Carvie Cake is a traditional Irish recipe for a classic seed cake of a white sponge base flavoured with caraway seeds. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Irish version of: Carvie Cake.
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Carvie cake is the Irish name for the classic Victorian seed cake. The name comes from the old name for caraway seeds (carvies [and is itself based on the Latin name of the caraway plant, Carum carvie]) which are the typical spice flavouring for seed cakes. Like British seed cakes, these have been popular in Ireland since the 18th century. Originally they were made with yeast as a leavening agent and then with beaten egg and finally from the 1860s with baking powder (which is in the self-raising flour of this recipe).
Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time along with a spoonful of flour, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition.
Fold in the remaining flour and caraway seeds then stir in the milk to loosen the batter a little. Turn the resultant batter into a greased and lined 20cm diameter cake tin (or loaf tin). Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 160°C and bake for between 90 and 105 minutes (cover the top for the last 20 minutes if the cake is browning too quickly), or until the cake is nicely browned on top and a skewer inserted into the centre emerges cleanly.
Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Set aside in an air-tight tin to mature for at least 24 hours before slicing and serving.
