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| Cattern cakes, 2019 |
I am just in the midst of writing about Catterntide, which falks on 25th November, for Celtic Advent but, whilst we're waiting, I thought that a spot of seasonal baking might be nice.
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| Solid Dennis takes charge |
My main Catterntide activity, once I had removed our lodger Solid Dennis the cat from my recipe book, was to make Cattern cakes from an, almost unchanged,Tudor recipe.
These were traditionally made by English lace makers to celebrate St Catherine's Feast Day, of which more shortly.
The cakes are delicious; caraway is a much underused ingredient I feel, & Mr Radical Honey has declared them his favourite cake, biscuit, biscuit/cake hybrid, things ever!
Here's the recipe.
Ingredients:
Ancestral 1970s apron and carboot sale rolling pin (optional)
9oz self-raising flour (sieved)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon ~ but that is nonsense. I put in a whole teaspoon & added even more later!
2oz currants
2oz ground almonds
2 tsp caraway seeds
6oz caster sugar
4oz melted butter
1 medium egg, beaten
Extra sugar & cinnamon for sprinkling
Sieve the flour into a bowl and mix in all the other dried ingredients, plus extra cinnamon on top!
Add the melted butter & beaten egg and mix to form a soft dough. I also added a tiny bit of warm water.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface until you have a rectangle, approx 10 x 12 inches. Mine was smaller than that due to lack of space but I still achieved delicious cakes so do not fear.
Brush the rolled out dough with water and then sprinkle with cinnamon (lots!) and sugar.
Gently roll, as you might for a swiss roll. It doesn't need to be too tight.
Cut into approx 2cm wide slices and pop on a baking tray, leaving space in between. I find that these spread a lot whilst cooking and mine joined together, but it was easy enough to separate them.
Bake in an oven preheated to 200°c/Gas Mark 6 for about 10 minutes, or until golden and crispy on the top. Mine took about 25 minutes! I had to go out at this point so I left Mr RH in charge. He is a diamond geezer. If you don't have one of those probably best not go out at that stage.
Remove from the oven & pop on a wire rack to cool. You can sprinkle on some more caraway seeds at this point, and even more sugar & cinnamon if liked.
Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days, or send to Mr Radical Honey c/o the hedgehermitage.
Traditionally, these cakes would be enjoyed with a 'hot pot' mixture of rum, beer, and eggs, but tea is just as lovely.
Do let me know if you decide to make them.
Recipe taken from 'Cattern Cakes & Lace: a Calendar of Feasts' by Julia Jones and Barbara Deer.
yum---i almost certainly shall make these at some point soon. i had a old recipe for cattern cakes which i have misplaced, so this is timely. i do not recall the dough being rolled up and later sliced in my version, but i like the idea as it allows for (even) more cinnamon etc...and my baked goods always take longer than stated times, too! i bet your car boot sale rolling pin is grand; i often find the best kitchen implements come from boot sales and attic rummages or house clearings. my rolling pin came from our attic; and many favourite utensils from various elderly ladies' house clearings. other people my age don't recognise that they are usually of better quality than the newer ones available. and old, well-used wooden breadboards or spoons have such charm. cheers!
ReplyDeleteNow this is one recipe I shall be trying. Having avoided baking for a long time I sense a change is afoot and these delicious offerings perfect for the side serving of tea. I wonder how they would fair with gluten free flour? Extra eggs perhaps to Void the ghastly xantham gum?
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