recipe: caraway seed cake

Caraway seed cake is a classic example of ‘less is more’. Such a delightfully simple recipe which proves a subtle but entirely convincing success. Caraway seed cake makes my husband happy who doesn’t like overly sweet or complex flavours when it comes to baking and this cake is a classic you can go to again and again for a charming, unpretentious mid-afternoon treat (with tea or coffee, of course).

There are a number of different recipes for caraway seed cake I’ve come across but this one is the simplest, and I think, the nicest too. It’s from the ‘National Trust Complete Country Cookbook’ by Laura Mason that I picked up once for a tenner (marked down considerably) and it’s a purchase I’ve not regretted.

If you want a cookbook that offers comfort food that’s accessible, heartening but also holds a respectable position in the repertoire of the home cook, then this book is your friend. It chock-full of classic British recipes from start to finish and also has a large selection of condiment and baking recipes to complement the usual starters, mains and puddings. Each recipe has a bit of a historical description.

In any case, back to the recipe at hand! This is such an easy cake to make. My only caution is to not over bake it – it has a danger of becoming dry and crumbly so better to keep your oven temperature in the conservative range. The recipe calls for classic cake proportions; butter and sugar in equal ratio. The recipe delivers a lovely, buttery, light cake with the subtle, fragrant almost anise-like flavour of the caraway seeds. The Victorians had it right – enjoy!

Ingredients

170 g butter (plus extra for greasing) // 170 g caster sugar // 3 eggs // 3 teaspoons caraway seeds // 225 g plain flour // pinch of salt // 1 teaspoon baking powder // 1 tablespoon ground almonds // 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions 

Preheat oven till 170°C, grease cake tin (the recipe calls for a round one but the picture depicts a loaf tin!). Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, add eggs, one at a time, continue to beat, add caraway seeds. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together and fold into mixture. Add ground almonds and milk. Spoon mixture into baking tin and level the top.

Bake for approx. 1 hour or until cake is well risen and firm to the touch. Let cake cool before turning out. Cut into slices and enjoy!

All credit to: ‘National Trust Complete Country Cookbook’ by Laura Mason