Don’t forget next week the hosts will be discussing this month’s Preheated Book Club pick, At The Kitchen Table by chef Greg Atkinson. Listeners, if you’ve got any favorite Literary Bakes, let the hosts know!
In search of caraway seeds, Andrea tripped through the centuries to discover these tiny seeds were used in biscuits to mark the sowing of spring wheat, and the modern seed cake recipe evolved from these early biscuits. For some fascinating reading of historical seed cake recipes, take a look at the 1747 volume The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glass. From the cheap seed cake to the rich seed cake, it’s clear that baking required some muscle back in the day.. Imagine taking four pounds of butter and beating until it is soft like cream?!
Recipe Review: Nigel Slater’s Seed Cake
Baking right up to the deadline, Stefin was charmed by this humble and easy little seed cake from Nigel Slater. She appreciated the subtle flavor of the caraway and her family enjoyed the cake as well. She may serve it with her latest obsession, a rhubarb ginger jam.
Andrea attempted to follow the recipe but found herself one egg short, so she substituted with 2 T of aquafaba. She baked the seed cake in two of her 6×4″ mini loaf tins, sprayed with Baker’s Joy. They were done in 50 minutes and were delicious, nice and warm. Stefin guessed exactly what Andrea was thinking: this seed cake tastes a lot like cornbread! This ‘keep cake’ was very easy, quite delicious, and would travel well or be a good gift to give away.
A final note on seed cake from Jane Eyre, and thanks to the Bronte Blog for calling this passage out.
In one of the first bright spots in the novel Miss Temple invites Helen and Jane for tea, and shows the young girls true kindness: “[…] she got up, unlocked a drawer, and taking from it a parcel wrapped in paper, disclosed presently to our eyes a good-sized seed-cake. “(…)
Yet another reminder that baked goods were often precious treasures to be kept locked away and shared with very special friends.
Bake Along: Hot Cross Buns by Culinary Hill
Just in time for Easter, this week’s bake along comes from food blogger Meggan over at Culinary Hill, a website specializing in midwestern recipes. We selected Meggan’s Hot Cross Buns after feeling inspired by the Tales of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, a childhood favorite. Stefin’s attracted to this recipe since her Mom made Hot Cross Buns regularly in her childhood, while Andrea’s looking forward to the ease of using her dough hook in the stand mixer to do the heavy lifting in this recipe! Andrea reminds listeners to pay attention to Step #7 and let the buns cool before frosting, if you want the crosses to stay intact.
Globetrotting Gourmet: Copenhagen
Stefin delves more deeply into Nordic pastries with three different varieties of cinnamon pastries in one spectacular breakfast meal: The first was a long, criss-cross braided beauty called a kanelstang, with a thin layer of vanilla cream on the base. The second was a round bun with a chocolate filling (called a spandauer), and Stefin’s favorite, the third, was a very puffy spiral, called a kanelbrud. This was probably the most similar to a large and fluffy American-style cinnamon roll. All three were made with laminated dough, loaded with even more butter, and cinnamon and sugar. Here’s a version of kanelstang that looks similar to the one Stefin enjoyed.
Andrea’s most intrigued by the photo Stefin sent of a large loaf of rye bread soaking in a vat of alcohol. This was a homemade schnapps in the making from Aamans 1921, a newer restaurant doing a modern take on traditional Danish flavors. From the horseradish-apple-lemon, which was really bright and tangy, to the dark rye, which was rich and syrupy, Stefin enjoyed tasting these unique house made schnapps and enjoyed the feeling of hyggee they inspired. She wrapped up her trip with an amazing variety of open-faced sandwiches called smørrebrød (smuhr brot), which translates to butter (smuhr) and bread (brot). To bring a little bit of Denmark to your dinner table, check out this article from Food52.
Previously on Preheated …
Two Years Ago: Episode 23 : Sweet and Spicy Breakfast Faves
One Year Ago: Episode 72: Tapioca Pearls Uncovered in London!
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