This lovely recipe for Princess Elizabeth Cakes comes from a very old recipe booklet, “Coronation Cakes and Pastries”, from 1937
A 1930’s “Royal” Vintage Cake Recipe
This lovely recipe for Princess Elizabeth Cakes comes from a very old recipe booklet from 1937, which was given away with “Woman’s World” magazine.
This souvenir recipe booklet was published to celebrate the coronation of our late Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI.
The recipe booklet is fascinating, and it’s one of my favourite recipe resources for vintage pastry recipes. as well as cakes and bakes.
It has some great recipes in it, such as “Empire Cake”, “Margaret Rose Cakes” and “Ladies in Waiting”, “Busy Bees”, as well as these “Princess Elizabeth Cakes”.
I LOVE this recipe for so many reasons, the fact that it has nuts in it, and that the flour is mixed with cornflour, giving them a delightful light and crumbly texture.
They’re not particularly showy cakes, with no buttercream or icing on them. But, what they lack in good looks is more than made up in taste.
These are what my dad would call “buns”, a dainty cake made in a smaller patty tin (not a muffin tin) with paper cases.
The only amendment I made, was to use a mixture of white and wholemeal flour – which adds to the nuttiness of these small cakes.
Be sure to chop the walnuts up very finely before adding them to the cake batter – I used my small blender (the one I use for coffee beans) to chop mine.
These keep well in the cake tin for up to a week, and make a rather delicious accompaniment to a cup of tea, or coffee too of course.
I really hope you enjoy them as much as we do, if you make them. It’s such a lovely recipe, and it’s hard to believe its over eighty-five years old too. Karen
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Culinary Notes
- Use a mixture of white and wholemeal flour for a nuttier flavour.
- You can also use chopped hazelnuts in the cake batter.
- I used 2ozs (50g) walnuts for the cake batter AND 12 walnut halves. In tghe original recipe you weight the walnuts then reserve 12 walnut halves for the top.
- This mixture filled my paper cases to 3/4 full and made 12 x cakes.
- Sit the paper cases in a patty tin.
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More Vintage Cake Recipes
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Recipe for Princess Elizabeth Cakes
Princess Elizabeth Cakes
Yield:
12
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
20 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes
This lovely recipe for Princess Elizabeth Cakes comes from a very old recipe booklet from 1937, which was given away with “Woman’s World” magazine.
This souvenir recipe booklet was published to celebrate the coronation of our late Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI.
The recipe booklet is fascinating, and it’s one of my favourite recipe resources for vintage recipes. as well as cakes and bakes.
It has some great recipes in it, such as “Empire Cake”, “Margaret Rose Cakes” and “Ladies in Waiting”, “Busy Bees”, as well as these “Princess Elizabeth Cakes”.
I LOVE this recipe for so many reasons, the fact that it has nuts in it, and that the flour is mixed with cornflour, giving them a delightful light and crumbly texture.
They’re not particularly showy cakes, with no buttercream or icing on them. But, what they lack in good looks is more than made up in taste.
These are what my dad would call “buns”, a dainty cake made in a smaller patty tin (not a muffin tin) with paper cases.
The only amendment I made, was to use a mixture of white and wholemeal flour – which adds to the nuttiness of these small cakes.
Be sure to chop the walnuts up very finely before adding them to the cake batter – I used my small blender (the one I use for coffee beans) to chop mine.
These keep well in the cake tin for up to a week, and make a rather delicious accompaniment to a cup of tea, or coffee too of course.
I really hope you enjoy them as much as we do, if you make them. It’s such a lovely recipe, and it’s hard to believe its over eighty-five years old too.
Ingredients
- 2ozs (50g) cornflour
- 4ozs (115g) self-raising flour
- 4ozs (115g) vegetable fat (i used butter)
- 5ozs (140g) castor sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- A little milk
- 2ozs (50g) walnuts, chopped finely
- 12 walnut halves
Instructions
- Sieve the flour and cornflour together in a basin.
- Beat the sugar and fat to a cream, beat in the egg, then gradually stir in the flour etc.
- Add the chopped walnuts to cake batter, mixing it all up with sufficient milk to make a soft dough.
- Half fill some paper cases with the mixture.
- Stick a halved walnut in the centre of each and bake in a hot oven (220C/200C Fan/425F/Gas mark 7-8) for 15 to 20 minutes.
Notes
Use a mixture of white and wholemeal flour for a nuttier flavour.
You can also use chopped hazelnuts in the cake batter.
I used 2ozs (50g) walnuts for the cake batter AND 12 walnut halves. In tghe original recipe you weight the walnuts then reserve 12 walnut halves for the top.
This mixture filled my paper cases to 3/4 full and made 12 x cakes.
Sit the paper cases in a patty tin.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12
Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 69Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 17mgSodium 16mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 3g
