Orwell's Birthday

105 years since Orwell's birth

Wednesday 25th June marks the 105th anniversary of George Orwell's birth, in Motihari, India.

To mark the occasion, why not bake a cake from one of Orwell's own recipes? Both are taken from his essay 'British Cookery', commissioned by the British Council but not published owing to post-war austerity.

• View Treacle Tart recipe manuscript
• View Plum Cake recipe manuscript

Treacle Tart

Orwell's Treacle Tart

Ingredients:

12 ounces short crust pastry

Golden syrup

2 ounces breadcrumbs

A pinch of ginger or a little lemon juice

Method: Make the pastry crust in the proportion of eight ounces of flour to five ounces of butter, with a pinch of salt, and mix with cold water. Line a flat metal dish with the pastry. Cover with a layer of breadcrumbs, then pour in the golden syrup. Sprinkle lemon juice or ginger over the syrup and cover with the remainder of the crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes in a hot oven.

Plum Cake

Ingredients:

3/4lb butter

1/2lb sugar

4 eggs

3/4lb flour

1/2lb crystallised cherries

1/4lb raisins

1/4lb sultanas

1/4lb chopped almonds

1/4lb mixed candied peel

The grated rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange

1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice

A pinch of salt

1 glass of brandy

Method: Beat the butter and sugar to a cream; add each egg separately and beat until the mixture is stiff and uniform. Sift the flour with the mixed spice and the salt, stir well into the creamed mixture, add the raisins (stoned beforehand,) the cherries cut in halves, and the sultanas, the candied peel cut into small pieces, the grated lemon and orange rind, and the brandy. Mix thoroughly, put into a round tin lined with greased paper, put into a hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes, then reduce the heat and bake slowly for 3 1/2 hours.