Time for a hobbit tea! Seed Cakes are a tasty pound cake filled with caraway seeds. Their distinct flavor makes them delicious as well as memorable.
Are you looking for something unusual to feature on your tea or dessert table this season? Hungry for something fun as well as fancy?
Seed cakes are for you!
Bilbo’s Seed Cakes
Seed cakes figure prominently in the Unexpected Party that Bilbo hosts for the band of dwarves that come knocking at his door.
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.
So years ago when the Hobbit films were released, I recreated Bilbo’s Seed Cakes at home. This recipe has become one of my children’s very favorites EVER. Seriously. Their eyes light up whenever anyone mentions the words, seed cakes.
What are seed cakes?
Good question! I did a fair amount of research about the cakes and was surprised to find out that the seed involved was caraway! I 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. Here’s the original recipe:
A VERY GOOD SEED-CAKE.1776. INGREDIENTS – 1 lb. of butter, 6 eggs, 3/4 lb. of sifted sugar, pounded mace and grated nutmeg to taste, 1 lb. of flour, 3/4 oz. of caraway seeds, 1 wineglassful of brandy.
Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour; add the sugar, mace, nutmeg, and caraway seeds, and mix these ingredients well together. Whisk the eggs, stir to them the brandy, and beat the cake again for 10 minutes. Put it into a tin lined with buttered paper, and bake it from 1–1/2 to 2 hours. This cake would be equally nice made with currants, and omitting the caraway seeds.
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.
How do you serve seed cakes?
In the story, Bilbo isn’t really expecting company. In fact, “he found himself scuttling off, too, to the cellar to fill a pint beer-mug, and then to a pantry to fetch two beautiful round seed-cakes which he had baked that afternoon for his after-supper morsel.”
So, clearly seed cakes go with beer. 😉
Our family enjoys these cakes as a dessert (aka after-supper morsel) or snack, with fruit, nuts, and cheese. They are also delicious as part of a larger dessert tray.
How do you make seed cakes?
Seed cakes are very much a pound cake with the addition of spices and caraway seeds. To prepare them,
- Soften the butter and allow the eggs to come to room temperature.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and cream it together with the butter.
- Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between blending.
- In a second bowl, combine the flour, spices, and caraway seeds.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the brandy and stir.
- Stir in the last of the flour mixture and gently combine.
- Grease four 4.5-inch mini springform pans.
- Divide the batter evenly among the pans. Sprinkle demerara sugar over the tops.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes on wire racks before removing them from the pans.
- Cakes may be frozen. Cool them completely, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in a ziptop bag. Store in the freezer until a few hours before serving. Thaw, wrapped, at room temperature.
How can I make this recipe economically?
This recipe isn’t expensive to make, even from scratch. However, there are things that you can do to make your sweet treat even better.
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When you see a good price on butter and sugar, buy a few extra to stash for later. You know you’ll use them. Stocking up can save you money.
- Stock up on groceries during post-holiday clearance sales. The clearance aisle is a great place to snatch up baking ingredients. You may even find brandy at lower prices at the holidays.
- Buy spices and seeds in bulk. If you don’t use caraway very often, you may not want to invest in a full bottle. My kids would disagree! Until you know how much you love caraway seeds, head to the health food store where you can buy just what you need in bulk.
How I make this recipe easily:
This cupcakes recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.
Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- stainless steel mixing bowl – I’m not sure you have too many of these.
- hand mixer – My Hamilton Beach version is going on a decade and still kicking.
- silicone spatula/spoon – I have two or three of these – so convenient!
- wire whisk – be sure to get one with a sealed barrel so that dish water won’t get stuck in the crevises.
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
- 2 sticks butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 4 teaspoons demerara sugar
- 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.
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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.
Making this in advance for Bilbos birthday, Sept 22, this was one of the two recipes my 13 year old demanded i make, the other being Beorns honey cakes. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and everybody else, thanks for the recipe adaptations!
This is one of my kids’ favorites! We need to retake photos soon, though. Have fun!