Toasted Teacakes and a Cuppa! Today’s Yorkshire Teacakes Recipe is my version of this classic spiced and fruited bun;I often find that the teacakes you buy in the supermarkets, and even in local bakeries, are a sad replica of what they should be…..soggy, limp and lacking in fruit or indeed any spice, they are light weight with an airy, almost invisible crumb that means that each bite disappears in a trice, with no “chew” to them all all. A proper Yorkshire Teacake should be a sizeable, almost a saucer sized bread bun, and it will be stuffed with mixed fruit and flavoured with warm, aromatic spices……delicious when eaten warm with butter, but even more desirable when split, toasted and spread with lashings of butter, that seeps and sinks into every crevice of these plump bread buns to give an unctuous texture and a buttery chin.
Yorkshire Teacake purists will no doubt admonish me for adding dried mixed fruit with citrus peel, as a true teacake usually only has currants or sultanas in them, with a dash of spice; but, I remember my mum and grandmother making these teacakes when I was little, and they weren’t airy fairy with a smattering of fruit, but they were packed with dried fruit AND peel, with a generous addition of mixed spice…..and so, today’s recipe is based on my childhood memories, a full bodied teacake with a goodly addition of fruit and mixed spice. Eat these warm from the oven, or wait, if you can, for an hour or so until they are cool enough to toast them – cut through the middle, toast them until lightly golden and then slather the hot teacakes with butter…..serve with a cup of Yorkshire tea, making sure you make a pot of tea, for further forays into the delights of a toasted teacake, preferably by a roaring fire with the wireless on.
As I sit in the front room of a North Yorkshire cottage on a wet and windy March day, this homely recipe beckons me to make it again……just think, a dozen, glossy and fruit packed bread cakes could be on the high tea-time table if I make a move now! Yes, yeasted bread does take time, but a lot of the time is passive time where the bread “proves” and “rises”, and that time is still yours to do with what you want – whether it be work or relaxing. The joys of freshly baked bread is well worth the effort of a few hours put to one side, and the results are well worth all of all that kneading and shaping, although you can start of this bread dough in a bread making machine if you want. Personally, I find the tactile nature of touching the dough from start to finish very cathartic when I need to get rid of any frustrations……and it also helps to add extra air and elasticity (gluten) into the dough too.
My Big Fat Yorkshire Teacake recipe is shared below, and again, breaking with tradition, I’ve made these with half white and half wholemeal flour.Adjust and amend as you see fit, but do try to keep the ratio of dry ingredients to liquids the same for a successful result. For more “Proper Yorkshire” recipes, I’ve added a wee list below, so do take a gander if you have time. That’s all for today, it’s the weekend, so I am off for a walk now the weather has cleared up and I will be making a batch of these later on too……Have a great weekend, and see you next week with more recipes and traveller’s tales. Karen
Print recipe Delectable spiced and fruited Yorkshire Teacakes that are simple to make, and are perfect for any high tea table when toasted and served with butter, jam or even honey. Make a double batch and freeze them. Delectable spiced and fruited Yorkshire Teacakes that are simple to make, and are perfect for any high tea table when toasted and served with butter, jam or even honey. Make a double batch and freeze them.Yorkshire Teacakes
Serves 12 Teacakes Prep time 2 hours, 30 minutes Cook time 15 minutes Total time 2 hours, 45 minutes Allergy Milk, Wheat Dietary Vegetarian Meal type Bread, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack Misc Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot Region British By author Karen Burns-Booth Ingredients
Optional
Note
Directions
Step 1 Sieve the flour, salt and ground mixed spice into a large mixing bowl, then rub in the butter using your fingertips. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the sugar and the dried yeast. Step 2 Add the tepid milk to the flour mixture, mix together to a form a soft, pliable dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Carefully work the mixed dried fruit into the dough until well combined. Knead lightly for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Step 3 Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the buttered/greased mixing bowl, then cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for one hour to prove. Step 4 Turn out the proved dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knock back the dough. Shape it into a ball again and return it to the bowl, then cover again with the tea towel and set aside for a further 30 minutes to rise. Step 5 Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten slightly into a bun shape using the palms of your hands. Cover the teacakes with a tea towel, and set aside to rise for 30 to 40 minutes. Step 6 Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 8. Make the glaze if using - heat some water and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved and set aside. Step 7 When the teacakes have risen, bake them in the pre-heated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until pale golden-brown, and when turned over and tapped on the underneath they sound hollow. As soon as you remove the buns from the oven, brush them with the sugar and water syrup, if using, then set aside to cool on a wire rack. Step 8 Serve warm, split and spread with butter, or serve toasted, split and spread with butter. The cooked buns can be frozen for up to 3 months; allow 6 hours for them to defrost and serve as above. Step 9 NB: If you have a bread machine, you can start the dough in the machine up to the second proving stage. Add the dried fruit 5 minutes before the end of kneading or when your bread machine beeps.
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