Today's recipe is one my grandmother used to make regularly, Victorian Seed Cake. It was always on the tea time table, and was often served buttered, which made it even more delicious. It's based on a traditional Madeira Cake recipe, but with candied peel and caraway seeds added. Seed cakes were extremely popular during the Victorian era, and indeed Mrs Beeton shares a recipe called A Very Good Seed Cake, in her book of Household Management. We all love seed cake - the aniseed flavour of the caraway seeds marries so well with the light sponge and subtle spices. Our family recipe for Victorian Seed Cake always includes candied peel, which makes the cake moister. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did last Sunday, for my Tea Tray Supper. The cake keeps well in an airtight cake tin for up to a week.
