Hot Bacon Cake, Serious Savoury Comfort Food

Hot Bacon Cake.

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The moment I read the name of this one in Mrs Appleby’s Traditional Yorkshire Recipes (1982) I knew it was getting made. The name sang out to me. And it is a cake, too. This isn’t some pressed potato and bacon concoction or any such thing. An actual cake. With bacon in it. It’s savoury of course, with ketchup, Henderson’s Relish and cheese in the mix for good measure.

The French have been doing savoury cakes for a while and we have too, but they’ve fallen out of English cooking somewhat over the years. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall rates them as a great way to use up leftovers so long as you keep the cakey ingredients in balance, and I would tend to agree. You could put together any number of flavour combinations, and I’m looking forward to trying this out with some Indian ingredients. Or with black pudding. Or tomato sausages. Or more veggie-friendly variations. (If you try a different variation, please do let me know in the comments or over on Facebook or Twitter. I’d be really interested to hear what you came up with!)

I’ve not done a lot with this recipe – just swapped out Worcestershire sauce for Henderson’s Relish and upped the quantity of it, as well as that of the cheese and bacon, and done a little to simplify the prep.

Hot Bacon Cake
Hot Bacon Cake

This particular cake is best served hot, right out of the oven slathered with butter. You can slice it in half and top it with an egg and some sliced spring onions (and maybe some baked beans) for a comforting supper, if you like. It also makes for great elevenses. If you somehow manage to keep it ’til it’s past its best, think about using it for eggy bread.

Hot Bacon Cake, everyone…

Print Recipe
Hot Bacon Cake
A comforting savoury cake, made up with plenty of cheese, ketchup, Henderson's Relish and, of course, bacon.
Hot Bacon Cake
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Yorkshire
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
  • 100 g bacon (You can get irregularly shaped 'cooking bacon' from some supermarkets, and it would be perfect here)
  • 225 g self-raising flour
  • 25 g butter chilled
  • 140 g grated cheese (something with a strong flavour, like a mature cheddar)
  • 1 heaped tbsp tomato ketchup (or any other variety you have to hand - more on that next week)
  • 1 tsp Henderson's Relish (or Worcestershire sauce)
  • Half tsp salt
  • 125 ml milk plus a little extra for glazing.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Yorkshire
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
  • 100 g bacon (You can get irregularly shaped 'cooking bacon' from some supermarkets, and it would be perfect here)
  • 225 g self-raising flour
  • 25 g butter chilled
  • 140 g grated cheese (something with a strong flavour, like a mature cheddar)
  • 1 heaped tbsp tomato ketchup (or any other variety you have to hand - more on that next week)
  • 1 tsp Henderson's Relish (or Worcestershire sauce)
  • Half tsp salt
  • 125 ml milk plus a little extra for glazing.
Hot Bacon Cake
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees celsius.
  2. Chop your bacon, then grill or fry it until it starts to crisp.
  3. Sift your salt and flour together, then grate in the cold butter. This should make it nice and easy to rub the mixture until it has the texture of fine breadcrumbs without having to overwork it.
  4. Add two thirds of the cheese and all of the bacon.
  5. Mix the milk, ketchup and Henderson's Relish then combine steadily with the dry ingredients to form a rough dough.
  6. Roll on a floured surface to form a round about 20cm across. Brush with milk, then slice it into four.
  7. Place together on a greased baking sheet, then scatter the remaining cheese over the dough. Bake for 30 minutes.
  8. Eat, slathered with butter and topped with eggs or sausages, if you like.
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2 comments Add yours
    1. Sorry for the slow reply, Amanda! 200 degrees celsius will do it – sorry I didn’t say so sooner. Did you take a crack at it anyway?

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