To Make Shrewsbury Cakes is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic Georgian/Regency cake or biscuit made with a blend of flour, sugar, beaten eggs, cream and rose water that are formed into a dough, rolled and cut into rounds before baking. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: To Make Shrewsbury Cakes.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Aft of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.
To make Shrewſbury cakes
TAKE two pounds of flour, a pound of ſugar finely ſearced, mix them together (take out a quarter of a pound to roll them in) take four eggs beat, four ſpoonfuls of cream, and two ſpoonfuls of roſe-water, beat them well together, and mix them with the flour into a paſte, roll them into thin cakes, and bake them in a quick oven.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
900g plain flour
450g powdered sugar
4 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp cream
2 tbsp rose water
Method:
Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. Remove 115g and set aside for dusting your work surfaces.
In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, cream and rose water. Gradually add the flour and sugar mix, beating thoroughly to combine.
Bring the mixture together as a dough then turn out onto a work surface dusted with the reserved flour and sugar mix. Dust the top of the dough and your rolling pin then roll out about 3mm thick. Cut into rounds with a fluted pastry cutter and transfer to a lightly-greased baking tray. Prick the tops of the biscuits then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 12 minutes, or until cooked through.
Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool before serving or storing.
