SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Teacakes, baps, rolls, oven bottom cakes, muffins, Penz's post on the Chippies thread brought this to mind. When I was a kid a plain undulterated cake of bread was called a "plain teacake" in our house, but I know that for some a "teacake" had to have currants in it. In Nottinghamshire they call them "cobs" and teacakes with currants in "Yorkshire Teacakes"In the area around Manchester they're muffins, in West Lancashire round Wigan they're "barm cakes" or "barms" and a big one is a "bin lid". In East Lancashire (bordering Yorkshire) they're "teacakes" again.These days around Leeds they seem to be "breadcakes" what do we all call them?A line from a nonsense poem of my childhood comes to mind:"She gave me a plain currant teacake""I ate it and gave her it back."

Breadcakes are them flat ones with a sort of hard outer. Tea cakes are softer and more 'risen'. And if you have tea cakes toasted, they must be currant teacakes.... sorry if my explanation is rubbish.    

Penz,I would agree with you. When I lived in leeds my father used to refer to teacakes as the soft brown topped bun. He also loved currant teacakes toasted. Bread cakes were flatter and the bread was not as risen. They were a small version of the oven cake and used for sarnies. The oven cake was large and about 10 inches in diameter (The same as a stottie cake up here in the NE)My father, who was born in 1907, used to talk about Oven Bottom cakes - these may have been just oven cakes.Then again my brain may be addled!

unless I'm mistaken this has been covered in depth already. However......... Breadcakes are the small flat cake with a hard crust. They don't rise as much because they are baked in the cooler bottom of the oven.

Trojan wrote: A line from a nonsense poem of my childhood comes to mind:"She gave me a plain currant teacake""I ate it and gave her it back." I remember it as:I went to the pictures tomorrowI bought a front seat at the backI bought a plain cake with currants inAnd buttered it well with fat.A message there from the land of the stottie.

There's a few groups on Facebook about this. I'm in the "It's a Breadcake" one.    

...also I live in the Midlands now where they're called cobs. I really enjoy going to the sandwhich shops for a 'cheese and ham salad in a breadcake please', the staff look at me as though I've just asked them to divide 7986 by 47. he he he

tyke bhoy wrote: unless I'm mistaken this has been covered in depth already. However......... Breadcakes are the small flat cake with a hard crust. They don't rise as much because they are baked in the cooler bottom of the oven. You remeber rightly (but can't remember where!). Was quite a conversation piece then

Dead reet! Oven bottom cakes like dinner plates!These were stood on edge, by an open door to Cool-off.after baking.(had to be careful a marauding stray dog didn't nick 'emwhile ya weren't lookin!), EEEEh! they wo' luvly, still warm with real butter and jam as a 'samwidge'. ('Butties' hadn't 'arrived' from Liverpool, in those days!), or with a pennorth o'chips from<h>fishoil! Ah'm fair 'slavverin' as I write!Geordie!exile,Lass!Our version of that nonsense rhyme was;I went to the pictures termorra,I got a front seat at the back,A lady gi'e me a banana,I ate it and give her it back,I went round a straight,crooked corner,to see a dead donkey die,It gave me a kick in the bellyso I give it a poke in it's eye!    

Ive had many an argument with our lass about the naming of certain breaded foods. She's from Oldham, Im from Cas...... everything thats round and made of bread she seems to either call a muffin or a barm. They aint got a clue o'er t'otherside.Sorry, but a muffin is them huge choclatey bun things you get from McDonalds.If its round, made of bread, contains sandwich type products, i.e butter, ham or other kinds of meat, its a break cake lol.