Seed Cake

Nov 6, 2026 · By VanillaGoods

Baking Cakes cupcakes Easy

Seed cake is a buttery, close-textured English loaf cake flavored with caraway seeds, which give it a gentle anise-like warmth. Ground almonds keep the crumb moist and a demerara-sugar crust adds crunch on top. Makes 10 servings in about 3 hr 10 min.

Prep 20 min

Cook 55 min

Cooling 1 hr

Total 3 hr 10 min

Servings 10

Ingredients

Adjust yield

servings

¾ cup (175 g)unsalted butter, softened
14 tbsp (175 g)superfine sugar
3 (150 g)eggs, large, room temperature
1 ⅔ cups (200 g)all-purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp (5 g)baking powder, about 1 1/4 tsp
1 pinchfine salt
½ cup (50 g)ground almonds
2 tsp (6 g)caraway seeds, about 2 tsp, lightly crushed
2 tbsp (30 ml)whole milk
2 ½ tsp (10 g)demerara sugar

Fresh ingredient guides

AlmondsHow to pick, season & nutrition · 188 kcal per 30 g

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Instructions

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease the loaf pan and line it with a strip of parchment that hangs over the long sides.
Beat the unsalted butter and superfine sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with the last egg if the mixture starts to curdle.
Whisk the remaining all-purpose flour with the baking powder, fine salt, ground almonds and caraway seeds, and fold into the batter with a spatula. Fold in the whole milk to make a soft batter that drops from the spoon.
Scrape the batter into the pan, level the top and sprinkle evenly with the demerara sugar.
Bake until well risen, golden and a skewer pushed into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cover loosely with foil after 35 minutes if the top is browning quickly.
Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then lift out with the parchment and cool completely on a rack, about 50 minutes, before slicing.

Tips

Crush the caraway seeds lightly with a mortar and pestle or the flat of a knife to release their flavor without turning them to powder.
Seed cake slices more neatly the day after baking, once the crumb has settled.
A crack along the top is normal for this kind of loaf cake.
Good with darjeeling tea or a glass of Madeira.

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Recipe FAQ

How long does it take to make seed cake?

Plan on 20 minutes of prep and 55 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour 55 minutes to rise and rest. The recipe makes 10 servings.

How should I store seed cake?

Wrap and keep at room temperature up to 5 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

Can I make seed cake ahead?

It is at its best the day it is made; prepare it a few hours before serving.

Serve it with darjeeling tea or a glass of Madeira.

Variations

Orange-zest version: add 2 tsp (4 g) finely grated orange zest with the sugar; bake time unchanged.
Victorian brandy seed cake: replace the milk with 30 ml (2 tbsp) brandy; bake time unchanged.
Nut-free seed cake: replace the ground almonds with 40 g (1/3 cup) more all-purpose flour and add 15 ml (1 tbsp) more milk; bake time unchanged.
Mini loaves: divide among four 5 3/4 x 3-inch (15 x 8 cm) mini loaf pans and bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Estimated · per serving

Nutrition

Per serving = 1 of 10 servings this recipe makes.

322 Calories / serving

18.4g Fat

35.1g Carbs

5.2g Protein

19.0g Sugar

Whole recipe (10 servings): ~3220 cal · 184g fat · 351g carbs · 52g protein · 190g sugar

Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.