Traditional British Seed Cake

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One of the most popular cakes throughout Great Britain during the Victorian Era, this traditional Seed Cake recipe features the unique flavor of caraway seeds in a lemon and vanilla-infused cake with a delicate texture, so perfect for tea time!

Having lived in England for several years and being both a history buff and a foodie, I’ve also become a British food history enthusiast. Along with historic cookbooks, I collect Victorian and older British cookware and bakeware including 19th century ceramic and copper mixing bowls, pudding tins, copper pans and tea kettles, and spice boxes. My collection of Victorian copper jelly molds, including gorgeous pieces by Benham and Froud, has grown to near epic proportions. I LOVE to cook and bake surrounded by all of that history – imaging the people who used them, the guests who ate from them, and the stately homes they came from. This Victorian era Seed Cake is prime example of a cake that was very popular at the time and, as with the Victoria Sponge Cake, would have been enjoyed at tea time by Queen Victoria herself.

I enjoy caraway seeds in things like rustic breads, German Zwiebelkuchen, Hungarian Goulash and Polish Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup.  In other words, in savory dishes.  But I’ve never had caraway in a dessert.  So as an avid collector of 18th and 19th century British cookbooks, when I kept finding recipe after recipe for seed cakes across multiple cookbooks (and several variations within the same cookbooks), I knew I had to try it.

What is Seed Cake?

Well, it inspired both James Joyce (in Ulysses) and Kate Bush (who quoted him in Sensual World) and was wildly popular throughout Great Britain during the Victorian era. But somewhere along the way seed cake fell out of favor and has been virtually forgotten. The seeds in “seed” cake are caraway seeds, a flavor that was popular throughout Great Britain from the Middle Ages through the 19th century. (Caraway seeds were not only popular for their flavor but also because they were believed to possess medicinal properties, specifically for treating “hysteria”. Having a bout of the “hysterics”? Have a slice, or two, of seed cake!) Caraway seeds were added to cakes either on their own or in the form of something known as caraway comfits. The latter was likewise all the rage for centuries until the end of the Victorian era. Comfits are sugar-coated candied caraway seeds, made in a similar way as candied nuts. They were both eaten plain as a sweet candy confection as well as added to cakes. But generally seed cakes were made simply by stirring caraway seeds into the cake batter and baking.

This traditional seed cake recipe is a tea cake flavored with vanilla and lemon with the unique flavor of caraway, which imparts hints of citrus, mint, pepper and licorice. And what makes this cake so fascinating and special is that unless some British bakery or cafe has resurrected it, you won’t find anything like it out there – it’s practically extinct!

By nature seed cake is a fairly dry cake with a delicate crumb because it is a tea cake; meaning it’s meant to be eaten accompanied by a cup of tea. And that’s how I encourage you to enjoy it, because it’s part of the tradition and experience.

Baking Tip for Tea Cakes

As mentioned above, tea cakes are dry in nature because they are generally made exclusively with butter and are meant to be accompanied by a cup of tea to help wash it down. Butter, while it tastes amazing, dries out cakes. In her book English Food which is all about traditional recipes, English food author Jane Grigson recommends adding a tablespoon of ground almonds to add a bit of moisture. I’ve tried this and the improvement is minimal at best. What I recommend instead is substituting a tablespoon or two of the butter with oil. While butter contributes the flavor, oil is what contributes the moistness. This is something I’ve been doing for years when working with cakes that call for all butter and the benefit is that you still get the wonderful buttery flavor while simultaneously adding some moisture to the crumb. The first time I experimented with this was in making madeleines and the result was traditional buttery madeleines but with some moistness. It’s a win-win. Give it a try and see what you think.

Seed Cake Recipe

Let’s get started!

Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the oil and mix until combined.

Add one egg and beat until combined.

Repeat for the remaining two eggs.

Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined.

Add the milk and beat just until combined. If your batter is too dry add a little more milk. Be careful not to over-mix the batter.

Add the caraway seeds and mix just until combined.

Scoop the batter into a non-stick 9×5 loaf pan, spreading the top smooth the back of the spoon.

Bake on the middle rack for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cake rest in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Slice and serve with your favorite tea or hot beverage.

Enjoy!

For more traditional British desserts be sure to try my:

• Treacle Tart
• Hot Cross Buns
• Sticky Toffee Pudding
• Chelsea Buns
• Easter Biscuits
• Spotted Dick
• Cornish Fairings
• Victoria Sponge Cake
• Millionaire Shortbread
• Welsh Cakes
• Lardy Cake
• Mince Pies
• Scottish Shortbread
• Flapjacks
• Bara Brith
• Parkin
• Eccles Cakes