When I think of Halloween I think of pumpkins and candy and chocolate cake with orange frosting. But in the UK county of Warwickshire people traditionally eat seed cake on Halloween. We had a request for a recipe for seed cake and we found several. The first one comes from www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec29.htm
Seed Cake1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup cracked wheat flour
1 pkg. yeast
1/8 cup warm (100 degrees) ale
4 oz. (1 stick) sweet butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 tbs. seed (crushed anise, or caraway, or coriander, or cardamom)
1/2 – 1 cup milk
Sift together the flours and salt; set aside in large bowl. Dissolve yeast in warm ale, along with the 1/8 tsp. of the flour mixture. Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and seeds. Make a well in the flour and add the dissolved yeast. Fold flour into yeast mixture, then flold in the butter. Slowly beat in enouogh milk to make a smooth, thick batter. Pour batter into an 8 inch rouond greased cake pan. Bake in the middle of the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the certer comes out clean. Let cool slightly before turning onto a cake rack.
Here is another recipe that looked really interesting. It came from www.sunshinerecipes.com/scottishseedcake.shtml
Scottish Seed Cake Ingredients
3 Eggs
pinch of salt
4 oz. butter
1/3 pint milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup almonds chopped
1/2 cup mixed peel chopped
Grease a ring cake tin and line the bottom with greased paper. Cream butter and sugar and gradually abeat in the well whisked eggs. Sift flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and stir in caraway seeds. Then add the chopped peel and nuts to the creamed mixture. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Place in prepared cake tin and bake the Scottish Seed Cake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
I would assume that like the other cake you would let the cake cool slightly before turning it out on a cake rack.
Both of these cakes do not call for frosting but if you wanted to I would think you could. A powdered sugar glaze might work on either one.
Here are some other links to other recipes for seed cake. You might want to take a look at all of them before deciding.
http://www.foodfunandfacts.com/carawayseedcake.html
http://www.recipezaar.com/Irish-Caraway-Seed-Cake-114189
So, for Halloween if you want to try something new, try one of these seed cake recipes and let us know what you think. And as always, let your recipe assistants help you find the recipes that you need. Happy cooking and Happy Halloween!!