The Hobbit: Bilbo’s Seed Cakes

Bilbo’s Seed Cakes

“Come along in, and have some tea!” he managed to say after taking a deep breath.
“A little beer would suit me better, if it is all the same to you, my good sir,” said Balin with the white beard. “But I don’t mind some cake-seed-cake, if you have any.”
“Lots!” Bilbo found himself answering, to his own surprise; and he found himself scuttling off, too, to the cellar to fill a pint beer-mug, and to the pantry to fetch two beautiful round seed-cakes which he had baked that afternoon for his after-supper morsel.

The Hobbit

Creating this recipe brought me back to the time when I first read The Hobbit and I just couldn’t get out of my mind what on earth a seed cake was. This delicious treat was brought back to my attention when I created a Lord of the Rings dinner for the restaurant I worked in a few years ago. The addition of caraway seeds were fascinating to me and it brought me more surprise when I found out that seed cakes date back to the 16th – 17th century.

With so much history, I didn’t want to simple create a pound cake with caraway seeds. The traditional recipe was more bread like and was round to look like a round shield. This recipe I have here for you today is baked in mini loaf pans but for authenticity, feel free to bake it in a round cake tin. This recipe is similar to a tea cake and the addition of caraway seeds makes this a great pairing with tea in the afternoon.

I hope you enjoy this really simple recipe for seed cakes. I hear it’s a hit with the dwarves!

The Hobbit: Bilbo's Seed Cakes

Feast of Starlight

Bilbo's Seed Cakes Recipe by Feast of Starlight April-30-2015 A recipe for Bilbo Baggin's Seed Cakes from Tolkien's The Hobbit.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 180 g - butter room temp.
• 180 g - granulated sugar
• 3 - eggs large
• 1 tsp - vanilla extract
• 1 - large lemon zest
• 200 g - all purpose flour
• 2 tsp - baking powder
• 1 tsp - salt
• 100 g - almond meal
• 1 1/2 tbsp - caraway seeds

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350F
• With paddle attachment, mixer butter and sugar until pale.
• Add lemon zest and vanilla extract. Mix and scrape.
• Whisk the eggs in a bowl and slowly stream the eggs into the mix on medium speed. Mix until well combined.
• Add the almond meal in two additions.
• Add the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt in three additions. Make sure to scrape the bottom and side of the bowl in between each addition.
• Add your caraway seeds and mix until combined.
• Scoop the batter into lightly greased mini loaf pans, or small cake rounds, until it/s 3/4 of the way full.
• Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool on cooling rack and serve with some fresh cream and jam.