Posted by Robert Thompson on January 31, 1999 at 20:20:58:
In Reply to: Yes, what about seed cake? posted by beck on January 31, 1999 at 00:31:04:
Austrian poppy-seed cake - mmm, sounds like the old Schlesischer Mohnkuchen mit dicken Butterstreuseln. (Silesian poppy-seed cake with butter-crumble topping). It’s absolutely yummy - imported into the UK for Waitrose supermarkets - but it’s not the seed cake mentioned by AR.
Beck, your mother is quite right - caraway seeds.
Seed cake is basically a Madeira sponge ie butter, sugar, self-raising flour, eggs, with the addition of that little extra flavour - in this case caraway seeds.
My mother did as she was told, researched and came up with this recipe:
4 ounces of butter or margarine
4 ounces castor sugar
2 eggs
8 ounces self-raising flour
1 ounce caraway seeds
4 tablespoons milk
Cream fat and sugar, beat in lightly-whisked eggs and the milk. Add the flour and the caraway seeds. Place mixture in a greased 10-20cm cake tin. Bake in a moderate oven 180 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit/Gas mark 4 for 75 minutes.
Good Housekeeping magazine. First published 1944.
I take no responsibility for gastronomic disasters, but wish you well if you attempt it. I’ll stick to the old squashed flies. Bon appetit!