Vegetarian Lardy Cakes aka Liskeardy Cake
A delicious vegetarian version of traditional lardy cakes. They contain white chocolate rather than lard which works as a really good substitute. These non-lardy yeasted buns have an additional apple twist, but you can omit this if you’d rather.
One of the few things I miss as a vegetarian is a good lardy cake. Our local bakery Blakes Bakery in Liskeard does a particularly good one. Rich with fat, sugar and spicy fruit, it has a crunchy exterior with a lovely doughy interior.
When I found out the #TeaTimeTreats theme was for yeast bakery this month, an idea was conceived. I would invent my very own non-lardy, lardy cake using white chocolate instead of lard, my own candied peel and very non traditionally, apples.
Lardy Cakes
This super calorific yeasted bun is traditional to the West Country. As it’s name suggests, the dough is layered with lard, but also sugar, dried fruit and spices. It’s then rolled up and baked. Because the ingredients used to be incredibly expensive, lardy cakes were reserved for festivals and feast days.
Vegetarian Lardy Cakes
Strictly speaking, these vegetarian buns cannot be called lardy cakes as they contain no lard. But, astonishingly, white chocolate has a similar effect to lard when it comes to baking. I have used it on a number of occasions and it works a treat. I reckon these are the nearest vegetarian alternative you can get to traditional lardy cakes.
If you use dairy-free white chocolate, these buns would be completely vegan too. As the chocolate is already quite sweet, I didn’t add any additional sugar to the bakes.
Eaten warm from the oven, this was perhaps the most delicious thing I’d eaten since … oh, I don’t know … the goat’s cheese and caramelised tomato chilli chutney I’d had at lunchtime.
It may not be quite the same product that comes out of our local bakery, but it didn’t look much different and the texture was very similar. However, when CT tried it, he thought it tasted very much like the original and he does claim to be a connoisseur of such things. All things considered, I deem this to be a success and a new bake is born: “Liskeardy Cake”.
Liskeardy Cake
As it happened, a few years after I created my non-lardy lardy cakes, the hunt was on for the Liskeard Bun. I did try and tell the notables that there was no need, but it seemed my Liskeardy Cake was not what they were looking for. I ended up judging the entries for the new Liskeard bun, so in the end, I couldn’t submit my recipe.
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you bake these vegetarian lardy cakes, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Choclette x
Vegetarian Lardy Cakes. PIN IT.
Vegetarian Lardy Cakes – The Recipe
Vegetarian Lardy Cakes – Apple, Raisin and White Chocolate Buns
Ingredients
- 8 oz strong white flour
- 150 ml warm water
- ½ oz fresh yeast
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 100 g white chocolate use dairy-free white chocolate for a vegan version
- 2 oz cooking apple cored, peeled & grated
- 2 oz raisins
- 1 oz candied peel (I used homemade)
- ½ oz mixed spice
- sunflower oil for brushing
Instructions
- Melt the white chocolate gently in a bowl resting over a pan of hot, but not boiling water.100 g white chocolate
- Make the dough by creaming the yeast with the water, then pouring it into the flour and salt. Stir, then add 30g of the melted white chocolate.8 oz strong white flour, 150 ml warm water, ½ oz fresh yeast, ¼ tsp sea salt
- Knead for about 10 minutes, then place in a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to double in size (about 45 mins).
- Knead the dough briefly, then cut into 4 equal portions. Roll these into rectangles on a floured surface.
- Spread an 1/8 of the remaining chocolate roughly over the bottom two thirds of each rectangle.
- Mix the apple, raisins, peel and spice together in a bowl and spread 1/8 over the white chocolate.2 oz cooking apple, 2 oz raisins, 1 oz candied peel, ½ oz mixed spice
- Fold the top third over then the bottom third over that and seal the sides. Give a quarter turn and roll out to form another rectangle. Repeat the process as above using up all of the white chocolate and fruit mixture.
- Place the dough pieces seem side down in a greased 8″ square tin (I use a silicone mould). Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (about 30 minutes).
- Brush the tops with sunflower oil and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar (I used vanilla sugar). Bake at 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6) for about 25 minutes, when the tops should be brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I am submitting my Liskeardy Cakes to this month’s Tea Time Treats where Kate of What Kate Baked has chosen the theme bread. Co-hosted by Karen of Lavender and Lovage.
As these were inspired by our local bakery and I bought the yeast from them, I am using that as my random local ingredient for this month’s Random Recipes over at Belleau Kitchen.
Not only are these made from scratch, but also a completely original idea (I like to think), so I am submitting these to Javelin Warrior’s Made with Love Mondays.
Dont understand instructions. Step four does not state how large the rectangles should be.
Step six says fold top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 but does nit say how the four rectangles form one rectangle.
I am doing a lardy cake at my cooking cpass on Thursday but wanted an alternative as cant stomach idea of using lard. Thanks
Hi Annabel. Thanks for pointing out that the instructions aren’t as clear as they could be. The recipe makes four lardy cakes, so the four rectangles don’t join together as such. They might touch in the tin as they prove and that’s fine. As for the size of the rectangles, I’ll need to measure them next time I make them. But they shouldn’t be too thin, just big enough so that you can spread the chocolate and filling over them. Hope that helps.
Thanks very much, that makes sense now. I’ll try that, thanks.
Good luck.
Thank you so much for this non-lardy Lardy cake recipe! My Nan in London used to make this from a war-office recipe she had, but I can’t manage that level of fat anymore. I can eat chocolate though! So will be giving this a try this weekend. Love the idea of adding apples to it, too.
Indeed, I think the levels of lard are copious. But jolly useful when most other fats were hard to come by. I’m quite envious of you growing up with proper homemade ones. I hope you enjoy my non-lardy version.
Necessity is the Mother of invention isn’t it? I plucked an RR out a few months ago that had lard & search in vain for a replacement. I bought the lard and used the small amount and indeed the empanadas were wonderfully short but also probably wonderfully life shortening. The rest remains in the freezer. Well done – they look delicious!
These cakes sounds perfect – crispy on the outside with a soft centre.
I absolutely love the name of these cakes! They look fantastic, too. I wanted to drop by to let you know that I’ve featured this post on my blog’s Weekend Wrap-Up. Feel free to stop by and take a look. Thank you for blogging about this recipe, and I hope you’ve had a great weekend!
I just used up all the apples my boyfriend picked at a client’s house..will have to send him back! Love the buns name, so cute!
Thanks Anne – hopefully you managed to get some more apples. I need to get on and use more up as the ones I have are starting to decay.
I was eagerly anticipating this recipe, after seeing the pics on FB….and having been co-incidentally talking about the demise of the lardy cake just before (I haven’t seen one for years in a shop….but maybe I’ve not been looking hard enough!). And I’m sooooo loving the white choc and apple additions, you’ve truly invented a very exciting new cake! Well the Liskeardy Cake anyway!
Thanks Lou. Good point about the demise of the lardy cake. Now you come to mention it, I don’t remember seeing it around either – other than here in Liskeard of course.
I’m so impressed you found a way to cut the fat and add some chocolate! These sound delicious and the addition of apples with the raisins is perfect for fall… I’d love a couple of these for breakfast…
Thanks JW – a couple of these would make a very filling breakfast 😉
How clever!! I love that you used white chocolate to substitute lard!! I can’t eat white chocolate on its own but in baked goods it brings just such a lovely flavour and richness.
I’m with you Jaime, white chocolate on it’s own is too sickly, but I love it in baking.
What a great idea. Love the sound of this as I’m not too keen on the lard part of lardy cake!
Thanks Caroline. I’ve used white chocolate before as a substitute for lard in bread and it’s always worked so far – crosses fingers!
this is brilliant – I want to make these sooooo much – never had lardy cake but of course the idea that I can is so exciting
Oh hope you do Johanna and if you do I really hope they work and you like them.
This sounds delicious and just as yummy as the traditional one. Love the inclusion fo apples
Thanks Katie, I was quite taken with that addition myself 😉
Fantastic! They look wonderful – using white chocolate is a stroke of genius! 🙂 I’ve actually got some cocoa butter that needs using up, I wonder if that would work. Hmm..
I expect cocoa butter would work very well Celia – you may or may not want to add a bit of sugar to compensate.
Will be trying these out on my Italian friends!
Do let me know how you get on Elizabeth.
gorgeous!… i’ve been waiting for you to post these since I saw them on your facebook page… they look wonderful and a great answer to the lardy cake… fab entry for random recipes, thank you xx
Well Dom, you can’t have the Viking languishing away for want of a Lardy Cake – oops meant Liskeardy Cake!
You, my dear Choc, are a blooming genius! I am going to make these, definitely. x
Oh Kath, you do know how to make a girl feel good 😀