Today’s recipe for 1940’s Golden Syrup Loaf Cake is loosley based on the late, great Marguerite Patten’s wartime recipe for Syrup Loaf
A Traditional Tea Loaf Recipe
Today’s recipe for 1940’s Golden Syrup Loaf Cake is loosley based on the late, great Marguerite Patten’s wartime recipe for Syrup Loaf.
In her recipe, there are no eggs, fats or sugar – the cake relies on flour, baking powder, golden syrup and milk.
I’ve made this recipe, and it is of its time, a palatable but quite heavy cake, which I am sure would have been very welcome during the wartime and post war years.
I’ve added an egg, just one, some sugar and some butter to my adapted recipe for 1940’s Golden Syrup Loaf Cake.
Although I have changed the recipe, the concept is very much the same insofar as it’s an easy to make and classic tea loaf style cake.
Serve this cake in slices, halved with butter or spread. It’s also makes a fabulous pudding cake when served warm with custard.
The flavour of this cake is very much like a traditional steamed treacle pudding, but much lighter and without the steaming!
For the adventurous in you, why not try the original version which I’ve shared below. Especially if you are vegan, as you can use a plant based milk.
I hope you enjoy this recipe if you make it, Oh yes! This cake keeps extremely well in a cake tin for up to a week, and gets stickier and moister the longer you keep it.
Hilda Elsie Marguerite Patten
She was one of the earliest celebrity chefs (a term that she disliked at first) who became known during World War II thanks to her programme on BBC Radio, where she shared recipes that could work within the limits imposed by war rationing.
After the war, she was responsible for popularising the use of pressure cookers and her 170 published books have sold over 17 million copies.
During World War II, she worked for the Ministry of Food suggesting nourishing and inventive recipes using the rationed food that was available.
She broadcast her ideas and advice to the nation on a BBC radio programme called the Kitchen Front.
When the war ended, she demonstrated kitchen appliances for Harrods, including the pressure cooker which her work popularised in the UK.
Marguerite Patten’s Original Syrup Loaf
Makes a small 1lb loaf cake
INGREDIENTS:
4ozs SR flour or plain flour with 2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons warmed golden syrup
1/4 pint of milk or milk and water
METHOD:
Sift the flour or flour and baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Heat the syrup and milk or milk and water, pour over the flour and beat well. Pour into a well greased 1lb loaf tin and bake in the centre of a moderately hot to hot oven for 30 minutes or until firm.
More Tea Loaf Style Recipes
Recipe for 1940’s Golden Syrup Loaf Cake
1940’s Golden Syrup Loaf Cake
Yield:
12
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
1 hour
Additional Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour 30 minutes
Today’s recipe for 1940’s Golden Syrup Loaf Cake is loosley based on the late, great Marguerite Patten’s wartime recipe for Syrup Loaf.
In her recipe, there are no eggs, fats or sugar – the cake relies on flour, baking powder, golden syrup and milk.
I’ve made this recipe, and it is of its time, a palatable but quite heavy cake, which I am sure would have been very welcome during the wartime and post war years.
I’ve added an egg, just one, some sugar and some butter to my adapted recipe for 1940’s Golden Syrup Loaf Cake.
Although I have changed the recipe, the concept is very much the same insofar as it’s an easy to make and classic tea loaf style cake.
Serve this cake in slices, halved with butter or spread. It’s also makes a fabulous pudding cake when served warm with custard.
The flavour of this cake is very much like a traditional steamed treacle pudding, but much lighter and without the steaming!
For the adventurous in you, why not try the original version which I’ve shared below. Especially if you are vegan, as you can use a plant based milk.
I hope you enjoy this recipe if you make it, Oh yes! This cake keeps extremely well in a cake tin for up to a week, and gets stickier and moister the longer you keep it.
(The recipe below is adapted from a 1940’s British wartime recipe by Marguerite Patten)
Ingredients
- 100g butter or margarine
- 50g golden caster sugar or soft brown sugar
- 150g golden syrup
- 1 egg, beaten
- 150ml milk
- 225g self raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons golden syrup, to drizzle once baked
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 160C/140C Fan/325F/Gas mark 3. Grease and line a 2lb (900g) loaf tin.
- Put the butter, sugar and golden syrup in to a sauce pan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Set the one side and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Mix the beaten egg with the milk. Set to one side.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the baking powder and salt and mix.
- Gradually add the egg and milk mixture and then the cooled golden syrup mixture. Mix well until you have a lump free batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
- Bake in pre-heated oven for 50 minutes to 1hr until well risen, golden brown and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven.
- After 5 minutes, pierce the cake all over the top with a skewer or a toothpick and drizzle the remaining 4 tablespoons of golden syrup over the top.
- Leave to cool completely in the tin before carefully tipping the cake out.
- Store the cake wrapped in greaseproof paper in an airtight tin.
Notes
Marguerite Patten’s Original Syrup Loaf
Makes a small 1lb loaf cake
INGREDIENTS:
4ozs SR flour or plain flour with 2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons warmed golden syrup
1/4 pint of milk or milk and water
METHOD:
Sift the flour or flour and baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Heat the syrup and milk or milk and water, pour over the flour and beat well. Pour into a well greased 1lb loaf tin and bake in the centre of a moderately hot to hot oven for 30 minutes or until firm.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12
Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 221Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 34mgSodium 366mgCarbohydrates 37gFiber 0gSugar 17gProtein 3g
