Hmm, caraway cake? Never heard of it either -- but I had my first slice of anise cake today. But I like caraway and have it so maybe I'll look up that recipe, too.
1) Did you know that using 170 g of a bag of 2.27 kg of self-rising flour means you will have a LOT left over. Will need more recipes. 2) to make golden caster sugar, you have to get your processor out and finely dust the big chunks of turbinado sugar because they don't sell golden caster sugar here (or at least not readily). 3) I only have almond flour, both raw and toasted but which one. I suppose it is close enough to ground almond but my quick internet research tells me there's a textural difference. I have a lot of almonds. Should I put them in my Vitamix and grind them up? 4) butter. In US we tend to use salted. In UK ??? And my salted butter is Irish -- Kerrygold. So do I use salted or unsalted? 5) I cut the difference of the temperatures and set it at 350 with convection fan. 6) MILK? I have no cow milk. Can I use oat milk? almond milk? coconut milk? panic panic -- in the middle of baking in the middle of the night. You said this is an Irish Christmas tradition that you learned about in Japan?? And how did you find all those ingredients in Japan, and waaaaaiiitttt -- your cake is round?
11:58 pm. Cake is done, smells good, taste to be determined tomorrow. But what is the story behind this Irish Christmas cake?
@jyokota Well let's start at the end - nobody I've asked has ever heard of this cake. So I don't know where the person who asked me if I was going to eat it at Christmas got this information. (It was at work, somebody was talking about Christmas food around the world. I'm not sure where they learned about this cake.)
As for the others, phew!
1) Yes! But baking is fantastic fun, and you get to eat the results. Banana cake is super easy if you want to try that next.
2) Yes.... I have to be creative with ingredients because, as you mention, I'm in Japan. I don't always bother with casterizing sugar though, and sometimes just used granulated.
3) Almond flour would be fine for ground almond - it is the same thing. You could just crush your almonds in the processor too.
4) Kerrygold would be fine - probably perfect!
5) I learned a while back that most temperatures you're given are rough estimates because ovens can be tempermental, vary wildly in their operating ranges (pun intended) and are kind of a dark art that nobody really gets. So if you're making a recipe for the first time, do what you think is best, and keep an eye on it.
6) I think - given the amount of milk - that any liquid would be fine here. I think it's just to lubricate the mixture a bit more. I often use water if I'm out of milk. (shhh don't tell!)
Finally the cake was round because I have a rectangular loaf tin and a round cake tin.
@cityhillsandsea -- you saw the result! Delicious. And now we have a funny new "tradition" and story. Thanks for sharing.
1) I hadn't baked or cooked in over 25 years until recently so still stumbling and finding my way around the kitchen. Took up bread baking during this pandemic like many others but the two recipes I got rom other 365ers don't call for self-rising so will have to do an internet search. Banana cakes tend to be sweeter than I prefer but if there's an easy cake that calls for cream cheese frosting, then I will be tempted. I adore cream cheese frosting and cake is simply the purpose for holding it up and making it seem more legitimate than simply scooping spoonfuls of cream cheese frosting and eating it like ice cream.
2-3) it worked!
4) Kerrygold Kerrygold Kerrygold -- even when living in other countries I can find it so Kerrygold Kerrygold Kerrygold.
5) I think I over-baked mine even though I checked and took it out earlier than the recipe called.
6) used oat milk -- but really, I thought cows milk had magic properties that did something to cakes.
I have oh-so-many cake pans all pushed to the back corner of my kitchen cabinet. So many. In multiples. But this worked.
"But there was more to Irish Christmas baking than fruitcakes. Kitchens also bloomed with the scent of two other delights: Seed Cakes and Mincemeat Pies. Seed cakes were filled with caraway seeds, a common medieval spice " https://irishamerica.com/2011/12/the-night-of-cakes/
Your recipe didn't have the WHISKEY part -- and I could have chosen from four different bottles I have!
Seedcake
(The Art of Irish Cooking – Monica Sheridan)
1 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
11⁄2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
21⁄2 cups sifted cake flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
@jyokota Well, that's really informative! I enjoyed that. Still haven't heard of anyone eating caraway cake yet, but at least we know our creations were part of a long tradition. As for the whiskey, I no longer drink... so I didn't miss it!
December 30th, 2020
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
11:58 pm. Cake is done, smells good, taste to be determined tomorrow. But what is the story behind this Irish Christmas cake?
As for the others, phew!
1) Yes! But baking is fantastic fun, and you get to eat the results. Banana cake is super easy if you want to try that next.
2) Yes.... I have to be creative with ingredients because, as you mention, I'm in Japan. I don't always bother with casterizing sugar though, and sometimes just used granulated.
3) Almond flour would be fine for ground almond - it is the same thing. You could just crush your almonds in the processor too.
4) Kerrygold would be fine - probably perfect!
5) I learned a while back that most temperatures you're given are rough estimates because ovens can be tempermental, vary wildly in their operating ranges (pun intended) and are kind of a dark art that nobody really gets. So if you're making a recipe for the first time, do what you think is best, and keep an eye on it.
6) I think - given the amount of milk - that any liquid would be fine here. I think it's just to lubricate the mixture a bit more. I often use water if I'm out of milk. (shhh don't tell!)
Finally the cake was round because I have a rectangular loaf tin and a round cake tin.
I hope your cake tasted good!
1) I hadn't baked or cooked in over 25 years until recently so still stumbling and finding my way around the kitchen. Took up bread baking during this pandemic like many others but the two recipes I got rom other 365ers don't call for self-rising so will have to do an internet search. Banana cakes tend to be sweeter than I prefer but if there's an easy cake that calls for cream cheese frosting, then I will be tempted. I adore cream cheese frosting and cake is simply the purpose for holding it up and making it seem more legitimate than simply scooping spoonfuls of cream cheese frosting and eating it like ice cream.
2-3) it worked!
4) Kerrygold Kerrygold Kerrygold -- even when living in other countries I can find it so Kerrygold Kerrygold Kerrygold.
5) I think I over-baked mine even though I checked and took it out earlier than the recipe called.
6) used oat milk -- but really, I thought cows milk had magic properties that did something to cakes.
I have oh-so-many cake pans all pushed to the back corner of my kitchen cabinet. So many. In multiples. But this worked.
Delicious!
https://irishamerica.com/2011/12/the-night-of-cakes/
Your recipe didn't have the WHISKEY part -- and I could have chosen from four different bottles I have!
Seedcake
(The Art of Irish Cooking – Monica Sheridan)
1 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
11⁄2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
21⁄2 cups sifted cake flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder