Sadly the days where the nation stopped for afternoon tea are behind us. I like baking cakes, so most weekends we do make time for a slice of cake and a mug of our favourite brew. With St David’s Day coming up I baked an Anglesey Cake, I do like to bake seasonally if I can.
Anglesey Cake is not especially well known. Anglesey Cake is darkened with treacle so it appears much richer than it is was often served at weddings where the families couldn’t afford a proper wedding cake. It’s a light fruit cake which is fairly cheap to make and just the thing to serve for afternoon tea.
It’s certainly very easy to make, it rises well and looks a treat on the table. It would be a good bake for the novice baker to try.
Anglesey Cake
Ingredients:
100g butter or margarine
75g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons of black treacle
1 egg
275g self raising flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
200ml milk
100g raisins
75g currants
How to make Anglesey Cake:
Pre-heat your oven to 180° and grease a deep cake tin (I used an 8 inch tin). I also lined my cake tin with baking parchment for good measure.
Cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Once it’s light and fluffy, add the egg and treacle and combine. Sift the flour, ginger and mixed spice into the mix and gently mix into a thick batter.
Stir the bicarb into the milk and whisk until it is fully dissolved, gradually stir this into the cake mixture, add the dried fruit and make sure the cake mix is well combined. Pour the cake batter into the cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes.
Once it’s baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool. The cake is best baked 24 hours before you plan to eat it. It’s nice served plain with a good strong cup of tea, but I like it with some nice crumbly cheese like Caerphilly. Fruit cake and cheese is a traditional combination, believe it or not.
Whether you’re baking this as a St David’s Day treat, or just because you like the look of it, it’s a lovely light fruit cake which won’t break the bank to bake. Happy St David’s Day!
If you enjoyed this, you might also like my “works every time” Victoria Sponge Recipe.
