Cornish Saffron Cake
Cornish Saffron Cake is made with saffron, mixed fruit, currants, butter and eggs
Equipment
- Cake Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp saffron
- 1/2 cup water warm
- 1 lb all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 ozs butter unsalted
- 1 oz yeast active
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 ozs caster sugar
- 1 oz candied peel
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp currants
- 1 oz dried fruit (optional) chopped
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 4000F. Grease an 8" round tray.
- Warm the water to blood heat and soak the saffron strands for an hour.
- Sieve the flour with the salt. Cut up the butter and rub it into the the flour with your finger tips until the flour looks like breadcrumbs.
- Warm the milk to blood heat and dissolve the yeast in it.
- Add the saffron water to the milk-yeast mixture.
- Beat the eggs and add them to the saffron-milk mixture.
- Add the sugar and beat well until smooth and elastic with a wooden spatula.
- Grease a bowl and put the dough into this bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm site. Allow the dough to rise to double in quantity for at least 90 minutes.
- Mix the dried fruit, candied peel, and currants into the dough. Knead until the candied peel is evenly spread through the dough.
- Transfer the dough to the greased tray. Level and smoothen the top. Prove for 20 minutes.
- Brush the top with cream or whole milk.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown crust.
- Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. Slice the cake and serve hot with clotted cream or honey butter.
Notes
Notes and Tips:
- Some recipes add Devonshire clotted cream to the cake. My recipe tastes flavorful without it since you could serve the cake slice with clotted cream on the side.
- If you are allergic to eggs, you could substitute eggs with some cream or whole milk. You could use a cup of cream or whole milk instead of eggs at the end.
- Clotted cream is not easy to come by in the grocery stores. For that extra decadence, I use honey mixed with some butter and the cake tastes simply divine.
- Cake slices can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 4 days and then kept in the refrigerator. On hot days, refrigerate the cake after baking. They can be frozen and eaten at a later date.
- There is no need to add other spices like cinnamon or nutmeg as the saffron lends itself well.
- The cake dough can be shaped into individual buns if you do not like to slice the cake.
Nutrition
Calories: 273kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 10gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 196mgPotassium: 175mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 134IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 3mg
