Banbury cakes
Encyclopedia
A Banbury cake is a spiced, currant-filled, flat pastry cake similar to an Eccles cake
, although it is more oval in shape. Once made and sold exclusively in Banbury
, Oxfordshire
, England
, Banbury cakes have been made in the region to secret recipes since 1586 or earlier and there they are still made today, but not in such quantity. The cakes were once sent as far afield as Australia
, India
and America.
Banbury Cakes were first made in the sixteenth century by Edward Welchman, whose shop was on Parsons Street. In the late nineteenth century, the notorious refreshment rooms at Swindon railway station
sold 'Banbury cakes and pork pies (obviously stale)'.
Besides currants, the filling typically includes: mixed peel; brown sugar; rose water; rum; and nutmeg.
, by James Joyce
, the character Bloom feeds the seagulls by throwing pieces of two Banbury cakes, which he bought for a penny
, into the Liffey.
Banbury cakes appear in Noel Coward's Brief Encounter
when the protagonists meeting in a railway tearoom order them.
Eccles cake
An Eccles cake is a small, round cake filled with currants and made from flaky pastry with butter and can sometimes be topped with demerara sugar.-Name and origin:Eccles cakes are named after the English town of Eccles...
, although it is more oval in shape. Once made and sold exclusively in Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Banbury cakes have been made in the region to secret recipes since 1586 or earlier and there they are still made today, but not in such quantity. The cakes were once sent as far afield as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and America.
Banbury Cakes were first made in the sixteenth century by Edward Welchman, whose shop was on Parsons Street. In the late nineteenth century, the notorious refreshment rooms at Swindon railway station
Swindon railway station
Swindon railway station is in the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station entrance is on Station Road, to the south of the line.It is approximately from the central bus station and the town centre...
sold 'Banbury cakes and pork pies (obviously stale)'.
Besides currants, the filling typically includes: mixed peel; brown sugar; rose water; rum; and nutmeg.
Literary references
In UlyssesUlysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
, by James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, the character Bloom feeds the seagulls by throwing pieces of two Banbury cakes, which he bought for a penny
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day....
, into the Liffey.
Banbury cakes appear in Noel Coward's Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter is a 1945 British film directed by David Lean about the conventions of British suburban life, centring on a housewife for whom real love brings unexpectedly violent emotions. The film stars Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey...
when the protagonists meeting in a railway tearoom order them.