HAVE YOUR CAKE AND STUDY IT
MARGARET MACKINTOSH
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Margaret offers information on
a selection of cakes with
geographical names. Note: *
contains, or may contain, nuts.
Bakewell Pudding*
The Bakewell pudding is a dessert
made using flaky pastry with a
layer of jam covered by an egg
and almond filling. This is the
original version of the cake, dating
back to Tudor and possibly earlier
times.
Bakewell Tart*
The Bakewell tart, a later version of
the pudding, is an English
confection consisting of a
shortcrust pastry with a layer of
jam and a sponge filling with
almonds. It is distinct from the
Bakewell pudding.
Bath Bun
The Bath bun is still produced in
the Bath area of England. It is a
rich, round sweet roll with a lump
of sugar baked in the bottom and
more crushed sugar sprinkled on
top after baking, although candied
fruit peel, currants or larger raisins
or sultanas may be added
ingredients. The Bath bun is
probably descended from the 18th
century 'Bath cake'.
Battenberg*
Battenberg is a light sponge cake
covered in marzipan. It has a
distinctive 2-by-2 (originally 3-by3) pink and yellow check pattern in
square cross-section. It was
invented in 1884 by British Royal
chefs to celebrate the marriage of
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by
Rhine and Prince Louis of
Battenberg, so the name refers to
a person linked by title to
Battenburg which is a town in
Hesse, Germany.
© Primary Geography Summer 2013
Photo © walkingthepeak.
Belgian Bun
Chelsea Bun
A Belgian bun is very similar to a
Chelsea bun and has no proven
link with Belgium.
The Chelsea bun, created at the
Bun House, Chelsea, in the
eighteenth century, is made of a
rich yeast dough flavoured with
lemon peel, cinnamon or a sweet
spice mixture. The dough is spread
with a mixture of currants, brown
sugar and butter before being
rolled and cut into pieces that are
baked close together in a square
tin to create the bun’s its square
spiral shape.
Black Forest
Gâteau
Black Forest gâteau is the English
name for the German
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, literally
‘Black Forest cherry torte’. It
consists of several layers of
chocolate cake, with whipped
cream and cherries between each
layer. This stack is then decorated
with more whipped cream,
maraschino cherries, and
chocolate shavings. The cake is
named after the cherry liquor
(kirsch) of the Black Forest region,
rather than directly after the
mountain range (Schwarzwald) in
southwestern Germany. The liquor
is the ingredient which gives the
cake its distinctive alcoholic cherry
flavour.
Chorley Cake
Chorley cakes are traditionally
associated with the town of
Chorley in Lancashire. A close
relative of the more widely known
Eccles cake, they are a flattened,
un-sweetened pastry cakes filled
with currants. They are
traditionally eaten with butter on
top, and perhaps a slice of
Lancashire cheese.
Cornish Pasty
Florentines*
Welsh Cake
The national dish of Cornwall, the
Cornish Pasty is included here
because it is the only bread, cake,
or pastry with protected status
(see Defra list). A Cornish pasty
should be a pastry case shaped
like a ‘D’ and crimped on one side,
filled with uncooked beef, swede
(called turnip in Cornwall), potato
and onion, with a light seasoning
of salt and pepper, and baked
keeping a chunky texture.
Originating from Florence, Italy, a
Florentine is made from setting
nuts and candied cherries into a
caramel disc, which is then coated
on the bottom with chocolate.
Welsh cakes are traditional Welsh
snacks made from flour, sultanas,
raisins, and/or currants, and may
include such spices as cinnamon
and nutmeg. They are roughly
circular, a couple of inches (4–6
cm) in diameter and about half an
inch (1–1.5 cm) thick.
Danish Pastry*
A Danish pastry, a speciality of
Denmark and neighbouring
Scandinavian countries (although
of Viennese origin), is made from
yeast-leavened dough in a manner
similar to bread, or from puff
pastry, but with added ingredients
(particularly eggs, butter, milk,
cream and sugar)
Devon Scone
A Devon scone is a soft scone
which, when spread with
strawberry jam and clotted cream,
features with a pot of tea in a
Devon Cream Tea.
Madeira Cake
Madeira cake is a sponge cake
traditionally flavoured with lemon.
The name refers to Madeira wine
which was popular in England in
the 18th and 19th centuries when
it was often served with the cake,
not the Madeira Islands.
Scotch Pancake
Scotch pancakes are small, flat,
round cakes made from a flour,
eggs, sugar, buttermilk or milk,
salt, bicarbonate of soda and
cream of tartar batter. They were
traditionally made by dropping
batter onto a hot griddle but a
frying pan is usually used today.
They are generally served with jam
and cream or just with butter.
Scottish
Shortbread
Dundee cake, a famous traditional
Scottish fruit cake topped with
roast almonds, originated in
nineteenth century Scotland,
originally made as a mass
produced cake by the marmalade
company Keiller's. It is often made
with currants, sultanas and
almonds but sometimes fruit peel
may be added.
The invention of Shortbread, is
often attributed to Mary, Queen of
Scots, in the 16th Century.
Petticoat Tails (from the French
petits cotés, a pointed biscuit eaten
with wine, or petites gastelles, the
old French for little cakes) were
the traditional form of shortbread,
made by cutting a round of
cooked mixture into segments.
Shortbread consists of white
sugar, butter and flour.
Eccles Cake
Swiss Roll
Dundee Cake*
Eccles cakes date back to at least
1793 and are named after the
town of Eccles. The small, round
cakes made from flaky pastry are
filled with currants and sometimes
topped with demerara sugar.
Eccles cakes’ nicknames include
Squashed Fly Cake, Fly Cake, Fly
Pie or even a Fly's Graveyard,
because of their appearance.
© Primary Geography Summer 2013
The Swiss Roll originated in
Central Europe, but not in
Switzerland, probably in the
nineteenth century. It is a thin
sponge cake is made of flour,
eggs, and sugar and baked in a
very shallow rectangular baking
tray, called a sheet pan. Once
cooked it is spread with jam or
buttercream and rolled up.
Yorkshire Parkin
Parkin, a soft cake which
originated in northern England, is
baked commercially throughout
Yorkshire, but is a mainly domestic
product in other areas. It probably
evolved during the Industrial
Revolution. The traditional
ingredients of Parkin are flour,
oatmeal, black treacle (similar to
molasses), fat (traditionally lard,
but modern recipes use butter or
margarine), brandy and ginger.
Margaret Mackintosh is a former
Editor of Primary Geography and
a member of the GA’s Early Years
and Primary Phase Committee.