Cakes & Bakes: Goosnargh cakes

Goosnargh is a village to the north of the city of Preston in Lancashire, not that far from where we used to live. So, surely, I should have heard of Goosnargh cakes then!

It was while we were listening to the Radcliffe & Maconie programme on 6Music a couple of weekends ago that Stuart discussed Goosnargh cakes; my curiosity was piqued! They’re not cakes, but biscuits; shortbread rounds spiced with caraway and/or coriander seeds. I wasn’t completely sold on the flavours, but thought I’d give them a try.

What are tosset cakes. Granny? Well, tosset cakes is the same as Goosnargh cakes, Garstang Fair cakes, Stalmine Club Cakes, and Pilling Cakes. They’re all the same, but different sizes and different names. Butter and sugar and flour, with spices and seeds, and not too much cooking, that’s all they were and very good and wholesome they were, too, I can tell you.
_{Lancashire Evening Post – Wednesday 27 July 1932}

Usually, I associate caraway seeds with savoury bread or crackers and coriander seeds with curry… not sweet biscuits. As it was a completely new taste experience, I decided to divide the caraway and coriander seeds into two separate batches.

Justin took his first bite (of the caraway seeded version) and exclaimed, “That’s a surprise!”. He explained that he wasn’t expecting a sweet shortbread to have that kind of flavour. However, after a couple more bites, surprise had given way to pleasure!

Once I’d tested both versions, I had to agree. I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy them, but I really did! I’ll be making them again… and perhaps even mix the caraway and coriander seeds next time!

Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest

Goosnargh cakes

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Cook Time 20

Course Snack

Cuisine British

Ingredients

225 g/8oz unsalted butter
125 g/4½oz golden caster sugar plus more for sprinkling
350 g/12⅓oz plain flour
½ tsp ground coriander seeds
1½ tsp caraway seeds

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
Grease or line two baking sheets with parchment paper
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Sift the flour over the creamed mix, add the coriander and caraway seeds, mix with wooden spoon until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
Using your hand, work the mixture together to form smooth paste
Take out of the bowl and onto a floured work surface and knead gently so that dough is smooth and ready to roll out
Roll out to about ¼" thickness and, using a circular cutter, cut out rounds of dough
Place the rounds onto the baking sheets and sprinkle the tops with caster sugar
Put the baking sheets into the fridge for 30 minutes/1 hour until well chilled
Pop into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until just turned golden brown
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little more caster sugar
Leave to cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack

Keyword biscuits, shortbread

Cakes & Bakes: Christmas Pudding

Stir-up Sunday happened to fall on my birthday this year, so I prepared my Christmas pudding on the following Monday instead.

I’m a bit of a fussy eater, so I often prefer to prepare my own food – like the mincemeat for mince pies and Christmas pudding. That way, I know that it’s made using vegetarian suet and contains no orange or lemon zest/juice, no candied peel and no whisky – none of which I like.

I had various packets of dried fruit and nuts already in my store cupboard so made a mixture containing raisins, sultanas, dates, dried apricots, almonds and pecans. Any dried fruit and nut combo will work – there’s no right way or wrong way. Also, I had a bottle of dark rum gifted to me by my sister last year; but brandy, sherry, Calvados or Armagnac would also be fine alternatives to the more traditional whisky and stout.

The pudding needs to be tightly sealed using a layer of parchment paper and pleated tin foil (to allow for expansion) and secured using string. A nifty little string handle is optional, but very useful for extricating the hot pudding. You can see how it’s done here.

I have a useful vintage aluminium pudding basin that has hinged fasteners and a handle incorporated into its design.

If you don’t have a steamer, put an upturned (heat-proof) saucer in the bottom of a saucepan, sit your pudding on top of it, fill the saucepan with hot water to about halfway up the sides of the basin and cover the saucepan with a lid. As the pan will be simmering away gently on the stove for about 5 hours, lift the lid every so often to check and see if the water level needs topping up.

Once cooked, the pudding should be stored away somewhere cool and dark until the big day. Some people prepare their puddings a year in advance; i.e. the one they prepared on this year’s Stir-up Sunday will be put away until Christmas Day 2020. They swear by the superior flavour that develops from giving the longer resting time.

There are as many preferred accompaniments to Christmas pudding as there are Christmas pudding recipe variations; brandy butter, pouring cream, clotted cream, custard or ice cream. Lots of people comment about having leftover pudding on Boxing day, fried in butter, with bacon or with cheese (a Northern thing, apparently).

Save my Christmas pudding recipe to Pinterest by clicking here

Christmas pudding

2019-11-27 21:35:51

Serves 6

Cook Time

5 hr

Cook Time

5 hr

SOAK FOR 1-7 DAYS

75g/2⅔oz raisins
75g/2⅔oz sultanas
200g/7oz dates, finely chopped
50g/1¾oz dried apricots, finely chopped
50g/1¾oz almonds, chopped
50g/1¾oz pecans, chopped
150ml/5¼fl oz dark rum

CREAM TOGETHER

2 eggs
75g/2⅔oz muscovado sugar
50g/1¾oz butter
1 lime, zest & juice

SIFT TOGETHER

50g/1¾oz self-raising flour
½tsp mixed spice
a little fresh grated nutmeg

COMBINE ALL OF THE ABOVE THEN ADD

25g/¾oz vegetarian suet
100g/3½oz wholemeal breadcrumbs
small cooking apple, peeled & grated

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Instructions

Generously grease a 1.5 pint pudding basin with a little butter. Cut out a small disc of parchment paper an lay it on the bottom of the basin
Spoon the mixture into the pudding basin, pressing the contents down firmly with the back of the spoon
Lay a circle of parchment paper over the top of the filled pudding bowl so that there’s a 2cm overhang
Cover the parchment paper with a pleated layer of tin foil, also with a 2cm overhang
Secure the parchment/tin foil overhang with string tied around the circumference of the pudding bowl, under the lip
Attach another piece of string to act as a lifting handle
Simmer the pudding in a steamer (or lidded saucepan with a trivet/upturned saucer and hot water that reaches halfway up the sides of the bowl) for 5 hours topping up the water level when necessary
When cooked, allow to cool completely, remove the parchment & tin foil cover and string and replace with new. Store in a cool dry place, ready for reheating on Christmas day. Reheating will take about 90 minutes, steaming using the same method
Once reheated, invert on to a serving plate and remove the disc of parchment paper. Just before serving, pour over a couple of tablespoons of rum that has been warmed in a little saucepan. Carefully set it alight

Notes

Serve with thick cream, rum or brandy butter, custard or vanilla ice cream

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Etsy List: Food, glorious food!

It’s British Food Fortnight so that’s what we’re celebrating on this week’s Etsy List. British food is no longer the butt of jokes. Thanks to the plethora of cookery programmes on television such as Great British Bake Off, Great British Menu and Masterchef we’ve become a nation of foodies.

Cooking & baking is no longer a mystery; the information, equipment and ingredients are easy to get hold of and we’re all giving it a go!

It’s not just about cooking, though; it’s a celebration of growing your own and picking you own. It’s about shopping seasonally and locally – supporting local farmers and producers.

Food, glorious food!
Curated by H is for Home