Who doesn’t enjoy dessert? The cakes are definitely my favourite part of an afternoon tea (though I enjoy it all!). Luckily, some of the best desserts hail from England. For example, did you know we invented Banoffee pie?! From cakes, to tarts, biscuits and pudding, there are tons of English regional desserts.
English Regional Desserts
Inspired by my recent afternoon tea visit, I decided to track down the traditional cakes associated with particular regions of England. (By cake, I mean anything sweet.) Of course some of these are enjoyed country-wide like hot-cross buns. However, many are unique to particular regions and are rarely eaten outside. For example, it’s unlikely someone from the south has had a singing hinny, and likewise a person from the north east probably hasn’t tried lardy cake. That’s why I set off a culinary adventure, mapping English desserts – including cakes, tarts, biscuits and pudding! Just take a look at some of the amazing English regional desserts there are.
South East
London
South West
West Midlands
East Midlands
Yorkshire & The Humber
North West
North East
English Regional Desserts – South East England
Arctic role – East Sussex
Arctic role is one of the most English regional desserts, loved by school kids throughout the eighties and nineties (thanks, Jamie). The dessert is composed of a vanilla ice cream centre wrapped in a thin layer of sponge cake. It’s a pretty recent addition to the English dessert list, being invented in the 1950s by Elva Hutchinson. By 1968 it was being mass-produced in her factory in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Banoffee Pie – East Sussex
East Sussex does well for desserts! Not only does it boast arctic role but it can also claim banoffee pie as a local recipe. Banoffee pie is a dessert featuring a classic biscuit base, filled with oozy caramel, bananas, cream and chocolate. For those who haven’t tried it, it really is as good as it sounds! The recipe was invented in 1971 at the The Hungry Monk Restaurant in East Sussex.
Banbury Cake – Oxfordshire
Banbury cake is a local take on the classic Eccles or Chorley cake. (It’s basically the same). The cake dates back to the 16th century and is comprised of a pastry case filled with currents. Traditionally, the cakes are flavoured with mixed peel, rum, nutmeg or rose water.
Gypsy Tart – Kent
Most people have probably tried a gypsy tart without actually knowing it. It’s similar to a treacle or butterscotch tart. Gypsy tart is made with a filling of evaporated (or condensed) milk and muscovado sugar. This is poured into a pastry base. Those with a sweet tooth will enjoy this one. This English regional dessert originates from Kent.
Hot Cross Buns – Hertfordshire
Everyone loves a hot cross bun, especially at Easter time. A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun made with fruit and marked with a cross on the top. We all like them. However, did you know that the recipe originates from St Albans in Hertfordshire? A monk at St Albans abbey invented the recipe, calling it an ‘Alban Bun’ and distributing it to the poor on Good Friday. This was happening as far back 1361 making it one of the oldest recipes featured.
English Regional Desserts – London, England
Chelsea Bun – London
Who doesn’t like a Chelsea bun? Sticky, soft and flavoured with raisins, it’s irresistible. The recipe first appeared on the scene in the 18th century at the Bun House in Chelsea. The bun is comprised of a rich yeast dough flavoured with lemon peel, raisins, cinnamon or mixed spice. It’s a derivative of the classic currant bun and it’s a favourite nationwide.
Tottenham Cake – London
Another recipe hailing from London, Tottenham Cake is a cake distinctive for its pink topping. The original recipe was conceived by a local Friend’s (or ‘Quakers’) society. Originally the pink topping was made using mulberries from the Tottenham Friends burial ground. The icing is then sprinkled with coconut flakes for a decorative finish.
English Regional Desserts – South West England
Apple Cake – Dorset
Apple cake is a local delicacy of the West Country – Somerset and Dorset in particular. The region is a big producer of cider, so naturally there are lots of apples about. Apples are used to add fragrance, taste and moisture to a sponge cake base. Traditional recipes use spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, as well as crushed walnuts and almonds.
Lardy Cake – Wiltshire
Lardy cake is one of the least known about cakes in the south of England. Hailing from Wiltshire, lardy cake is basically a rich spiced bread made with rendered lard, flour, sugar, spices, currants and raisins. It’s a moist, squidgy addition to the list of English regional desserts.
Bath Bun – Somerset
If you have afternoon tea in Bath, you might be served a Bath bun with your scones. A Bath bun is a sweet bun with currents, made from a milk-based yeast dough. The best part is a lump of sugar baked into the centre of the bun, with sugar crystals on top.
Cornish Split, Cornwall
Cornwall is famous for its clotted cream and if you go for cream tea here, you might be served “splits” instead of scones. Never fear – they’re delicious! Cornish splits are yeast buns, filled with jam and whipped cream. Its origins are unknown. However, evidence from Tavistock Abbey in Devon points to the tradition of eating bread with cream and jam stretching as far back as the 11th century.
English Regional Desserts – West Midlands, England
Cider Cake – Herefordshire
Herefordshire is the biggest producer of cider in England (Hereford even boasts a cider museum). The local tipple was so popular it made its way into a cake recipe sometime in the 19th century. Cider cake was baked as part of the annual cider festival in Herefordshire. The recipe is comprised of butter, sugar, eggs, flour and spices, with a good glug of Herefordshire cider!
Coventry God Cakes – West Midlands
Coventry god cakes are a recent addition to the list of English regional desserts. Apparently, it was a forgotten delicacy until being rediscovered in 2010 and officially re-launched in 2012. Coventry god cakes are essentially a mincemeat puff pastry, baked in the shape of a triangle with three splits across its top. Historically, it was eaten during New Year celebrations to symbolise blessings for the New Year.
Shrewsbury Cake – Shropshire
Shrewsbury cake is really a biscuit made using a dough of flour, egg, sugar, butter, dried fruit and lemon zest. Some recipes might also use caraway seeds. Evidence shows this delicacy was being made as far back as 1561. Today its recipe is also famous in India, where it is produced by a local baker.
English Regional Desserts – East Midlands, England
Bakewell Tart – Derbyshire
One of the most famous English desserts (and possibly the yummiest), Bakewell tart hails from Bakewell in Derbyshire. Now a classic English dessert, the Bakewell tart was originally created by accident. In 1860, a hotel cook in Bakewell, Derbyshire, misunderstood instructions and spread egg mixture on top of the jam instead of mixing it into the pastry and the rest is history. Well done her! It’s delicious.
Plum Bread – Lincolnshire
Visit any farm shop in Lincolnshire and you’ll see shelves of Lincolnshire plum bread. It’s a regional delicacy that they can’t get enough of here. Plum bread is a fruit loaf made with plums traditionally baked for Christmas in Lincolnshire. It is a delicious treat when served warm with butter and a slice of cheese. If you don’t fancy baking, you can pick it up in most Lincolnshire market towns like Stamford.
English Regional Desserts – Yorkshire, England
Fat Rascal – North Yorkshire
Did you know Yorkshire has its own take on the English scone? Fat Rascals are a local delicacy unique to Yorkshire, comprising a rock cake with currents, glacé cherries and almonds. It’s believed to have been around since the 1800s. The best place to try this local treat is at the renowned Betty’s Tea Rooms, with branches in York and Harrogate.
Parkin (Cake) – West Yorkshire
Parkin cake is a gingerbread cake made with black treacle and oatmeal. It’s most associated with Leeds, although its influence spreads much further. It’s another Yorkshire favourite in addition to fat rascals. It’s a popular treat during the autumn and winter months due to its use of warming spices.
Yorkshire Curd Tart – East Yorkshire
This speciality tart from Yorkshire is a variation on the cheesecake – baked using a shortcrust pastry base filled with a mixture of curd cheese, butter, eggs, sugar, dried fruit and spices. Curd tarts were traditionally made using leftover curds from the cheese-making process. They were eaten during Whitsuntide – when many Yorkshire villages held feasts and fair days. Today they are enjoyed year-round and the best place to try them is the renowned Betty’s Tea Rooms, with branches in York and Harrogate.
Pepper Cake
Don’t worry! Pepper cake isn’t made with black or white savoury pepper we know today. The name ‘pepper’ comes from allspice, or ‘Jamaican Pepper’ as it was called back in the 18th and 19th centuries when the cake first appeared. Like a lot of fruit cakes, it was traditionally served at Christmas. It’s basically a basic sponge cake, made with brown sugar, spices (like ground cloves) and black treacle.
English Regional Desserts – North West England
Grasmere Gingerbread
Grasmere gingerbread is one of the chief exports of the Lake District, unique to the village of Grasmere (where William Wordsworth lived). It’s halfway between a cake and biscuit and was invented in 1854 by Victorian cook Sarah Nelson. She made and sold the chewy concoction to supplement her income as a housekeeper. It took off and soon was in high demand across the region. It’s still sold to villagers and visitors from her cottage home – now The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop.
Chorley Cake – Lancashire
Chorley cake, like its cousin Eccles cake is a current filed pastry. However, unlike Eccles cake it uses shortcrust pastry, making it flatter and less sweet. Hailing from the town of Chorley, in Lancashire, it’s a favourite tea-time treat in the north west. Traditionally, locals layer butter and a piece of crumbly Lancashire cheese.
Eccles Cake – Greater Manchester
The Eccles cake is probably the most famous teatime treat from the North West. Traditionally, it is comprised of currants, Demerara sugar and buttery flaky pastry. There’s a bit of conjecture around whether it actually originates from Eccles. What we do know is that it was being sold commercially in the town as far back as 1793.
Goosnargh Cake – Lancashire
Goosnargh cake hails from the village of Goosnargh in Lancashire. The cakes are actually biscuits traditionally sold at Easter. They’re a form of shortbread made of butter sugar and flour. Their distinctive flavour comes from caraway seeds – a popular delicacy in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Kendal Mint Cake – Cumbria
Anyone who’s visited the Lake District is probably familiar with these sweets (the gift shops are packed with the stuff). Kendal Mint cake is a peppermint flavoured sugary sweet, slightly similar to Scottish tablet. Hailing from the pretty town of Kendal in Cumbria, the recipe was actually discovered by mistake (like Bakewell Tart). While making a mint cake, a batch of peppermint creams was left overnight and it solidified. When morning came, the mint cake as we know it was born. Today, it’s widely used by mountain climbing folk in the Lake District as a source of energy.
Liverpool Tart – Merseyside
Liverpool tart is a citrus tart with a filling comprised of muscovado sugar and minced boiled lemons. It’s a traditional recipe of Merseyside but underwent a revival in the early noughties when the musician Gerry Jones vowed to publicise its recipe until it was as well known as the rival Manchester Tart. I’m not sure he quite succeeded but it’s still a favourite of the people of Liverpool.
Manchester Tart – Greater Manchester
Manchester tarts are made using a shortcrust pastry base, topped with raspberry jam and a custard filling. Like the arctic role, the tart was a regular in Mancunian school dinners up until the nineties. The tart is distinctive for its topping of a Maraschino cherry and coconut flakes. yum.
Sticky Toffee Pudding – Cumbria
Sticky Toffee Pudding was invented in the 1970s by Francis Coulson at the Sharrow Bay Hotel in the Lake District. The original recipe is a matter of culinary legend, so much so that staff members sign a secrecy agreement not to reveal the recipe kept in the hotel’s vaults. Sticky toffee pudding is a warm sponge cake made with dates and black treacle, and served with toffee sauce. It’s one of the most classic English desserts, along with Spotted Dick. Most Brits have probably tried this one and the best place to try it is the village of Cartmel.
English Regional Desserts – North West England
Singing Hinnies
Singing Hinnies are a type of scone-like griddlecake made with raisins. They’re similar to a Welsh cake. It’s not known when the cake first emerged in the North East, however its origins are quite easily identified. Hinney is the pronunciation of “honey” in the northeast of England. It’s a common term of endearment. The ‘singing’ part of the name is believed to relate to the sizzling or ‘singing’ noise hot butter makes on the griddle. Yum.