Bake an authentic seed cake and read The Hobbit.
Of all literature, JRR Tolkein’s Middle Earth tales, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, top the list for enrapturing my entire family. From my little girls to my older-than-me husband, we Fishers all love the hobbit folk and their funny ways.
Sometime this month, we’re going to head to the movie theatre to watch the first installment of The Hobbit. But, before we do, we’re testing out a number of hobbit-like recipes.
A few weeks ago, I posted my beloved SamWich. Over on the Mushroom Channel this week, I shared a breakfast to tempt any of the Shirefolk. Today, I present authentic seed cakes, worthy of any dwarf.
Seed cakes figure prominently in the Unexpected Party that Bilbo hosts for the band of dwarves that come knocking at his door. I did a fair amount of research about the cake before I made one. I was surprised to find out that the seed involved was caraway! Nowadays we associate the caraway seed with rye bread, but in olden days it was standard in a cake, much like a pound cake.
I took a seed cake recipe from Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, 1861, and updated it for modern times. The result was quite interesting. Here’s the original recipe:
Time.—1–1/2 to 2 hours.
Average cost, 2s. 6d.
Seasonable at any time.
My kids love rye bread with caraway seed, so it was hard to get over that savory association. You can certainly make the cake without caraway or substitute poppy seeds, something we might try next time. Or as Mrs. Beeton suggests, use raisins instead of seeds.
But this is a more authentic “seed cake,” similar (I hope) to what the dwarves might have been expecting as they sat in Bilbo’s parlor.
Recipe: Bilbo’s Seed Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon each nutmeg and cinnamon
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 4 teaspoons demerara sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°. Grease four 4 1/2-inch springform pans.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl in between additions.
- In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, caraway seeds, and spices.
- Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring well.
- Add the brandy and combine.
- Add the remaining flour mixture, being sure not to overmix.
- Spoon batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon demerara sugar over the top of each cake.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.
- For freezing: Wrap cooled cakes in plastic wrap and place in a ziptop freezer bag. Freeze. To serve, thaw cakes, wrapped, at room temperature.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 35 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12
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do you think this would work in a big springform pan? I love this idea, but don’t have individual pans. My son would get a kick out of this, they are reading that book this year in school and took a field trip to see the movie. and I’ve got everything on hand to make these tonight!
@Heidi, Yes, it should. Just check for doneness and add time if you need to.
The four 4-1/2 inch pans called for by this recipe have exactly the same footprint area (64 square inches) as one 9 inch pan. How convenient!
We will try these as soon as the heating element arrives for my oven. BTW we saw “The Hobbit” last Friday at the theatre and loved it! Merry Christmas!
Was it good? You said it was interesting. I’ve heard of seed cakes and I recall you posting about it a week or two ago, but I’ve only ever had a poppyseed cake.
@Stacy, if you eat a lot of seeded rye bread, there is an odd flavor expectation. But, it’s not bad. I’d say it’s good. Especially with tea.
So have you seen The Hobbit yet??? We saw it and all my guys loved it!
@Angela, we did! Right after Christmas. Loved it. I thought it was slow going, though, and my men thought it was all action. Weird.
Been wanting to try these since you first posted, but we live in a dry county, so it took me a while to get ahold of the brandy. These were so good. We used mace and nutmeg as in the original recipe but followed yours the rest of the way, sprinkling with cinnamon sugar at the end. I think the mace was fantastic, you should try that way too. Also, we used a muffin pan and cooked for 25 minutes. My kids didn’t mind the taste of the seeds, they just didn’t like them in their teeth, so next time I’m going to try the currants for them. But the kids enjoyed the experience as I served them on the china bread plates with mulled cider in the tea cups and saucers for breakfast. Thank you so much for the recipe and fun!
@Deesselisa, so fun! Thanks for sharing your experience. Love the feedback on the muffin size, too.
I used your wonderful recipe at my 4 year old daughter’s Hobbit party a couple weeks ago, and just started blogging about it today (including a link to this post). Thank you so much–everyone loved it! Post with the link: http://tikkido.com/node/826
I made Bilbo’s Seed Cakes tonight in preparation of his birthday party tomorrow, and they are magnificent! Thag you very buch for this wonderful recipe!
So, I am currently reading The Hobbit and was curious as to what seed cakes are. I wanted to try one! After doing a google search, I found this page from a seed cake image! How cool! I will have to make these and share with some friends. Thanks!
My 16yo son loves them.
If you don’t want to use alcohol, what would you suggest as an alternative?
You could use milk so that it’s not too dry.
Or fruit juice, since that’s what brandy is made from.
Jessica, thanks so much for the “translated” recipe! I’m planning to make this for Bilbo’s birthday on Monday (along with a nice potful of mushroom stew).
Love it!
I just began reading The Hobbit – I know I’m a little late to the party – and at the mention of Bilbo’s seedcakes I was immediately intrigued. I am laughing now because I see I am not alone in this! Could you please help me out here? I am not sure what the volume wine glass is in ounces or liters.
Thanks for the recipe. I will be trying it.
Scroll down. I translated the vintage proportions into normal measures. My son makes these all the time. 😉
I just love these! The sweet and savory is just right. Might I also note that fennel seeds can also be used. I like to bake mine as cupcakes so they’re nicely portioned for afternoon tea.
Great tips. Thank you! These are my kids’ favorites as well.
I never have Brandy on hand so I use apple juice.
Also I make it in a regular cake pan.
I’ve been making this recipe for years and just made it again for Bilbo Baggins’ Birthday tomorrow!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, I’ve made it many times and never commented. My husband loves it!
So fun to hear that it’s a tradition! Love it!
I made this today and it didn’t rise at all. Should there be any baking powder in the recipe? Thanks!
Nope. It’s a very dense cake, more like a pound cake.
I made some changes in the recipe. Changed the flour to 1/2 whole wheat with about a tablespoon of buckwheat flour– a little buckwheat goes a long way and I love the taste of it. I did use caraway, but also poppy seeds and about 1/4 cup of raw sunflower seeds, and a 1/4 cup of homemade candied orange rind that I had in my freezer. I left out the cinnamon, replacing with mace, cloves, and cardamom. I changed the sugar to 1/2 brown sugar, and added 1 teaspoon of vanilla. It is a bit more rustic and hearty, but DANG, it is GOOD. Fairly certain that Bilbo would have approved.
Nicely done. Thanks for sharing your adaptations!
How many 4 1/2″ springform pans does this seed cake recipe fill? I need to be prepared. Is there some reason to not make it in a larger spring form pan?
You can make it in a larger pan, just check to adjust for the cooking time. We use four of the smaller pans because they’re cuter for tea. 😉
I’ve always wondered about the Hobbit seed cakes and was really excited to find this! I wanted to make them but not serve them for 1-2 days. What would be the best way to keep them for that time, and do you think this is a good idea, or are they really best served right away? Thanks!
I would cool them completely on wire racks and then wrap securely in plastic wrap and place in ziptop freezer bags. Store them in the freezer if making more than 1 day in advance, lest they dry out. They’ll thaw in a few hours, wrapped, on the counter.
Thanks a lot! I made them and froze as you suggested and they came out great! Everyone at our party was a huge fan. The caraway seeds really provide a unique flavor in a cake like this and we all thought it really worked.
So glad you enjoyed it. My kids love it, especially the college kids.