cornish yeast cake recipe?

ethansmum

Does anyone have a recipe that I could adapt for my breadmaker? It was a childhood favourite of DH's so I'd love to make it for him but I can't find any recipes for it.

Thanks!
Tracy

maow425

Do you mean saffron cake? It looks like a giant teacake in a loaf shape (sweet dough, with sultanas in it), but has a nice yellow colour to it? I have a recipe for something similar, that I'm sure can be adapted to a BM if you're interested.

ethansmum

LOL! I asked DH again to describe 'yeast cake' and he reckons it was yellow with sultanas, I guess it really is Saffron cake but Yeast cake was his name for it! No wonder I couldn't google it! Thank you I would be very grateful for a recipe

maow425

Firstly I'd have a look in my BM recipe book - I know mine came with one that had a recipe for french style bread which is quite sweet. Try making this as according to the recipe, but add a handful of sultanas and a pinch of saffron. I've tasted saffron cake (live in Plymouth, so they're pretty easy to come by) and I'd say they're pretty close to the Brioche style bread or the french bread that my BM's recipe book had, and the Norwegian 'julekake', but we add a bit of ground cardamom for flavour. Just a case of experimenting I think. I'll try and see if I can find the recipe booklet to get you the exact recipe, if not, a normal white bread recipe but with extra sugar and extra yeast (sugar tends to hamper the raising process and make the dough heavy) should give a similar basic dough.

Saffron cake recipe; http://www.greenchronicle.com/connies_cornish_kitchen/saffron_cake.htm

janeawej

I'm cornish and we do have a white yeast cake as well s saffron cake, have a recipe somewhere will try to dig it out but it may be in storage with mums old cookbooks waiting for my new kitchen bookshelf to be made!

ethansmum

Thank you both so much!

Thanks for the link and the tip of trying a brioche loaf, I'll give that a go.

Jane I would still be very interested in your recipe - if you don't mind.

domino

Dug out my cornish recipes book and found yeast cake recipe!
1lb flour
2oz butter
2oz lard
4oz currants and/or saltanas
2oz candied peel
2oz sugar
pinch salt
half pint warm milk
1oz yeast.

set oven to 400deg F or mark 6. Grease 7" cake tin or tray for buns. Mix the yeast and a teasp sugar together, add the milk and set aside to 'sponge'. Rub the fats into the flour, add salt, sugar and the fruit, then work in the yeast mixture and knead until smooth. Put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. Knock down and knead again. Put into tin or shape into 8 or 9 buns. Allow to prove again in the warm for 10 - 20 monutes. Cook the cake for 30mins or the buns for about 15 - 20mins.

I guess you can use the easy yeast adding it to the dry ingredients then add the milk and continue as in the recipe. Enjoy !!!!:j

fluffysmum

Hi Domino
I am Cornish and live here in our wonderful county, I made your yeast cake recipe, I have to say it's the best I have ever tasted. I am vegetarian, so I substituted the butter and lard for an equal amount of sunflower margarine and I also used whole citrus peel and chopped it up small, it's always better than the ready chopped stuff. Even my husband said how delicious it is. So this the THE recipe that will get written up in my favourite recipes book. Thank you so much for sharing.
fluffysmum xxx

unimaginative_user_name

I left Cornwall when I was seven but visited my grandparents every summer and Christmas for years. My Dad's mum baked for England but she used to make yeast buns rather than yeast cake! They were definitely white and delicious. She also made flat biscuit buns, though saffron cakes were usually shop bought from what I remember. Happy memories....