One of my favourite things to make is an old fashioned Caraway Seed cake. Many moons ago , my mother would make caraway seed biscuits , the forerunner to the cake. She said her mother would make them after sowing had been done on the farm, in the spring.
Easy cake to make. Reminds me of late Sunday afternoons when my mother would make a seed cake, then slice it thickly, spread with butter ( yes butter), and serve with tea to the church elder who would come on Sunday afternoons to deliver communion cards.
First thing you need to do is mash up the margarine or butter, depending on which you prefer.
Be sure to line a greased tin with parchment paper.
The earliest mention of seed cake that I could find was from 1591.
Popular in Victorian times as well. The Victorians believed that the Seed Cake was a good thing to eat after a meal, not so much as a dessert, but because Caraway seeds have digestive qualities. So they would stuff themselves with seed cake accordingly.
If you have the butter/margarine smushed up then add the sugar.
Toss in a handful/tablespoonful, of caraway seeds.
Then add the baking powder and cake flour.
If you think the batter is too thick splash in a bit of water, or orange juice, or milk.
Do not overmix. You can add grated orange peel or lemon peel if you wish. Gives it a fresh taste with the caraway.
A side note: on reading some of the Victorian ideas about seed cake, my eye was drawn to another segment in one of old cook books, can't remember which one exactly, on how to get rid of rats/mice in the kitchen ( Circa 1890): Sprinkle cayenne pepper in their little mice homes. Or spread tar in front. They will stick to it. Then you will have no longer have mice prints in the flour.(Invaluable advice.)
Plop batter into your prepared pan.
Bake at 340 degrees till done. You will have to test it off and on. About 45 minutes.
Then slice and share with some lucky people. Leave out a few crumbs for those mice.....
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