Banbury Cakes is a traditional British recipe, based on Robert Kemp Philp's recipe of 1859, for a classic cake of a short pastry filled with a mix of currants, suet, mixed peel and ratafia biscuits. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Banbury Cakes.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Banbury Cakes that's derived from Robert Kemp Philp's 1859 volume, The Dictionary of Daily Wants. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
Mix well together a pound of currants cleaned and dried, a quarter of a pound of beef suet, finely minced, three ounces each of candied orange and lemon peel, shred small, a few grains of salt, a quarter of an ounce of cinnamon and nutmeg, mixed and four ounces of ratafias rolled to powder; make a light paste of a pound of flour, and fourteen ounces of butter, roll out one half into a very thin square, and spread the mixed fruit and spice equally over it, moisten the edges, lay on the remaining half of the paste rolled equally thin, press the edges securely together, mark the whole into regular divisions of two inches width and three in length, bake in a well-heated oven for half an hour, divide into cakes while still warm, and dust with powdered sugar.
This recipe represents the advent of Banbury cakes as we know them today, rather than the Elizabethan versions of Banbury cakes as yeasted curranty buns.
Ingredients:
For the Filling:
450g seedless currants
115g suet
180g mixed peel, chopped
pinch of salt
7g (1 1/2 tsp) cinnamon and nutmeg, mixed
115g ratafia biscuits, powdered
For the Pastry:
450g plain flour
420g butter, chopped
cold water, to bind
icing sugar, to dust
Method:
In a bowl, mix together the currants, suet, peel, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg mix and the powdered ratafia biscuits.
In the meantime, sift the flour into a bowl, add the butter and rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add enough cold water to bring the mixture together as a dough then cover in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Take half the chilled dough and roll out on a lightly-floured work surface into a very thin square.
Spread the fruit mixture over the pastry base then moisten the edges and roll out the remaining pastry until large enough to cover the base and filling. Press the edges securely to seal then mark the top into regular rectangles of 5cm wide and 7.5cm long. Carefully transfer to a large, lightly-greased baking tray then place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and cooked through.
Divide into individual cakes whilst, still warm then dust with icing sugar.
Currants, 1lb.; suet, 1/4lb.; orange peel, 3ozs.; lemon peel, 3ozs.; salt, few grains; cinnamon and nutmeg mixed, 1/4oz.; ratafias, 1/4lb. Paste: flour, 1lb.; butter, 14 ozs.