Tea Time - Victorian & Edwardian Cakes

 

Caraway Seed Cake - Victorian
Oven: 170 deg.C
Ingredients: serves approx. 12
225g. of softened butter
225g. plain flour
125g. caster sugar
10g. caraway seeds
3 eggs - beaten
100ml. milk
ground mace, grated nutmeg - to taste

1. Grease a line your cake tin 
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
3. Add the sieved flour
4. Mix the Caraway Seeds, Nutmeg and Mace if using and add to the cake mix.
5. Carefully add the beaten eggs a little at a time
6. Pour in the milk and mix well.
7. Pour into your baking tin and bake for approx. 1.1/2 hrs. (check after an hour and test with a skewer to see whether cooked through.)
8. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the tin, and leave to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Kitchen Garden Cake - Edwardian *
Oven: 180 deg. C
Ingredients: 
225g. self-raising flour
180g. softened butter
180g. caster sugar
2-3 eggs (depending on size) - beaten
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
120g. grated parsnip (peeled)
120g. grated carrot (peeled)
120g. grated eating apple (peeled or unpeeled)
finely grated zest of 1 orange+ its juice

Orange Water Icing:
50g. unsalted butter
80g. icing sugar - sifted
1 tsp. orange flower water

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs a little at a time, adding some of the flour so that it doesn't curdle.
3. Fold in the rest of the flour, nutmeg plus the grated vegetables.
4.  Pour into a well greased/lined tin (approx.20cm.) and bake for about 50 minutes - test with a skewer to see if cooked through.
5. Allow to cool, then turn on to a wire rack and leave until cold.
6. For the icing: cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and add the orange flower water.
Use this to ice the cake. Allow the icing to set - then serve in slices.

The vegetables used, would have come from the Kitchen Garden, 

and the spices would have come from The Empire! 

*Celtnet - historic recipe site (excellent)