In a past few years, everybody watching, almost withholding their breath, new show, on Netflix and on PBS channel. The Great British Bake Off… well I must admit, I’m one of the watchers, and its delightful, maybe not from the competition stand point, but who doesn’t like a good challenge, but more on the side of the huge amount of British recipes, many of us never heard about.. well, I am definitely one of them, even thou I grew up in Poland who geographically is not that far, I had no idea about so many of the classic sweet goodies, that are being make over there.
So that is the main idea for today. Bring you some of the most popular British recipes and learn some new recipes worth to try. So … LET’S GO BAKE!!
LEMON TART
A lemon tart (in French: tarte au citron) It has a pastry shell with a lemon-flavored filling. According to a nationwide survey, this is the most popular dessert in the UK. Lemon tart comprises of a pastry bottom (you will need a shallow tart tin) that is filled baked lemon custard (typically made of eggs, sugar, lemon juice and cream). This recipe includes blind-baking the pastry shell, before topping it with the custard. Quite often the tart is dusted with icing sugar or iced fully before serving.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/classic-lemon-tart
BAKEWELL TART
This popular English dessert is made of few thin layers, on top of short crust pastry shell. Baked in shallow tart tin, layered with jam, frangipane (almond paste), and a topped with layer of flaked almonds.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/bakewell-tart
ORANGE SAVARIN CAKE
An indulgent dessert is not your traditional cake in a sense. It is made with yeast to start, and heavily soaked with rum or orange liquor, for this moist orange flavor. Savarin cake is said to be fluffy, light, and wet. For the dough to be juicy but not spongy, strictly follow the rule – pour hot syrup over a cold cake or cold syrup on a hot cake. Yes, this order is most important. The original Savarin is being baked in a form with a fireplace and the resulting hole is filled with whipped cream and fruit.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/savarin_with_chantilly_30509
BATTENBERG CAKE
Probably the most famous, and old-fashioned tea-time British cake of all times. The tale reveals that the cake was created in 1884 to celebrate the wedding of Princess Victoria (granddaughter of Queen Victoria) and Prince Louis of Battenberg. Characteristically, it is quite a sweet sponge cake or Genoese sponge cake, baked with the same proportions of flour, butter, sugar and eggs. The addition of ground almonds to the dough, not only enhances the flavor, but also adds moisture to it. The cake is baked in a two-colors, that at the end allows you to create that characteristic checkerboard pattern, it smells like almonds, marzipan, apricots, although in addition to the almond version, you can also find vanilla and rose with raspberry jam, which taste equally good with marzipan. The dough should be made with extreme precision, evenly cut and smoothly clad with marzipan, there is no room for carelessness here.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/all/battenberg-cake/
STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING
This British classic dessert, one of the most loved puddings in the United Kingdom. Very sticky, moist date cake (called pudding) is served hot. covered with a thick layer of liquid toffee sauce. The cake itself should be called “lick your fingers pudding “. It is prepared from dates, but the whole essence of the pudding is a thick toffee sauce – the pudding sauce with which it is served. It is served right away, as soon as leaves the oven, steamy hot. The dough itself is sweet, wet, sticky to the touch with a deep aroma, but at the same time light and springy, it gains taste every day and keeps it fresh for a long time.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/marys_sticky_toffee_41970
CLASSIC FRUIT CAKE
Traditional, Christmas cake straight from the British Isles, with lots of dried fruit, spices and … a large amount of aromatic alcohol. The cake smells stunning and tastes unbelievable … You can bake it even three months before Christmas, but less than a week before it will also be delicious. No other sweetmeat cake tastes like this … because none of them has more than one and a half kilograms of fruit in it. Before the holidays themselves, you can decorate them with marzipan, royal icing or simply spread with heated apricot jam.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/mary-berrys-classic-fruit-cake
UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
An upside-down cake is a cake that is baked in a single pan, usually round, with its toppings at the bottom of the pan, therefore “upside-down”. Then, when removed from the oven, the inversion must take place, so all the baked fruit layer from the bottom, will end up on the, after turning the pan into the serving plate
Usually chopped or sliced fruits — such as apples, cherries, peaches, or pineapples, are layered into and intricate design, that layer is topped with butter and sugar, to create that characteristic caramelized fruit look. Then the cake butter is poured over and put to bake.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pineapple_upside-down_75534
MEDEIRA CAKE
Madeira cake is an English classic. This cake does not come from Spanish Madeira, as you could suspect, but in fact, it originated in British Isles. The name itself comes from the Madera wine, that on 18 century was served with those types of cakes – spongy and sweet. Well baked cake should always thee characteristic crack on top. Traditionally decorated wit candied lemons and lemon skins. Although the dough it is compact and quite dry, it stays fresh for a long time.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lemon_madeira_cake_with_15109
MINCEMEAT LOAF CAKE
Traditional English Christmas Cake. “Must have” on the English Christmas table. The cake is extraordinarily rich in nuts and dried fruits – usually currants, raisins, and sultanas, but modern recipes also include the addition of other dried fruits: dried cranberries, figs, or plums … fruit cake, baked at a low temperature. After baking, the dough is cooled down and need to be feed (soak) it systematically with alcohol (traditional sherry, but you can also, for example, Cointreau or whiskey).
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/mincemeat-loaf-cakes
CARROT CAKE
In the United Kingdom, you will find them in virtually every shop or restaurant. Extremely moist, soft, aromatic, not too sweet, easy to make. You can mix all the batter in a one large bow, and pour into few baking dishes. Usually served with light cream frosting. Quite popular here in America as well. One of my favorites too.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/carrot-cake-with-mascarpone-topping
TREAKLE TART
Traditional British dessert. The earliest known recipe for the dessert is from English author Mary Jewry in her cookbooks from the late 19th century. It is made using short crust pastry, with a thick filling made of golden syrup (also known as light treacle), breadcrumbs, and lemon juice or zest. A modern alternative recipe uses ground almonds in place of the breadcrumbs. The tart is normally served hot or warm with a scoop of clotted cream (is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow’s milk using steam or a water bath), ordinary cream, ice cream, or custard. Some modern recipes add cream, eggs, or broth to create a softer filling
.for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mary_berrys_treacle_tart_28524
FRANGIPANE TART
Frangipane is a buttery mass with sugar, eggs, and nuts, mostly almonds. Although the same mass can be made of walnuts, pistachios, or hazelnuts. All frangipane desserts and pastries have this word in their name. In general, baking a tart is quite simple. It is much easier to bake the pastry base in advance because the frangipane mass is quite moist and therefore it is safer to have the bottom partially cooked through. For the shortbread dough to “not shrink or bubble up” during oven bake and keep its shape, you need to weight it down, with so called blind bake. The frangipane tarts are usually topped with fruit, the most popular will b pears and apples.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/desserts/pear-frangipane-tart
TRIFLE
A dessert that does not require baking, but only a little imagination in layering. Trifle is nothing but a combination of jelly, sponge cakes soaked in wine, whipped cream, and fruit. All this is poured with custard sauce and decorated as desired. The final effect, is usually visually stunning, but from the practical reasons, its much easier to prepare single serving of this dessert in an individual trifle glasses, because trying to serve it from the large serving dish, messing up the whole composition.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/desserts/classic-oldfashioned-trifle
YORKSHIRE PUDDING
Yorkshire pudding is a common English side dish. Baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, with addition of milk or water. It is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on the choice of ingredients, the size of the pudding. As a first course, it can be served with onion gravy. For a main course, it may be served with beef and gravy, and is part of the traditional Sunday roast, but can also be filled with various foods.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/yorkshire_pudding_69240
VICTORIA SANDWICH
Victoria sponge is an extremely popular cake on the British Islands. It takes its name from Queen Victoria, who often ate this cake with her afternoon tea. It is no wonder because the cake, although seemingly rather average, is incredibly tasty. I guess it just does not attract attention as effectively as cream or multi-layer heavy decorated cakes. The sponge cake is a bit heavier. Traditionally, it is filled din between with fresh fruit (most often strawberries) or jam and whipped cream, but you can also use the jam itself, or replace the fondant with mascarpone cheese.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/victoria-sandwich
SPOTTET DICK
(also known as “spotted dog” or “railway cake”) is a traditional British pudding, traditionally made with suet ( is the raw, hard fat of beef or mutton found around the loins and kidneys), and dried fruit (usually currants or raisins) and often served with custard. Non-traditional variants include recipes that replace suet with other fats (such as butter), or that include eggs to make something like a sponge pudding or cake.
for the example recipe, please go to :
DUNDEE CAKE
The famous Dundee cake is a traditional Scottish cake, also extremely popular throughout the United Kingdom. The cake is associated primarily with the holiday season but is eaten all year round. Its creation dates to the end of the 19th century. Dundee cake is a light, sponge cake with a lot of dried and candied fruit and whiskey. Most often it is decorated with whole almonds arranged in circles. Most recommend alcohol, usually whiskey, rum, or brandy. According to some recipes, the dough should have a spicy note, which is given by cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/dundee-cake
BRANDY SNAPS
The name “brandy” is related to “branded” (as in burnt) not to the alcohol directly. Brandy snaps are a popular snack or dessert food in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, like the Italian cannoli. They are commonly made from a mixture of golden syrup, flour, ginger, cream, sugar, butter, and lemon juice. The snaps are cooked on a moderate heat and are baked briefly as a flat disc that is then rolled while still hot and soft They are often tubular, brittle, sweet, baked casings that are typically 10 centimeters (3.9 in) long and 2 centimeters (0.79 in) in diameter. Brandy snaps are usually served filled with whipped cream, that can be sweetened with brandy or vanilla. However, the name brandy snap has no reference to brandy, the spirit.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/brandy-snapsBRANDY SNAPS
BANOFEE PIE
Banoffee Pie – a cake without baking – is a combination of bananas and toffee, consequently the name of this cake 🙂 It is immensely popular in the United Kingdom. It will be perfect for those who love sweet and quick-to-make desserts 🙂
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/banoffee_pie_90466
WELSH CAKES
Did you know that cookies can be made in a pan? You do not need an oven to eat sweets! The cakes are also known as griddle cakes or bakestones within Wales because they are traditionally cooked on a bakestone (Welsh: mean, lit. ‘stone’ or Welsh: plank, lit. ‘board’), a cast-iron griddle. Highly creative Welsh cakes are made from flour, butter/lard, currants, eggs, milk, and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. They are roughly circular, a few in diameter and about half an inch thick. You can add to the batter literally whatever you want: nuts, almonds, raisins, etc. Welsh cakes are served hot or cold, sometimes dusted with caster sugar.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/welsh_cakes_16706
CHELSEA BUN
Chelsea buns – sweet buns made of yeast dough with a delicious filling of dried currants, cinnamon, and brown sugar. They first appeared in the 18th century in one of London’s shops called Chelsea Bun House. The rolls are remarkably like the popular cinnamon rolls, but they are square rather than round and of course the filling of Chelsea rolls is richer than the cinnamon rolls. Some versions of the filling also include the addition of orange / lemon zest or raisins. Baked rolls, while still hot, are sprinkled with water and sprinkled with sugar, which makes them moist and sticky. In some bakeries, after baking, the rolls are spread with heated apricot jam. Instead, you can pour any sugar coating on them – they taste delicious in each version.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chelsea_buns_01576
SIMNEL CAKE
Traditional English Easter cake – Simnel Cake. Rich in candied and dried fruit, resembling Christmas Cake, but lighter. Baked with marzipan, which is also used to make a decoration for the cake itself. The 11 golden marzipan balls used for decoration symbolize the 11 apostles, Judas is omitted. This cake, behaves exactly like a fruit cake, wrapped in parchment, and left in the cold, will be very well kept until holidays.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/baking/easter-simnel-cake
CHRISTMAS PUDDING
The most popular English Christmas dessert, dating back to the Middle Ages and pre-Victorian times. Today, every family has their own secret pudding recipe, but most buy it at the supermarket anyway. The reason for it is the long-term, almost three-month long maturing of the fruits. Tradition says that Christmas pudding should consist of 13 ingredients, which is symbolized by Jesus and his apostles. Today, dried fruit, almonds, dates, apricots, spices are added to the pudding, and served with a brandy-based sauce. Looks great when it is on the table.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/traditional_christmas_38771
PARKIN
This cake is called the “gingerbread of Yorkshire”. Parkin is an English cake, which main ingredients are the oatmeal flour and molasses. The dough has a slightly sticky texture and an insane, deep ginger aroma. It will appeal to those who do not like cinnamon pastries but would not want to give up pastries fragrant with spices. If it is stored well, it may last several days, although it is hard to refrain from reaching for another piece.
https://www.daringgourmet.com/yorkshire-parkin-cake/
TRAYBAKE CAKE
Its one of the most simple and versatile cakes. You can basically bake whatever you like, or have at hand, in your kitchen right now. It is a sponge cake, usually vanilla, or flavored otherwise, with and addition of fruits, nuts, or chocolate. It is bake on sheet pan, baking sheet if you will, that is from the name cane from.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/traybake_cake_28789
RHUBARB CRISP
Rhubarb under the crumble is one of those desserts that I could eat every day. They are prepared at an express pace without the need for the skill of a confectioner. Rhubarb crumble is a delicious crisp recipe made with the tart bright pink Rhubarb and topped with a sweet crunchy crumble topping. The crumble and fruit can be prepared in various ways, The English serve fruit crumble with ice cream or with custard sauce.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.daringgourmet.com/rhubarb-crisp/
APPLE CAKE
British apple cake recipe makes a wonderfully warming sweet treat, in combination with the warming spices and chunk of nice tart apples, it makes a wonderful bake. This cake can be served cold as part of an afternoon tea or is equally good warmed up with lashings of cream, ice cream or custard for dessert.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/applecake_90046
ECCLES CAKES
Small, round cake-shaped puff pastry, with currant filling and sprinkled with fine sugar. Optionally, Demerara (a type of brown, unrefined sugarcane sugar) is selected for sprinkling.
The name of the Eccles cake comes from the English town of Eccles, in Salford. It is not known who created the first cake recipe.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/eccles_cakes_75687
LEMON DRIZZLE
Classic English lemon cake soaked in lemon juice, with a characteristic crunchy sugar crust. You will find many similarities to Victoria Sponge Cake, but the cake is baked in the form of a ‘loaf’ and after baking it is punctuated and soaked in syrup. It must be damp! I like to add Limoncello to sugar syrup. Lemon drizzle cake is an easy-to-make cake with a fresh, refreshing taste that tastes equally good in summer served with vanilla ice cream, chilled whipped cream and fresh fruit, as in winter served with a cup of hot coffee, tea or cocoa.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/st_clements_orange_and_78030
MOKATINES
This delightful mokatine recipe is simply including genoise sponge turned into something special. Light genoise sponge, coffee buttercream and a lavish coffee icing – Decorated with chopped nuts and coffee buttercream these individual cakes are packed with flavor, and they are a fantastic addition to any afternoon tea.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mokatines_96500
ROCK CAKES
Despite the name that seems, also known as rock buns) a little unattractive, rock cakes are simply the easiest British baked good to make, and they are delicious, too. Named for their shape and pebbly-looking surface. They were particularly popular during World War II because they required less sugar and fewer eggs than traditional cake recipes; they were a good baking project during rationing. Rock cakes are made from a simple dough made of self-rising flour, baking powder, butter, sugar, milk, and egg is studded with dried fruit, rolled into balls, and baked. Sometimes oatmeal is added.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/rock_cakes_03094
BARA BRITH
Bara brith, sometimes known as “speckled bread” (the literal translation of the original Welsh-language name), is a yeast bread either enriched with dried fruit or made with self-rising flour (no yeast). It is traditionally flavored with tea, dried fruits, and mixed spices, and is served sliced and buttered at teatime.
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/bara_brith_33441
ETON MESS
Eton mess – commonly believed to come from the English public-school Eton College – is the perfect dessert at the end of a summer picnic. Again, it gets amazingly simple; you just must mix the crushed meringues (you can buy them at the supermarket if you do not have time to make your own), whipped cream and strawberries. Do you want to add something extra? Put some gin in the mix!
for the example recipe, please go to :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/etonmess_81082
what are your thoughts ? how many of the desserts do you personally know, or tried? There is plenty more in United Kingdom..Please let me know which worthy ones i missed…
