Short Cakes

Origin: British      Period: Elizabethan

Original Recipe

Short Cakes (from Hannah Wolley's The Queen-like Closet)

To make Short Cakes Take a Pint of Ale Yest, and a Pound and half of fresh Butter, melt your Butter, and let it cool a little, then take as much fine Flour as you think will serve, mingle it with the Butter and Yest, and as much Rosewater and Sugar as you think fit, and if you please, some Caraway Comfits, so bake it in little Cakes; they will last good half a year.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

250ml water
1 sachet baker's yeast
2 tsp sugar
500g butter (salted)
1.2 kg flour
50ml rose water
100g demarara sugar
50g caraway comfits (caraway seeds encrusted in sugar)
granulated sugar for dusting

Method:

Take the butter out of the fridge and allow to soften then cut into cubes. Whilst the butter is softening, Put 250ml warm water in a cup or a mug and stir in two or three teaspoons of sugar. This should be about 37°C for optimal activation of the yeast. Add the yeast to this and stir in. Cover and leave for at least half an hour, until the liquid starts to form a froth on the top (this shows that the yeast is active).

Sift the flour and sugar in a bowl and add the butter and rub between your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the yeast mixture and the rose water (which can be made in summer by steeping rose petals in sugar and boiling water) to this and mix in well. If the mixture is too dry add a little more water and if too wet add a little more flour. Knead the mixture well for at least five minutes, place in a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for at least two hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Knock the dough back, tip onto a a floured board and roll out into a rough circle about 2cm thick. Spread half the caraway comfits over half of this, fold the uncovered half over and roll out again. Repeat this process with the other half of the caraway seeds (caraway comfits may be hard to find. Caraway seeds dipped in honey will work but making your own caraway comfits by dipping caraway seeds in molten syrup until they have developed a thick coating would be better). Now roll the dough out and fold over several times. Once you are done, roll the dough into a ball, knead and finally tear small balls from this. What you're aiming for are small circles about 4cm in diameter and 2cm thick. Place these on a greased baking tray, dust with a coating of granulated sugar and cook in an oven pre-heated to 170°C for 35 minutes or until the cakes turn an even golden brown.

Though they may be slightly 'odd' in the way they're made these are the true 'English' short-cakes (shortbreads). However, in the 19th century the recipes for the Scottish versions of shortbreads (using almonds) took over and it is these that we know today. The recipe used here is also for an 'expensive' version of shortbread. For a more 'homely' version add substitute 300g of ground oats for an equivalent amount of flour.

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As a guide 1 US cup of flour = 4 1/2 oz = 140g (this applies to breadcrumbs, ground almonds etc
1 US cup of butter/margarine or sugar = 7 oz = 200g

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