from draughts. Sprinkle with sugar.
Serves 6-8
4 oz/110 g (1 cup) flour, plain (all-purpose) or self-raising
4 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo)
5 oz/150 g (generous ½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
½ tablespoon hot water
To decorate
a little caster (granulated) or icing (confectioners’) sugar
These are ideal for a nursery tea.
The quantity given refers to the cakes made in average-sized paper cases.
If entertaining very small children bake the cakes in the tiny cases used for petits-fours and reduce the cooking time.
For a special occasion the cakes could be decorated with miniature edible cake decorations.
Put 20-24 paper cases into patty tins; these are not essential, but support the paper cases as the cakes rise in cooking. Heat the oven to 400F/200C/ Gas Mark 6.
Cream the butter or margarine and sugar until soft and light. Gradually beat in the eggs. Fold in the flour, and baking powder if used. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, filling them only half full, for the cakes rise in baking.
Bake towards the top of the oven for 10 minutes or until firm to the touch. Allow to become quite cold. Make the icing and spoon it over the cakes. Leave until set.
The Modern Touch
Busy mothers will be grateful for the modern soft margarines that cream so easily. If you prefer to use butter, do not melt it but leave at room temperature until soft enough to cream.
All-in-One Cup Cakes. Put all the ingredients into a bowl. Beat by hand for about 2 minutes or allow 1 minute in an electric mixer or 30 seconds in a food processor. There is no need to use extra baking powder in this recipe for you do not want the cakes to rise too dramatically.
Makes 20-24
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) butter or margarine
4 oz/110 g (½ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
2 eggs, size 1 or 2 (jumbo)
4 oz/110 g (1 cup) self-raising flour or plain (all-purpose) flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the topping
Glacé Icing, made with 8 oz/225 g (2 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar (see page 105)
The small amount of butter in this icing gives a softer texture but as it is not too rich it is ideal for children. This would cover the top of the Sponge Cake (see page 103) or a thin topping on 12 small cakes.
Blend the butter, sugar and cocoa together until smooth. Gradually blend in enough warm water to make a soft consistency.
1 oz/25 g (2 tbsp) butter, melted and cooled
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
1 oz/25 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder (unsweetened cocoa), sifted
a little warm water
Glacé Icing
This is sometimes known as ‘water icing’, because the icing (confectioners’) sugar is blended with water.
It can be coloured with food colouring or flavoured as desired.
If you have time for the icing to stand, about 15 minutes, there is no need to sift the sugar for the lumps come out in time. If using at once then the sugar must be sifted.
Blend the sugar and water together. You have a better texture if you use warm or even hot water, but this does mean waiting for the icing to cool before spreading on the cake.
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar
approximately 1 ¼ tablespoons (good 1 ½ tbsp) warm water
For generations children have loved these crisp biscuits (cookies).
If the children are very young it would be wise to use less ginger than suggested in the recipe. The cakes keep well in an airtight tin.
Grease 2 flat baking (cookie) sheets or trays. As these crisp biscuit type cakes take a little while to prepare, preheat the oven when they are almost ready for baking, setting it to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4.
Put the butter or margarine, sugar and syrup into a saucepan and place over a low heat to melt. Sift the ginger with the flour, add to the melted ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add the egg and blend well. Very gradually add enough milk to bind the mixture. This should be sufficiently firm to roll out without difficulty, for it is advisable to use the minimum amount of flour on the pastry board or working surface.
If you do not have a cutter in the shape of a man, draw and cut out a shape in thick paper or cardboard and use as a pattern to cut round.
Roll out the dough until it is approximately ¼ inch/6 mm in thickness and cut out the shapes. Place them carefully on the sheets or trays. Press currants in place for eyes and small pieces of glacé cherry for the nose and mouth. To make buttons down the bodies use glacé cherries or make them with sweets stuck in place with glacé icing when the shapes are cooked and cool. You could also use sweets for the mouths.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm to the touch; do not make them too crisp, for they harden as they cool. When cold, decorate further if desired.
Makes 10
3 oz/75 g (⅜ cup) butter or margarine
3 oz/75 g (⅜ cup) caster (granulated) or light brown sugar
3 oz/75 g (¼ cup) golden (light corn) syrup
1-2 teaspoons ground ginger
8 oz/225 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
l egg
a little milk to bind
To decorate
20 currants
glacé (candied) cherries or sweets
a little Glacé Icing (see page 105), optional
Flapjacks are very popular with both children and adults, and easy to make.
The oats provide an excellent source of fibre to offset the sweetness of the sugar and syrup.
Grease a 7-8 inch/18-20 cm square tin (pan) very well. Heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas Mark 4.
Put the butter or margarine, sugar and syrup into a saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the fat has melted. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the rolled oats and blend thoroughly with the melted ingredients.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface quite flat. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until evenly golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes then mark in fingers or squares. When the biscuits are almost cold remove from the tin.
Store flapjacks in an airtight tin by themselves. If stored with other biscuits (cookies) they tend to soften.
To Make a Change
Top some of the flapjacks with melted milk or plain (semi-sweet) chocolate. Allow to set.
Makes 12-16
3 oz/85 g (⅜ cup) butter or margarine
3 oz/85 g (⅜ cup) caster (granulated) sugar
1 tablespoon (1¼ tbsp) golden (light corn) syrup
6 oz/175 g (scant 2 cups) rolled oats
‘Woman is like a teabag
– you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.’
1981, Nancy Reagan, wife of the then President of the USA