Tottenham cake
Serves: 12
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Tottenham cake
Recipe by Leah Hyslop
There is a sweet story surrounding the origin of this old-fashioned traybake. It was created in the 1800s by a Quaker baker called Henry Chalkley in Tottenham, North London, as a cheap treat for local children. The vivid pink icing was traditionally made using mulberries from trees in the Quaker burial ground. Here we use the rather more easily found (and less creepy) raspberries, plus a splash of food colouring
Serves: 12
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
455Kcal
Fat
19gr
Saturates
12gr
Carbs
64gr
Sugars
44gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
6gr
Salt
0.5gr
Leah Hyslop
Leah Hyslop is the former Food Director of Sainsbury's magazine
See more of Leah Hyslop’s recipes
Leah Hyslop
Leah Hyslop is the former Food Director of Sainsbury's magazine
See more of Leah Hyslop’s recipes
Ingredients
- 225g soft unsalted butter
- 225g caster sugar
- 4 medium eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- grated zest of ½ orange
- 300g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp milk
For the topping
- 120g raspberries
- 300g icing sugar
- a few drops of pink food colouring (optional)
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
Step by step
Get ahead
Keeps for 1-2 days in an airtight container.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C gas 4. Grease and line a 30 × 20cm rectangular traybake tin with baking paper.
- Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy.
- Slowly mix in the eggs, a little at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract, followed by the orange zest. Fold in the flour and baking powder with a large metal spoon, then stir in the milk so the mix is a little looser. Add a splash more milk if it seems very stiff.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin before carefully removing.
- For the topping, place the raspberries and 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan over a medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until starting to break down and become jam-like. Use the back of a spoon to gently press the raspberries through a sieve into a small bowl – you should get about 5 tablespoons of juice. If you don’t, top up with a splash of water.
-
Mix the juice with the icing sugar until you have a thick, smooth icing. Add a few drops of food colouring if you’d like it pinker. Spoon over the cake, and smooth over using a palette knife. Scatter with the coconut and slice into squares once set.
Recipe adapted from Made In London by Leah Hyslop (Bloomsbury, £26).
