As Good Friday draws near, we pay tribute to a seasonal favourite with a long history. Hot cross buns are sweet, yeasted rolls, often spiced and containing currants. Their top is marked by a cross, whether it be cut into…
Welsh Cakes – Get The Griddle Out!
What is a Welsh cake? It’s cooked on a griddle so it must be like a pancake, right? Except that it’s made from rolled out dough, so does that make it a cookie or a cake? The correct answer is:…
The Oat – The Heart of Scottish Food
“Oats: A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland appears to support the people.” – Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language The phrase “Scottish food” immediately brings a number of tasty dishes to…
Fruit Cake
Few British foods have been as widely maligned as the humble fruit cake. And very unfairly so. Frequently the punchline in jokes, fruit cake is assumed to be heavy, dry, and lacking in any redeeming qualities. Sadly, some cakes, both…
Time for Tea: Victoria Sponge
A Victoria Sponge (or Victoria Sandwich) is that most quintessential of all British afternoon tea cakes. It is hard to picture an afternoon tea without dainty sandwiches, scones, and a freshly-made Victoria Sandwich, two layers of delicate sponge with jam…
Bakewell Tart. Or is it Bakewell Pudding?
In the recent post about the Peak District National Park, one suggested local refreshment was the famed Bakewell Tart. Or is it a Bakewell Pudding? Like so many traditional recipes, there are disagreements about the origin of the dish, the…
Time for Cream Tea
The cream tea is quintessentially English. What could be better on a Sunday afternoon than a pot of tea accompanied by freshly-baked scones, strawberry jam, and clotted cream? And the beauty of if it that scones are so quick and…