Pontefract Cakes

Name: Pontefract Cakes
Yield: Makes about 550 g/1 lb 4 oz
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 100 g/3¾ oz butter, plus extra for greasing; 200 g/7 oz/1 cup caster (superfine) sugar; 75 ml/5 tbsp golden (light corn) syrup; 45 ml/3 tbsp black treacle (molasses); 45 ml/3 tbsp black treacle (molasses); 120 ml/8 tbsp sweetened condensed milk; 2.5 ml/½ tsp salt; 7.5 ml/1½ tsp anise extract; a few drops of black food colouring; 5 ml/1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda); 5 ml/1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Preparation info

Makes about
550
g

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Home-made Sweets & Candies

By Claire Ptak

Published 2022

About

These soft and intense liquorice cakes are from Pontefract, England, and date back to the 17th century. Originally, a seal with a depiction of Pontefract Castle was applied to the top of each cake. If you have some little madeleine, tartlet or jelly moulds, try using the bottom of those. Or, if you have a wax seal stamp, that would look appealing.

Ingredients

Europe
United Kingdom
England
Dessert
Gluten-free
Vegetarian

Method

Energy 1668kcal/7114kJ; Protein 3.1g; Carbohydrate 441.2g, of which sugars 441.2g; Fat 0g, of which saturates 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Calcium 785mg; Fibre 0g; Sodium 1690mg