Golden Tea Cakes

 

I am sharing a lovely teatime recipe with you today for Golden Tea Cakes.  They are also known as Golden Betty's. Probably because they bake up to a lovely golden color and contain the golden warmth of ginger.

The original recipe is a very old one, published in the Farmer's Weekly in the 1920's. I got my recipe via a cookery book entitled Farmhouse Fare. I purchased my copy via Thrift Books.  That's where I get a lot of my older books.

 

The original recipe did not have any kind of icing, but I do so love a bit of icing on a cake, and so I added an icing sugar glace icing.  I also topped with a cherry.  Very Enid Blyton.  When I was a child I loved Enid Blyton's books where she talked about cherry cakes, ginger beer and a plethora of other exotic sounding treats.

Tea time in the U.K. is very serious business.  They will usually serve an assortment of finger sandwiches, and a cake of some sort. All quaffed down with hot cups of tea.  Scones are also very popular.

These cakes are perfectly at home on the Tea Table, or any table for that matter.  If there is anything I like more than cake, it is a vintage cake.  But then I am rapidly becoming a vintage treasure myself!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GOLDEN TEA CAKES

Unusual for a British tea cake, these do not require self raising flour. Just some very simple every day ordinary baking larder ingredients!

For the cakes:

• 1/4 cup (57g) salted butter
• 1/2 cup less 1 TBS (85g) fine granulated sugar (caster sugar)
• 1 cup (115g) plain all purpose flour
• 2 tsp golden syrup (can use corn syrup)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 TBS whole milk
• 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten

To finish:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar
• 1 -2 tsp water (as required)
• 6 glace or maraschino cherries, halved (Rinse and pat dry)

 

I always use salted butter and there is no salt required for this recipe.  Baking soda and cream of tartar are very common baking ingredients. You can find them in the baking aisle. I got my cream of tartar in the spice section. It is also useful for making meringues.

Golden Syrup is a very British product. It is also known as Light Treacle in the U.K. It is a thick golden colored syrup. You can use light corn syrup in its place for this recipe as there is not a whole lot required. You can also purchase Golden Syrup in specialty shops and via Amazon.  It has a lovely flavor with an almost lemon undertone.

 

By ground ginger I mean powdered ginger, available in the baking spice section of the shops. It adds a lovely flavor to these cakes. 

 

I used fine granulated sugar, which is called caster sugar. You can use golden caster sugar if you wish. You can use fruit sugar, or whiz regular granulated sugar in a food processor for a couple of turns to make it finer.

Today I used maraschino cherries which is all I had. Just rinse and pat them really dry so that they don't color or tint the icing.

 

HOW TO MAKE GOLDEN TEA CAKES

These are really quite simple to make. No fuss, no muss. If you don't have the suggested pans, simply use a well buttered muffin tin.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter 12 bun tins really well. (I use these.) Place them on a baking tray. Alternately you can use a medium muffin tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the golden syrup, ginger, and the egg.

Sift the flour, soda and cream of tartar together. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, making 3 dry and 2 wet additions, beginning and ending with dry.

 

Divide between the tins equally, filling them about half full.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.

Cool completely before icing. (I tipped out onto a wire rack.)

To make the icing whisk the sugar and enough water together to make a thick spoonable drizzle icing. Spoon a portion on top of each cold cake. Top with a half cherry. Allow to set.  Store in an airtight container.

 

These are very nice little cakes which actually improve upon standing. They are lovely the first day, but are even better the second day.  Very reminiscent of a Victoria Sponge with a light ginger flavor.

These would be an excellent addition to a tea party menu!  Or for children's Birthday Parties, or even picnics!

If you, like me, are fond of a bit of cake with your cup of tea, you may also be interested in the following little cakes:

ORANGE BLOSSOM CAKES - Adapted from the Australian Women's Weekly, these are lovely little cakes. Dense, moist, buttery almond cakes with an almost pound cake texture and flavored with orange flower water. They are fabulously tasty.  You can use finely grated orange zest in it's place. I like to frost them with an orange flavored butter cream. Delicious!

CHOCOLATE CHIP CHERRY CAKES - These are lovely dense little cakes with a beautiful buttery flavor, lovely crumb and lots of cherries and chocolate chips. I like to dust them with some icing sugar to pretty them up for serving. Perfect with a hot drink.

Yield: 12 small cakes

Author: Marie Rayner

Golden Tea Cakes

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Makes a dozen moist and tasty ginger flavored cakes. With a glace icing and cherry on top, these are most delicious with a hot cup of tea.

Ingredients

For the cakes:

• 1/4 cup (57g) salted butter
• 1/2 cup less 1 TBS (85g) fine granulated sugar (caster sugar)
• 1 cup (115g) plain all purpose flour
• 2 tsp golden syrup (can use corn syrup)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 TBS whole milk
• 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten

To finish:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar
• 1 -2 tsp water (as required)
• 6 glace or maraschino cherries, halved (Rinse and pat dry)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter 12 bun tins really well. (I use these.) Place them on a baking tray. Alternately you can use a medium muffin tin.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the golden syrup, ginger, and the egg.
3. Sift the flour, soda and cream of tartar together. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, making 3 dry and 2 wet additions, beginning and ending with dry.
4. Divide between the tins equally, filling them about half full.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.
6. Cool completely before icing.
7. To make the icing whisk the sugar and enough water together to make a thick spoonable drizzle icing. Spoon a portion on top of each cold cake. Top with a half cherry. Allow to set.
8. Store in an airtight container.

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