SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

As a kid mi mam would go to the market on a saturday and bring home a large "new cake" she would then cook bacon and eggs and layer them all on the brown sauce covered bread and cut into quarters, delicious! She said that her mam used to do the same thing and that the "new cake" was exclusively a leeds thing and that we had to buy them to make sure they were not forgotten about and lost forever to the folk of leeds. I was in the north east and came upon a "stottie" this seems to be exactly the same as the leeds new cake just smaller. Whilst in town recently i visited the market and in the old part i discovered a shop selling "oven bottom buns" these are the same as the stotties up north and they also sold a huge one, exactly the same as i remember as a kid. I did a google search for leeds new cake and found nothing. I was wondering if anybody had any info on the new cake, its origins and why it is the same as the stottie, also why leeds has seen a name change on this delicacy of the north?

I think (and someone will be along soon to correct me if needs be), that the 'new cake' was predominately a South Leeds name. Being from East Leeds I knew them as oven bottom cakes until I started working in Hunslet...

Aye I'll correct you ravey. I'm from Woodhouse and Burmantofts and my mam used to send me for a large newcake from Gallons. [And she was Scottish!] She also used to buy them from that place on Fish Street that sold cold meat and pies. They were indeed like the stotties that people get up here. I used to get oven-bottom bread from a stall at the top of the old market. They were much thicker than newcakes.    

New Cakes in Leeds 9 area, from Stones on Harehills Lane, near the Compton.Used to make yer jaw ache trying to eat em, similar to Stotties but i think New cakes were a bit "heavier" so to speak.

Our next door neighbour in Morley used to make oven bottom cakes. Large flat breads. She made them literally in the bottom of the oven part of the old coal fired range. There are loads of names for flat breads. When I was a kid in Morley we always called them teacakes, if they had currants in they were currant teacakes. But not that far away (Leeds say) they were breadcakes. In Wigan they are barm cakes, in parts of Manchester muffins, but in north Lancs around Blackburn and Burnley we're back to teacakes again. IN Notts a currant teacake is a Yorkshire teacake. All very confusing.

majorhoundii wrote: Our next door neighbour in Morley used to make oven bottom cakes. Large flat breads. She made them literally in the bottom of the oven part of the old coal fired range. There are loads of names for flat breads. When I was a kid in Morley we always called them teacakes, if they had currants in they were currant teacakes. But not that far away (Leeds say) they were breadcakes. In Wigan they are barm cakes, in parts of Manchester muffins, but in north Lancs around Blackburn and Burnley we're back to teacakes again. IN Notts a currant teacake is a Yorkshire teacake. All very confusing. Hi majorhoundi I have always thought that tea cakes had sugar in the mix bread cakes had no sugar.

When I was at School (Outwood Grange), we used to go to a bakers on Ledger Lane & get 'Oven Bottom Cakes', when I was in 6th form (83/84)These were roughly 10" diameter, & generally still warm at 12 noon, then it was off round the corner to 'Annies' Fish shop, for a fish to put in themBoth establishments are still there, but both are owned by other people nowStill visit 'Annies' every so often, but the present owners have diversified now, & offer pies!!!

When i worked in Castleford they referred to a breadcake as a "Scuffler" never heard that word anywhere else. Leeds market always sold Oven Bottoms, about the size of a saucer and slightly burned underneath, delicious. down here in the West Country they call a breadcake a Bread Roll.

tilly wrote: Hi majorhoundi I have always thought that tea cakes had sugar in the mix bread cakes had no sugar. Yes, that was my understanding.j.c.d. - Greggs sell scufflers in the north east, don't know about in Yorks. They are vaguely triangular shaped small breadcakes [or buns as they say here, the heathens].

A propper stottie is about a foot across and and no more than 2 inches thick. They would be cut into quarters for sandwiches. A breafast stottie was a full english in a full size stottie. The bread used to be quite dense and modern versions generally are just a lighter bread bun that bear no resemblance to the real thing.