A Good Seed Cake
From the treasured pages of Mrs. Knight's receipt book
Written by Mrs. Knight
A Good Seed Cake
"Take 1/2 a peck of flour dry it before ye fire with 3/4 of a pd of suger to keeping from oyling put in 2 spoonfulls of orange flower water as you beat ym mix this with ye flour & suger put in 1/2 a pd of butterr rub in one half & melt ye other in a full pint of good ale yeast to 1/2 a pint of cream before you begin to mix put in a pint of sack let it rise before ye fire let it melt over a gentle fire when tis pretty cool with ye yeast being beaten put in a pd of carraways these well together mix all together or a pd of carraways make a hole in ye middle yr hoop full of holes when it is risen yr work in a pd of suger comfits bake it in a thin hoop when it is baked draw it to ye mouth of ye oven ice it thus take rose water and Double refine suger & white of an egg beaten well together"
Note on the Original Text
Recipes from the early 18th century are written in a free-flowing, conversational style, often lacking the step-by-step clarity we expect today. Spelling is creative (‘suger’ for sugar, ‘oyling’ for oiling, and ‘ym’ for them/ingredients), and instructions might appear as a stream of consciousness. Measurements relied on household units and intuition rather than precision. The recipe expects the cook to know how to judge rising, when to use ‘ye fire’ (the hearth), and how to manage icing. There is no explicit mention of baking times or oven temperature, as everyone had their own oven’s temperament memorised!
Title
Mrs. Knight's receipt book (1740)
You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome
Writer
Mrs. Knight
Era
1740
Publisher
Unknown
Background
Step into the refined kitchens of 18th-century England with Mrs. Knight’s culinary collection, where time-honored recipes, hearty roasts, and elegant pastries await the enterprising cook.
Kindly made available by
Folger Shakespeare Library
This recipe comes from Mrs. Knight, who was active around 1740. The seed cake was a classic in English households, particularly as a tea-time treat or a special celebration cake. Seed cakes, filled with caraway, were popular throughout the Georgian and Victorian periods — caraway’s anise flavour was thought to aid digestion and symbolised good luck. The luxury of using so much butter, sugar, cream, and sack (a type of fortified white wine) speaks to the celebratory nature of the dish and the affluence (or hospitality) of the household. Recipes like this travelled in manuscript cookbooks, shared between friends and family, with tweaks according to means and taste.
Bakers in Georgian England would have used large wooden mixing bowls, sturdy wooden spoons, sieves for flour, and their hands to rub in the butter. The cake was baked in a metal or wooden ‘hoop’ (an early open-sided tin), sometimes lined with buttered parchment, set on a baking stone or oven floor. Mixing might be done by hand for quite some time, so a strong arm was needed! Icing would be applied with a brush or spoon. The fire-heated oven would require careful tending and turning for even baking.
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
Servings
24
We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!
Ingredients
- 4 lb 6 oz plain flour
- 12 oz granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange flower water
- 1 lb unsalted butter, divided (8 oz cold, 8 oz melted)
- 1 pint good-quality ale yeast or 1–1.5 oz fresh baker's yeast (activated)
- 1 pint fresh double cream
- 1 pint sherry or sweet white wine (substitute for 'sack')
- 1 lb caraway seeds
- 1 lb sugar comfits (or sugar-coated fennel or anise seeds)
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 5 oz icing sugar
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- To make a good seed cake, begin by drying 4 lb 6 oz of plain flour gently in a low oven or by a warm hob.
- Mix in 12 oz of granulated sugar.
- Add 2 tablespoons of orange flower water, stirring well through the flour and sugar.
- Rub 8 oz of cold unsalted butter into the flour mixture, then melt the other 8 oz of butter and set aside.
- Warm 1 pint of fresh cream and mix with 1 pint of good-quality ale yeast (or an active, frothy yeast starter if genuine ale yeast is unavailable).
- Before combining, pour in 1 pint of sherry or sweet white wine (as sack is not commonly found now).
- Let the mixture sit in warmth near a gentle heat so it begins to rise and bubble slightly.
- Add all of the yeast mixture, melted butter, and 1 lb of caraway seeds (this is a truly aromatic, seed-heavy cake!) into the dry ingredients, and stir until it forms a sticky, soft dough.
- Spoon the batter into a ring mould (what they called a 'hoop'), preferably with a removable bottom.
- When risen once more, gently work in 1 lb of sugar comfits (or sugar-coated fennel/aniseed seeds as a substitute).
- Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 320°F until golden and set, approximately 1–1.5 hours.
- To ice: Beat together 2 tablespoons rose water, 5 oz icing sugar, and 1 egg white until smooth and glossy, then spread over the cake once just cooled.
Estimated Calories
540 per serving
Cooking Estimates
It takes about 40 minutes to prepare the cake mixture and icing, plus 1 to 1.5 hours for baking. The recipe serves about 24 people, as the cake is large and rich. Each serving is about 540 calories, since the cake includes a lot of flour, sugar, butter, cream, and seeds.
As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.
We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.
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