I am really excited to be able to bring this latest recipe to you today of a truly traditional Vintage Cake. Traditional Genoa Cake is a cake that I always enjoyed when I was living in the UK.
You could buy small bars of it at the grocery store and it was one of my favorites. It is a brilliant testimony to the love that the British have for fruited types of cakes. This is a cake that is filled with an abundance of sweet sultanas, glace cherries, almonds and mixed peel, but which is not as rich as a Christmas Cake.
I adapted the recipe from one that I found in the book Vintage Cakes by Jane Brocket. I have several of Jane's books. This is one of my favorites. It is stuffed full of lovely Vintage cake recipes, many of which could be considered heirloom recipes.
Her book The Gentle Art of Domesticity is another favorite of mine. As is another one called Cherry Cakes and Gingerbeer. I actually knit myself a tea cosy, black and colorful striped from the first book. It was one of my favorite things that I had in the UK. I should knit myself another one sometime.
I hold a great love and affection for British Cakes. They are much sturdier than North American Cakes. Most are meant to be enjoyed with a hot cup of tea. In fact dessert cakes there are usually called Gateaux.
Genoa cake is the country cousin to the sophisticated traditional fruit cake, which is what you will see in most homes for Christmas. A Genoa Cake is more of an every day cake. The kind of cake that is at home on any tea table. Sturdy, buttery, crumbly, and stuffed with an abundance of dried fruit.
One thing that I loved most about British Cakes, aside from their sturdiness, is that they are not usually as sweet as North American cakes. And this is not a really sweet cake for sure. It doesn't need to be as the abundance of fruit in it more than makes up for any lack of sweetness.
The recipe hails from Victorian times. It was then, and is now, light, soft, crumbly and has an abundant crunchy topping of sweet Demerara sugar. (I believe it is called Turbinado sugar in North America.) I can promise you it is totally delightfully moreish!!!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE TRADITIONAL GENOA CAKE
Most of the ingredients are pretty simple and ordinary. If you cannot get glace cherries, you can use maraschino cherries. Just make sure you dry them really well.
- 1 2/3 cup (250g) sultana raisins
- 3/4 cup (150g) glace cherries, washed and halved
- 1/2 cup (75g) mixed candied peel
- 1/3 cup (50g) flaked almonds
- the finely grated zest of one lemon
- 2 TBS rum or brandy (I used orange juice and some rum extract)
- 1 cup (230g) butter, softened
- 1 cup +3 TBS (230g) caster sugar
- 4 large free range eggs
- 2 cups (230g) self raising flour
- demerara sugar to sprinkle on top
I just use salted butter and indeed the recipe does not make any suggestion of using unsalted butter. I only have salted in the house. There is no addition of salt to the recipe either.
Caster sugar is a type of granulated sugar commonly used for baking in the UK. It is much finer than their regular granulated sugar. I find that the granulated sugar here in Canada at least is quite comparable and not as coarse as the British granulated sugar, so it works fine.
I use organic unrefined golden granulated sugar.
If you can get the candied peel that you dice yourself, so much the better, but here where I live I have to make do with the already chopped candied citrus peel. Every year I say I am going to make my own and every year I forget!
You can easily make your own self raising flour. For every cup (140g) of flour whisk it together with 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt. I usually make my own flour up 4 cups worth at a time and store it in my cupboard, ready to use for cakes such as this.
HOW TO MAKE GENOA CAKE
This is a really simple cake to make. It does require rather a long time to bake, so make sure you plan on baking it when you are going to be home for at least a few hours!
Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/gas mark 3. Butter an 8-inch round deep cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment.
Measure the fruits and almonds into a bowl. Add the grated lemon zest and the brandy or rum. Set aside to macerate.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Fold in the flour and the macerated fruits gently and thoroughly with a large metal spoon. Spoon into the prepared baking tin and level the surface off with the back of the spoon. Sprinkle the top generously with demerara sugar.
Bake for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours until the surface of the cake is golden brown and is slightly cracked. A skewer or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake will come out clean.
Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool in the tin completely before turning out.
This is a lovely cake and one of my favorites. If you are expecting a light, fluffy, spongy North American style cake. This is NOT your cake. You will be disappointed.
But if you are like me and you really enjoy a buttery crumbly cake that goes well with a hot cuppa, then, like me, you best prepare yourself to fall in love. This cake is for YOU! I find it is one of those cakes that (properly stored) gets better and better with each day that passes!
If you love traditional tea time bakes then you are sure to love these delicious bakes:
LEMON & PISTACHIO CAKE - This is a lovely moist, and buttery cake, filled with crunchy pistachios and lemon, and topped with luscious candied lemon and lime slices and of course, some more crunchily addictive pistachio nuts.
MIDNIGHT FEAST WORTHY CHERRY CAKE - This cherry cake is well worthy of sharing. Cut into thick slices . . . buttery and moist, studded with plenty of glace cherries . . . and topped with a sweet drizzle glaze icing and the crunch of toasted flaked almonds.
Yield: 10
Traditional Genoa Cake
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 45 MTotal time: 2 Hour
This is a traditional every day kind of a fruit cake. Studded with plenty of sultana raisins, glace cherries, mixed peel and almonds, there is also plenty of lush buttery batter between the fruits. Perfect served with a hot cup of tea.
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cup (250g) sultana raisins
- 3/4 cup (150g) glace cherries, washed and halved
- 1/2 cup (75g) mixed candied peel
- 1/3 cup (50g) flaked almonds
- the finely grated zest of one lemon
- 2 TBS rum or brandy (I used orange juice and some rum extract)
- 1 cup (230g) butter, softened
- 1 cup +3 TBS (230g) caster sugar
- 4 large free range eggs
- 2 cups (230g) self raising flour
- demerara sugar to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/gas mark 3. Butter an 8-inch round deep cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking parchment.
- Measure the fruits and almonds into a bowl. Add the grated lemon zest and the brandy or rum. Set aside to macerate.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Fold in the flour and the macerated fruits gently and thoroughly with a large metal spoon. Spoon into the prepared baking tin and level the surface off with the back of the spoon. Sprinkle the top generously with demerara sugar.
- Bake for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours until the surface of the cake is golden brown and is slightly cracked. A skewer or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake will come out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool in the tin completely before turning out.
Notes
Genoa Cake keeps well for 4 to 5 days if wrapped in grease-proof paper or foil and stored in an airtight container.
Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Many thanks for this lovely looking recipe... I have left it too late to make a rich fruit cake, so this looks perfect! Thanks for your enthusiasm for British baking!
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