My Long Lost Coburg Cakes
Back in my dim and distant past I made these spicy buns in a home economics class when I briefly lived in Scotland. The recipe, like my youth, was lost a long time ago until Peter Gilchrist re-introduced them to me during our Black Bun podcast (listen to the little segment above to hear more). You can find Peter’s gran’s recipe here.
Nostalgia does tend to give our memories a rosy hue. I was so looking forward to rediscovering a taste from my past. Alas the first batch I made were disappointingly dry (something Peter warns his readers about on his blog). So I have upped the fat and sugar and reduced the flour for a moister result. The original idea of this recipe was to teach children the creaming method for making cakes but I have opted for the all in one method. If you want to be old-school about it, by all means cream the butter, sugar and golden syrup together first before adding the eggs then lastly the flour and spices.
Ingredients
15g/½oz flaked almonds
120g/4½oz soft unsalted butter
90g/3½oz caster sugar
30g/2oz golden syrup
2 medium eggs
120g/4½oz self raising flour
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
1-2 tablespoons milk or buttermilk
1 x 12 hole bun tin, well buttered
Method
Scatter the flaked almonds in the base of the buttered bun tin. Pre-heat the oven to 180℃.
Place all of the ingredients into a large bowl (or use a food processor). Using an electric whisk, beat the ingredients until light and the mixture is dropping consistency.
Divide equally between the holes in the bun tin. Bake for 10-12 minutes until well risen and golden. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.
