What is Seed Cake?
Lovers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works like The Hobbit enjoy or empathize with Bilbo Baggins’ agony as an unwelcome party of dwarves descends upon him for tea. Bilbo has just finished making a seed cake for his afternoon tea and realizes that the thirteen dwarves may force him, as the host, to forgo his own delicious seed cake. Many have read the novel and wondered what a seed cake is. Others are already familiar with the delicious treat and thus understand Bilbo’s annoyance at having to miss out on a taste.
A seed cake is a traditional British Isles concoction. Some date it back to English recipes, while others say residents of Ireland or Wales invented it first. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales mentions the seed cake as round and resembling a shield.
Early seed cake recipes do not include sugar. In fact they are very different from the modern seed cake. A recipe from the late 16th century uses yeast to raise the cake. It recommends the use of about a tablespoon worth of either anise or caraway seeds.
Since the cake is raised with yeast, this early version could be technically called bread. To raise the seed cake in this early recipe, warm ale is recommended, which would provide natural sugars for the yeast. A Welsh or Irish recipe later adds sugar, deletes the yeast, substitutes brandy for ale and suggests spicing the cake with nutmeg. This recipe calls for caraway seeds.
The modern recipe tends to use baking soda or powder to produce a lighter product. Sugar amounts are higher. Butter use increases so one often has a rich pound cake studded with seeds. The seed cake can be either in round form or baked in a loaf pan. Irish or Old County Cake recipes often call for currants or raisins in addition to the caraway seeds. Further, adding alcohol is optional.
The most modern, and probably most popular form of the seed cake today is lemon poppy seed cake. This variant is a very rich pound cake base that is flavored with lemon and includes poppy seeds. It tastes very different that the original seed cake because the caraway seeds are not present to lend their anise-like taste to the final product. Poppy seeds also provide a slightly more crunchy texture to the cake.
The traditional seed cake is still enjoyed by many in the British Isles and elsewhere. Sliced seed cake may be served as part of afternoon tea. Depending upon the amount of butter and sugar used the seed cake may be very rich. Some serve a rich seed cake as dessert, or even as a sweet bite for breakfast.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
