Recipe Manuscript

How To Make A Seed Cake

Name: How To Make A Seed Cake
Prep time: PTPT1H30M
Cook time: PTPT1H
Yield: 20
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 2.2 kg (about 16 cups) plain wheat flour; 900 g unsalted butter, softened; 4 large egg yolks; 2 large egg whites; 90 ml single/light cream (about 6 tablespoons); 90 ml fresh yeast slurry (or 14 g instant dry yeast); 450 g caraway comfits (candied caraway seeds), or regular caraway seeds + 1 tbsp sugar; Optional: pinch of salt

1700

From the treasured pages of Receipt book

Unknown Author

Renaissance (1400 - 1700)European Intermediate Dessert Snack

Original Recipe • 1700

Original Manuscript(circa Renaissance, 1400 - 1700)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

How To Make A Seed Cake

"take 2 quarts of flower and 2 pound of butterr 4 egg yolkes and 2 egg wits 6 spoonfuls of Cream and 6 of yeast mingle all these together and let them rise before the fier an hour then knead in a pound of Caraway Comfitts bake it in a tin puddin pan or a Garth let not your oven be to hott it will be bakt in an hour or less. my mothers way"

Note on the Original Text

Early modern English recipe writing was practical and succinct. Spelling was idiosyncratic ('flower' for flour, 'yeast' sometimes spelled various ways), and instructions assumed a cook's basic skill and intuition. Quantities were large and often vague by today’s standards. Unpunctuated lines and the lack of standardized terms leave much to interpretation—part of the fun for modern cooks recreating historic dishes! Ingredients like 'caraway comfits' would be peculiar to modern pantries, but the fundamental approach remains familiar: enrich, flavor, leaven, and bake.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Receipt book - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Receipt book (1700)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Unknown

Era

1700

Publisher

Unknown

Background

A delightful glimpse into the kitchens of the early 18th century, this historic culinary manuscript promises a feast of recipes, remedies, and perhaps a pinch of mystery. Expect both practical fare and elegant inspiration for the curious cook.

Kindly made available by

Folger Shakespeare Library

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This seed cake recipe, dated roughly around 1700, reveals the robust baking traditions of early modern England. Seed cakes—rich, slightly yeasted cakes flavored with caraway—were popular for festive occasions and family gatherings. The inclusion of 'comfits' points to an era when candying seeds for cakes was both a culinary treat and a sign of hospitality. Seed cake bridged bread and cake, reflecting a time when yeast, rather than chemical leaveners, gave rise to sweet bakes. The manuscript reference 'V.b.272' identifies this recipe as coming from a household collection typical for the period, suggesting it's a family recipe, likely treasured and handed down through generations, as emphasized by the note 'my mother’s way'.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

In the early 1700s, ingredients would have been measured by weight or in large quantities such as 'quarts' and 'pounds' using kitchen scales or standardized vessels. Mixing was done by hand, in large wooden bowls. The dough would be left to rise near an open hearth ('before the fier'), utilizing the ambient warmth. Baking would take place in a tin 'pudding pan' or an earthenware 'garth', placed in a bread oven or beside the fire. Temperature control relied on experience, as most domestic ovens lacked thermometers.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

1 hr 30 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Servings

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

5 lb (about 16 cups) plain wheat flour
2 lb unsalted butter, softened
4 large egg yolks
2 large egg whites
3 fl oz single/light cream (about 6 tablespoons)
3 fl oz fresh yeast slurry (or 0.5 oz instant dry yeast)
1 lb caraway comfits (candied caraway seeds), or regular caraway seeds + 1 tbsp sugar
Optional: pinch of salt

Instructions

To make this 18th-century seed cake, start by combining 5 pounds of plain wheat flour with 2 pounds of softened unsalted butter.
Add the yolks of 4 large eggs and the whites of 2 eggs.
Stir in 6 tablespoons (about 3 fluid ounces) of single (light) cream and 6 tablespoons (about 3 fluid ounces) of active yeast or, for contemporary convenience, substitute with a 0.5 oz packet of instant yeast.
Mix everything together to form a dough, then let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.
After rising, kneed in 1 pound of caraway comfits (candied caraway seeds) or, if unavailable, use regular caraway seeds with a tablespoon of sugar.
Press the dough into a lined pudding tin or cake tin.
Bake in a preheated oven at 340°F (170°C, not too hot) for about an hour, or untill golden and cooked through.

Estimated Calories

575 per serving

Cooking Estimates

It takes about 30 minutes to prepare the dough and ingredients, 1 hour to let it rise, and then 1 hour to bake. This recipe makes a large cake that serves about 20 people. Each serving has roughly 575 calories.

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.