These fruit-filled teacakes are a great favourite across the region and are best served split, toasted and spread with butter – delicious!
Ingredients
- 10 fl oz/280 ml tepid milk
- 1lb (450g) white bread (strong) flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons (40g) caster sugar
- 3 tablespoons (40g) butter or margarine
- 2 oz (55g) currants
- 2 oz (55g) sultanas
- 1 teaspoon dried yeast, or 1 oz (28g) fresh yeast
Method
- Mix all the dry ingredients; rub in the butter or margarine
- Mix the yeast with the tepid milk and leave in a warm place until it froths; you can add a teaspoon of sugar to the milk to encourage the fermentation.
- Blend the milk and yeast with the dry ingredients and knead the dough thoroughly until it feels elastic and is no longer sticky (around 10 minutes)
- Leave the dough in a warm place until it has risen to roughly double its original size
- Divide the dough into around 8 portions shape into balls. Flatten out each ball into a disc about 1cm (half-inch) thick
- Place the discs on a greased baking tray about 1in/2.5cm apart. Cover them with oiled clear film or clean damp tea-towel and leave in a warm place to rise until the discs are almost double in size
- Brush the tops with milk and bake in a pre-heated oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 for 15-18 minutes, or until golden.
- Turn out on a wire rack and leave to cool slightly. Split and eat them warm, or toast them from cold.
16 Responses to Yorkshire Teacakes
They cooked beautifully Crumb, density all OK. A tad lacking in the taste sector..Could they do with some spices???? Just a thought.
Yes, why not, it’s a question of taste; suggest you don’t use too much spice though, maybe half a teaspoon.
It’s not my website but my mum always added a good grating of nutmeg…that’s the perfect ( in my opinion) spice. The finishing touch.
Yes I agree. Lovely but a little lacking in taste so I soaked the sultanas in earl grey tea beforehand and added some extra spices. Made them perfect (for me)
Exactly the reason they are called tea cakes, they are supposed to be made with fruit soaked overnight in tea as you suggest
Do these tea cakes freeze well?
Yes, should keep for up to 6 months in a freezer
Will it be ok to use virgin olive oil instead of butter?
Yes, it can certainly be used as a substitute, but not to the same amount; just use two tablespoons of Virgin Olive Oil (around 30ml) in this recipe.
My dried yeast with tepid milk is not frothing??
It will activate once it mixes with the dry ingredients. I have amended the method to include a teaspoon of sugar to the tepid milk to make the frothing more obvious.
My mother-in-law made amazing Yorkshire tea cakes but the recipe didn’t call for any spices or fruit.
They were more like baps but better. I think she made them with strong flour and lard.
Does anyone have a recipe for them .
Thanks
They were called plain tea cakes. Just omit the fruit and use lard instead of butter.
Vivienne, I now live in Sweden so I have to make all my own Yorkshire food. Here is my recipe for Yorkshire teacakes (breadcakes):
500g strong white bread flour
150g cold milk
150g cold water
28g lard
12g dried yeast (or 24g fresh yeast)
12g sugar
10g salt.
Mix all ingredients together (5 mins in a food mixer or 10 minutes by hand.
cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 1–1½ hours. Shape into 6— balls and place on a baking sheet. Leave to rise for 1 hour then bake at 200ºC for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
I also cure my own bacon, make my own sausages and Yorkshire pork pies.
This looks like what my Nan would make us. She would a a few raisins or sultanas to hers. They were the best. I’m going to try this thank you.
Hi I am working on my grandmother recipe, I only have a hand written copy.
Tea cakes
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup of warm water
proof the yeast
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces of lard
3 tablespoon sugar
Crumble in lard in add a little warm milk and fruit
Add yeast mixture and combine with hands.
Form a ball.
1 rise till doubled
Turn out dough, cut into equal size cakes
Flatten with hands into a 1” disk.
2 rise on baking sheet
Before baking brush with milk.
375 degrees 20min