So many of you Tolkieners may have read in the Hobbit or LOTR about seed cake or “second breakfast” and the many times Hobbits stop to eat. Well, I couldn’t stand it. I had to make both a cacen goch and a seed cake. Both are AMAZING!! If you want the recipes, they are below.
CACEN GOCH RECIPE
Recipe Ingredients:
300g Plain Flour
100g butter (softened and cut up)
180g of mixed dried fruit
3 tbsp of black treacle (molasses)
80g brown sugar (demerara)
1 tsp of ground mixed spice
100ml of milk
Recipe Method:
First grease an 18cm cake tin
Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl, then rub the butter into the flour with your fingers to make a ‘breadcumb’ texture. Add in the fruit, spice, and sugar. Mix these in with a wooden spoon, then add in the treacle and mix further. Add in a little of the milk until the mixture becomes easy to stir, but not too ‘wet’, add more if a little dry.
Preheat the oven to 180C
Pour this mixture into the prepared cake tin –Cacen Goch will not rise much, so you can safely fill a small cake tin or individual cake tins almost to the top without worry – and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Check it is done after 45 minutes by pushing a skewer into the centre and see if it comes out clean and hot. Leave to cool for ten minutes and transfer to a cooling rack. This Cacen Goch treacle cake can be eaten on the day but also can be stored in an air tight container for a week.
Serve warm, with a dollop of whipped cream, or cold as a slice of cake on its own, or with apple preserve.
SEED CAKE RECIPE
Recipe Ingredients:
240g butter (soft)
240g caster sugar
4 large eggs (beaten)
320g self raising flour (sieved)
4-6 tbsp milk (or single cream)
2 tbsp of demerara (natural brown) sugar
30g caraway seeds
3 tbsp of brandy
1/2 tsp of ground mace
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
Recipe Method:
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350F, 180C
Prepare a cake tin – You will also need a greased, 18 cm round cake tin – with the base lined with greaseproof or silicone paper (if it needs it) good quality cake tins just need to be greased.
Beat the eggs in a medium sized bowl with a whisk. Then in another larger bowl cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is pale and fluffy, then gradually whisk in the beaten eggs a little at a time. When all the egg , sugar and butter has been mixed, whisk in the caraway seeds, ground mace and ground nutmeg, then lightly fold in the sieved flour. Then add in the brandy, stirring it in.
Lastly add just enough milk (or single cream) to loosen the mixture and give the cake batter a good ‘dropping’ consistency (this means the mixture is neither wet nor dry, but will drop off a spoon when tipped). Once at this point, spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Level off the surface with the back of a spoon and then finally sprinkle the demerara (natural brown) sugar all over the top.
Bake the seed cake in the centre of the oven for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until a metal skewer comes out clean and hot. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool further. This seed cake will taste even better after a day or two, so wrap it in foil or baking parchment and keep it in an air tight tin. It will keep for several days.
