The Inn at the Crossroads
  • Home
  • About
    • FAQ
    • From Readers
    • About the Author
    • Interviews and Articles
  • Latest Posts
  • Game of Thrones
    • Game of Thrones Recipes, by region
    • Game of Thrones Recipes, by meal
    • The Official Game of Thrones Cookbook
  • Cookbooks!
    • The Official Game of Thrones Cookbook
    • World of Warcraft Cookbook
    • Hearthstone Cookbook
    • Elder Scrolls Cookbook
    • Firefly Cookbook
    • Overwatch Cookbook
    • Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Cookbook
    • WoW: New Flavors of Azeroth
    • Star Trek Cookbook
    • Second Game of Thrones Cookbook: Recipes from King’s Landing to the Dothraki Sea
      • Game of Thrones Cookbooks Bibliography
    • Errata
  • Other Recipes
    • Other Fictional Foods
    • Other Historical Foods
    • Everything Else!
  • Contact
    • Sign Up for News!

Lemoncakes, part 2

Elizabethan Lemoncakes, version 1

Elizabethan Lemoncakes, version 1

*UPDATE: If you dip the tops of the Elizabethan cakes in Lemon Curd, they become exquisitely delicious.  I can’t keep them in the house for more than a few hours!*

Thoughts:

First of all, I’d like to thank the author over at Phantasmagorical Musings for her wonderful breakdown of the essential qualities of a Game of Thrones lemon cake.  With such clear, concise standards, I were inspired to give the lemon cakes another go.

Round 2 of Battle Lemon Cakes was highly successful. Both the modern and period recipes yielded baked goods that would make top quality additions to any afternoon tea, whether in London, or King’s Landing.  For a truly Game-of-Thronsian culinary experience, however, the period recipe can’t be beat.

The period recipe is Elizabethan; it results in deliciously dense lemon poppy-seed cakes with sweet lemony glaze. Although these cakes have a heavier consistency than the modern ones, they go down easily. Too easily.  Don’t be shy with the lemon glaze, however, since most of the lemon flavor seems to bake out of the cakes.

The modern recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart, produces soft sweet cakes with a consistency between pound cake and corn muffins. Mine puffed up a little more than they ought to have, so we might decrease the leavening just a bit next time.

Bottom Line: Tea drinker? Make both. Planing a premier party? The Elizabethan lemon cakes are a must.

Am I happy?  Yes.  Are they perfect? So very nearly.  But I believed the third time would be the charm, and I was right. The winningest two lemoncake recipes are in the cookbook!

 

Elizabethan Lemon Cakes II

This is an original recipe, based on cake receipts from A.W.’s Book of Cookrye (1591) and The English Huswife by Gervase Markham, 1615.  A round cake such as this is described in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, where it is compared to the shape of the medieval round shield, the Buckler.

Our changes: The original recipe didn’t call for lemon, which I added in.  It also didn’t specify a type of seed, so I opted for the classic pairing of lemon and poppyseed. Makes ~9 lemoncakes.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbs. warm ale
  • 2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 Tbs.)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tbs. poppy seeds
  • juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • ~2 cups unbleached flour
  • 1/8 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast in warm ale, along with 1Tbs. of the flour mixture.  Your yeast should bubble up after a few minutes, indicating that the yeast is active.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and seeds, followed by the lemon zest and juice. Gently add the yeast to this mixture, then begin to fold in the flour and salt.  Use as much flour as is needed to make a smooth, thick batter. Grease your cupcake pan, and fill the cups 2/3 full. Bake in middle of oven at 350° F for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly before turning onto a cake rack. 

For an extra lemony kick, try topping your cakes with lemon curd!

Modern Lemon Cakes II

Compliments of kitchen maven Martha Stewart, but I wasn’t that big a fan of the finished cakes. :)
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
  • 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • Zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 5 large eggs

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lowest position, and grease your cupcake pans.
  2. In a small bowl (or liquid measuring cup), combine buttermilk with lemon zest and juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
  3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two, beginning and ending with flour; beat just until smooth (do not overmix).
  5. Divide batter evenly between pans; smooth tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, ~15 minutes (tent with foil if browning too quickly). Cool 15 minutes in pan. Turn out cakes onto a rack; cool completely before glazing.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related

« Goat with Sweetgrass, Firepods, and Honey
The Old Bear’s Hot Spiced Wine »

63 Responses

  1. duckchick says
    April 12, 2011 at 1:59 am

    These look amazing! I’ll have to try and make the medieval ones!

    Reply
    • Needs Mead says
      April 12, 2011 at 11:37 am

      Let us know how they turned out! By popular demand, we had to make a second batch here!

      Reply
    • Needs Mead says
      April 12, 2011 at 7:10 pm

      ALSO! If you mix up a bowl of lemon curd, and dip the tops of the cake in, they are divine!

      Reply
  2. Kristen E says
    April 13, 2011 at 12:21 pm

    I’m definitely trying these. :) A friend posted a link to this blog on Facebook – I’ve never read the Game of Thrones books, but I love cooking and am interested in medieval recipes, so I’m really enjoying reading through this! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
    • Needs Mead says
      April 13, 2011 at 12:46 pm

      Glad to hear to you like the blog! We plan to do a ridiculous number of recipes, so keep checking back in!

      Reply
  3. Elendil's Heir says
    April 14, 2011 at 11:05 am

    For a lemon cake recipe, may I suggest my wife’s world-famous and insanely good Lemon Ahead Cake?

    1 sm. (3 oz.) package lemon Jello
    1 cup water
    4 eggs
    3/4 cup vegetable oil
    pinch of salt
    1 box lemon cake mix (Duncan Hines)
    2 cups confectioners sugar
    1/2 cup lemon juice

    Dissolve package of lemon Jello in cup of boiling water. Let cool. In large bowl, beat eggs lightly. Add oil to eggs and a little pinch of salt. Add cooled Jello. Add cake mix. Beat 2 mins. Pour into 13x9x2” greased pan. Bake 350 degrees for 30-45 mins. Pierce w/ fork every 2” while hot. Mix confectioners sugar with lemon juice and pour over cake while hot. Cover when at room temperature.

    Better if baked two days ahead, for the cake to become well-saturated (hence the name). Time, and gravity, are your friends.

    Let me know if you like it.

    Reply
  4. jennriquez1 says
    April 15, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    let me just say that i love what you cooks are doing with this amazing series of books! you all are so inspiring! i am planning a premier party for the big hbo sunday and have tried to make the period lemon cakes… yum! are they supposed to be so dense? also, they aren’t as sweet as i had expected. did i do something wrong?

    Reply
    • Needs Mead says
      April 15, 2011 at 9:38 pm

      Hi there,
      Thanks for your comments! As to your questions:

      On density:
      The Elizabethan cakes are generally pretty dense, but if something went wrong with your yeast they could have become a little too dense. Touch some of the liquid to your wrist and if it feels hot, rather than warm, it is probably killing the yeast. If your yeast is not the problem, you can fluff them a little by adding a dash of baking soda, but be careful because it will also dry the cakes out slightly.

      On Sweetness:
      Because it is an Elizabethan recipe, the cakes themselves have relatively little sugar. The trick to sweetening them and perfecting the lemon flavor is to be generous with the glaze, or, for a really sweet and lemony kick, top them with lemon curd. We used Alton Brown’s recipe.

      All that said, if what you are really after is a lighter, sweeter, more modern cake- try the modern recipe instead. They are delicious and can be glazed with the same lemony sweet mixture we used on the Elizabethan version.

      Hope this helps, and happy baking!
      -The Innkeepers

      Reply
  5. JDalke says
    April 18, 2011 at 12:47 pm

    Have you tried the recipe used for the GoT food truck lemon cakes? http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/storage/got-lemon-cakes-recipe.pdf

    Also, great site!

    Reply
    • ChoppedGinger says
      April 18, 2011 at 1:21 pm

      Thanks for checking us out!
      We have not made the food truck lemon cakes yet, but they are definitely on our list. They don’t really fall within our ideal lemon cake boundaries, so we’ve been slacking on testing out that recipe. It’s difficult with so many other great food options in GoT!

      Reply
  6. jennriquez1 says
    April 19, 2011 at 10:48 pm

    Whoa! You were so right about the lemon curd! Yum Yum :) I guess the yeast just needed a bit more time to bloom the second batch was perfect, thanks for the help!

    Reply
  7. Saille says
    April 24, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    Wondering how many cakes these recipes make? 12? 18?

    Reply
    • Needs Mead says
      April 24, 2011 at 1:48 pm

      About a dozen of the Elizabethan cakes, using regular cupcake pans. The modern recipe makes a few more.

      Reply
  8. Saille says
    April 24, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    I’m going to answer my own question. Elizabethan recipe makes 12, just. I used a standard cupcake scoop. For those of you trying this who are inexperienced bakers, the batter is fairly thick and not at all like a boxed cake mix may be. Also, I my lemon was fairly large, and when I added the juice to my creamed sugar and eggs, it broke it – I suspect it cooled the butter even though it was room temp. Once I added the flour, it smoothed back out. I used a barleywine style ale. The batter carries this flavor. We’ll see if it melds and/or cooks out, and how heavy the cakes end up being. Also, I put the measured ale into a glass jar and sat it in a bowl of hot water to warm it up before adding the yeast. If you’re having trouble with the yeast activating, you may want to try this method.

    Reply
  9. Janelle Barnard Jones says
    April 25, 2011 at 9:42 am

    So I’m kind of a quick and dirty cook when I think I can get away with it. So tonight when I decided at the last minute that I was going to throw together a GoT dinner to watch the King’s Road episode I knew that I wanted to finish the meal with lemon cakes, but wasn’t in the mood for a serious baking session. I had a cake mix in the cupboard (English Tea Cake) so thought I’d use that as the base, and just add some lemon flavour to it. I brought three large lemons and zested two into the cake mix, and cook the batter in patty cake tins, I got 44 cakes using about a tablespoon per cake, next time I’ll use a little less as they did nipple up on me. The cake mix is meant to go into one 20x7cm tin.

    After they were cooked (10min in a 180c oven) I stabbed the top of each with a fondue fork (can’t find my skewers currently) and then pour a teaspoon of syrup over each. The syrup I made by juicing the three lemons which gave me just under a cup of juice which I brought to the boil with just under a cup of caster sugar then let cool. after all the syrup had soaked in I then poured on another ~1/2 teaspoon of syrup.

    The lemon cakes are everything I imagined that they would be when I was reading the books, very lemony light moist sticky and very very more-ish.

    Reply
    • Karen says
      April 23, 2021 at 3:19 pm

      it’s kind of late in the game, but could you tell me the brand of tea cake mix?

      Reply
  10. Hillary says
    May 1, 2011 at 11:00 pm

    I made the Elizabethan Cakes but doubled the recipe and made some modifications which I think help solve the problem of them not being lemony enough. Here’s exactly what I did:

    For Cakes:
    -4 C unbleached all purpose flour
    -4 & 1/2 tsp bread machine/rapid rise yeast
    -2 pinches baking soda
    -salt (probably 1/8 – 1/4 tsp but i almost never measure salt in baked goods)
    – 2 sticks softened butter (I used 1 stick of salted and 1 stick of unsalted because it’s what I had)
    -1 C granulated sugar
    -1/2 C turbinado sugar
    -3 eggs beaten
    -1 tbs poppy seeds
    -juice and zest of 5 small lemons (my lemons were tiny, I would guess the equivalent would be about 3 normal sized lemons)
    -instead of ale: 4 Tbl gingerale, 2 tsp white wine vinegar, 4 tsp warm water

    For Glaze:
    Honey + lemon juice on a 2/1 ratio (I think I used 2 & 1/2 Tbl lemon juice and 5 Tbl honey)

    Instructions are pretty much the same, but I had a couple of notes:

    -I juiced and zested the lemons after putting the yeast in the “ale”, giving it plenty of time to bloom. The type of yeast I used started bubbling immediately.
    -When you add the lemon juice and lemon zest in to the sugar/egg mixture, it will get lumpy and funky and not want to come together. Just mix it the best you can and keep it going. It will become smooth after you have added a fair amount of the flour.

    I actually ended up with a batter that was too thick and added more ginger ale in until it was “right”. As to what “right” was, I kind of guessed: too thin for a cookie, too thin for bread, but too thick for a “normal cake batter”.

    The cakes I ended up with were dense and yummy and VERY lemony but slightly dry. Adding the glaze made up for some of the dryness, but next time I might try adding a tablespoon or two of honey in to the batter to add some moistness. These cakes were lemony and tasty enough that lemon curd was not necessary but they were still yummy with lemon curd (I used store bought because an equipment malfunction ruined the lemon curd my friend and I tried to make)

    Reply
  11. Kelsey says
    May 2, 2011 at 8:07 pm

    I tried the recipe provided for the food truck lemon cakes, and they didn’t turn out at all. Over two hours in the oven, and they still resembled some kind of Pledge-flavoured custard, even though we followed the instructions exactly. Going to try these recipes now!

    Reply
    • Kelsey says
      May 3, 2011 at 12:01 am

      So, tried the modern recipe, and they turned out absolutely wonderful. However, mine stayed a lovely light yellow colour instead of browning like those in the picture, but the taste is just awesome.

      Reply
  12. Hillary says
    May 9, 2011 at 12:07 am

    pretty much followed the recipe below except added the seeds in to the dry ingredients instead of the wet. Also added a tablespoon of honey in to the wet ingredients at the same time as eggs. Between the honey and not adding too much flour that then needed correcting, the cakes were much moister.
    This time i had normal sized lemons and used the zest and juice of 3, which measured out to slightly under 1/2 c of lemon juice and slightly over 1/2 c zest.

    Instead of lemon curd for “frosting”, I made a frosting that involved mascarpone, lemon curd, powdered sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, a little tiny bit of nutmeg and a tiny tiny tiny pinch of salt but i didn’t really measure what I did. It was 8 oz mascarpone and about 1/4 c lemon curd beat together with an electric mixer. Then I added in powdered sugar until it seemed a little on the thick side for frosting. Then I added nutmeg, salt and vanilla and then lemon zest. It was divine, but like I said, I didn’t measure… just kept adding until it looked/felt/tasted right.

    I think the cake recipe is about perfect except the method might need some work since that amount of lemon juice doesn’t mix right with the butter/sugar mixture. If I make that frosting again, I’ll measure and write it down.

    “I made the Elizabethan Cakes but doubled the recipe and made some modifications which I think help solve the problem of them not being lemony enough. Here’s exactly what I did:

    For Cakes:
    -4 C unbleached all purpose flour
    -4 & 1/2 tsp bread machine/rapid rise yeast
    -2 pinches baking soda
    -salt (probably 1/8 – 1/4 tsp but i almost never measure salt in baked goods)
    – 2 sticks softened butter (I used 1 stick of salted and 1 stick of unsalted because it’s what I had)
    -1 C granulated sugar
    -1/2 C turbinado sugar
    -3 eggs beaten
    -1 tbs poppy seeds
    -juice and zest of 5 small lemons (my lemons were tiny, I would guess the equivalent would be about 3 normal sized lemons)
    -instead of ale: 4 Tbl gingerale, 2 tsp white wine vinegar, 4 tsp warm water

    For Glaze:
    Honey + lemon juice on a 2/1 ratio (I think I used 2 & 1/2 Tbl lemon juice and 5 Tbl honey)

    Instructions are pretty much the same, but I had a couple of notes:

    -I juiced and zested the lemons after putting the yeast in the “ale”, giving it plenty of time to bloom. The type of yeast I used started bubbling immediately.
    -When you add the lemon juice and lemon zest in to the sugar/egg mixture, it will get lumpy and funky and not want to come together. Just mix it the best you can and keep it going. It will become smooth after you have added a fair amount of the flour.”

    Reply
    • Cherrispryte says
      April 2, 2012 at 5:25 pm

      I just wanted to say thanks a million for posting this version of the recipe. I made them for a premiere party last night, and they came out FANTASTICALLY. I didn’t do the frosting, just the honey-lemon glaze, and they were still the perfect amount of sweet! And super-lemony!

      Reply
  13. Heathyr says
    June 21, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    Last night on a whim, I made the lemon cakes (medieval version) — I like the old-style density to them, and adding the glaze really livened up the flavour. I had decided to forego the lemon curd, and now I’m regretting it. Next time, I must try that. Even though only two of us are in the house right now, I have my doubts about there being any left before I get home from work tonight, since the other half is at home and I kept seeing him sneak one here and there last night! They went great with the strawberry-walnut-almond-cranberry-bleu cheese-and-spinach salad I made for dinner. Great recipe!

    Reply
  14. Nathan Farrar says
    July 19, 2011 at 6:38 am

    Since reading Lord of the Rings as a kid (and finding myself hungry after half of the chapters in Fellowship), I’ve always wanted to do something like this website. Congrats for doing it, and also let me shake my fist in nerd rage for being beaten to the punch. I think I have some lemon cakes to bake.

    Reply
  15. Michael says
    August 9, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    When Tom Colicchio was making the GOT food trucks, he provided the recipes for Lemon Cakes. Here they are: http://www.westeros.org/Files/GameOfThrones_Lemon_Cakes.pdf

    You guys should test them out and compare to all your other Lemon Cake recipes.

    Reply
    • Needs Mead says
      August 14, 2011 at 10:17 am

      We’re planning that for our third and final installment of Battle Lemoncake. Should be a fun challenge!

      Reply
  16. Ledasmom says
    August 18, 2011 at 8:38 am

    Did you have a rising period in between putting the Elizabethan batter in the cupcake pan and putting it in the oven? I have seen this specified with medieval cake recipes that use yeast as the leaven, and it may have been assumed by whoever originally wrote down this recipe that the cook would do this.
    For the glaze, I recommend dipping the tops and bottoms of the cakes rather than just brushing it on: the bottom part will absorb better than the top, and allowing them to sit on their tops in the glaze for a minute might be a good idea, especially with denser cakes. This is what I do when I make lemon-ginger muffins. I also wonder about possibly splitting the cakes horizontally and filling them with lemon curd.
    There are, incidentally, silicone muffin pans available that produce a rose shape. I find the description of the lemon cakes that are made in the shape of a rose intriguing – it’s the one thing that would lead me towards something shortbreadish as the lemon cake of the books, since it’s easy to shape shortbread by stamping or molding it before cooking. I do not know to what degree shaped bakeware (obviously not silicone!) could be available or used in a world like that of “A Song of Ice and Fire”.

    Reply
    • derek says
      August 30, 2011 at 12:19 pm

      Dang, leaving it to rise a bit before putting it in the oven…why didn’t I think of that! I’m so torn between trying this recipe again, with that rising period, and trying another lemon cake recipe. Thanks for the tip!

      Reply
  17. Pingback: winter is coming... | The Lustre

  18. Kaylen Ricker says
    September 23, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    I LOVE the Iron Chef reference – and your site! Great work, I have copied down by hand and look forward to making most of your recipes!

    Reply
  19. Carrie says
    October 23, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    I made the period cakes, but mini-cupcake style with no changes to the recipe (aside from skipping the poppy seeds – not a huge fan, and the cakes didn’t suffer at all for it!). I was a bit spooked because the batter was way thicker than a usual cake batter, but I ran with it. Luckily, the recipe is awesome, and the mini-cupcakes turned out very, very well. Now, to see how they ship!

    Reply
  20. kkw says
    December 19, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    I basically envisioned madeleines for the lemon cakes, possibly because of the tea connection, maybe because it’s easy to imagine a rose mold rather than a shell, probably just because I like madeleines. If lemon cakes were made in a mold like a boiled pudding, which is a good old-fashioned cakey kind of dessert, they’d be called puddings, right? Of course pound cakes are often molded, and those style cakes are pretty old…but for some reason I imagined something airy (maybe just because Sansa likes them?). I definitely pictured individually sized portions, which madeleines are. Also, it should be noted, of convenient size for a kid to steal. But I don’t know how that madeleines are sufficiently venerable. Larousse says they may originally be from Commercy, and made popular in court circles around 1730 (I’m completely discounting the story that they were invented by Talleyrand’s pastry chef, because Careme is not reliable even when he’s bragging about someone else for a refreshing change). Larousse doesn’t mention how old Genoese (genoise) is, which is typically the batter for madeleines. Were any of Catherine de Medici’s chefs Genoese, or were they all Florentine? I know very little about the history of food, and have only just discovered this awesome blog, but if possible I’d like to submit madeleines for consideration for round 3.

    Reply
  21. christine says
    January 6, 2012 at 2:49 pm

    i have always pictured sansa’s lemon cakes to be more like lemon bars. theyre really thick batter like doughyness and dont really puff up like cake. they stay dense and creamy and so lemony your face puckers!

    Reply
  22. Flavia Carreon says
    April 1, 2012 at 9:46 pm

    I used a lemon madelaine recipe, adding some lemon extract, and I baked them in cupcake pans. Once out of the oven, I poured warm honey and lemon juice. They were a great success.

    Reply
  23. Minnie says
    April 3, 2012 at 2:06 am

    Just wanted to let everyone know that I made a vegan version of the Elizabethan cakes and they came out great! I used Earth Balance margarine and Ener-G egg replacer. Not exactly historical accuracy, but in my fantasy world people who are allergic to dairy can have cake! I also upped the lemon zest to give them more lemon flavor–I zested the lemon that I used for the glaze and threw that in as well.

    Reply
  24. Mike S says
    April 3, 2012 at 11:14 am

    Made the Medieval cakes. Used AP flour instead of unbleached, didn’t use baking soda, poked tons of holes in the tops of them and drowned them in the topping while still in the muffin pan. They were AMAZING !!!!!

    Reply
  25. Tamara says
    May 4, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    I made the Elizabethan cakes and they came out great. One batch I used the lemon curd and the second I made a raspberry lemon topping which came out amazing as well.

    Reply
  26. sadie says
    May 31, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    I finally got around to trying the Elizabethan recipe, and had to bake it for 22 minutes instead of 15. They’re cooling as we speak, and so are yet to be glazed, but I’m a bit worried they might be dry, because the tops are a bit cracked (I didn’t use the baking soda).

    My oven is, in general, a bit on the cool side, and therefore I usually use the upper time in the range given, but this seems a bit excessive to be just because of oven temperature variation (though I’m a pretty inexperienced baker, so maybe it’s not). Any ideas?

    Reply
  27. Sara says
    June 9, 2012 at 7:05 pm

    Just discovered this fabulous site 2 days ago. Tried this recipe today- subbed chopped pistachios for poppy seeds and used a HUGE lemon. The cakes are divine!!! Thank you so much. I can’t wait to try more recipes!

    Reply
  28. Jen says
    August 4, 2012 at 8:50 pm

    Hi – I did a trial run of the Elizabethan II Lemon Cakes for a medieval-style fundraiser luncheon. They were good, very lemony, and I agree, lemon curd adds even more of a kick. One thing puzzles me though: if the original recipe didn’t call for lemons, why were they called lemon cakes?

    Reply
    • Needs Mead says
      August 4, 2012 at 11:35 pm

      Hi Jen, the original recipe was called something else (I’ll have to go back and check), but we named them lemoncakes after we tweaked the recipe to match the description in the novels. :) glad to hear you liked them!

      Reply
      • Jen says
        August 5, 2012 at 7:06 pm

        That would be great if you would provide the name of the original recipe (and the year/century if possible). Thanks!

        Reply
  29. h0n3ysunsh1n3 says
    February 8, 2013 at 3:50 am

    In the cake shops and bakeries I’ve worked in, it’s a common trick to mix the lemon zest with the sugar in the stand mixer on low speed for a minute or two, or even rub the sugar and zest together in your hands. The rough sugar helps to bring out all the oils in the zest for maximum flavour! I’m pumped to make these for a themed birthday party in a couple of weeks!

    Reply
    • Chelsea M-C says
      February 8, 2013 at 9:26 am

      Neat trick, thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  30. Deej says
    March 6, 2013 at 2:44 am

    Looks good, I want to make the Elizabethan one for my cousin. Just one question, how many cupcakes does the Elizabethan recipe make?

    Reply
    • Deej says
      March 6, 2013 at 2:46 am

      sorry i should have read the other comments first! you can delete my post if you like

      Reply
  31. Vinz says
    March 14, 2013 at 6:22 am

    Little question here : Are the cookbook’s lemon cake recipes the “part 3” ? Or are those ones (on this blog) even better ? ^^ It’s hard to choose what to give a try to !

    Reply
    • Chelsea M-C says
      March 14, 2013 at 9:18 am

      Correct! Round 3 of Battle Lemoncake ended up in the cookbook, and both those recipes are awesome. The Elizabethan cake from round 2 has also gotten many rave reviews, though! :)

      Reply
      • Vinz says
        March 14, 2013 at 9:25 am

        Thank you, I’ll try one of these for Easter day (I’m planning to do a GoT Easter day lol so I just HAD to tried lemoncakes ^^
        I’ll tell you how it went then :D

        Reply
  32. cindy says
    March 24, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    Just found this blog and just made the Elizabethan ones today. They are fabulous! I didn’t read the instructions carefully and added the whole 2 cups of flour all at once instead of until it was a thick batter. So then I ended up with something like pie dough so I added milk to make a batter. My cakes turned out wonderfully fine grained and light, not dense at all. I actually wanted them dense so I think I’ll try less flour and no milk. I left out the poppy seeds because I don’t really like them. I’m going to try the Part 1 cakes next :-)

    Reply
  33. PatW says
    March 31, 2013 at 12:34 pm

    Going to try the Elizabethan recipe. I am inclined to let them rise a bit before baking. To recipes that require lemon flavoring, I add a drop of Boyajian lemon flavoring oil. 1 drop, no more, it is VERY potent stuff, and not to be used like an extract. The lemon flavor from the oil stands up much better to baking than anything else.

    Reply
  34. Bre says
    March 31, 2013 at 6:02 pm

    I just made the Elizabethan ones, and found that my first attempt was a little extra dense — I think from how much flour there was. I added some extra lemon juice (about another lemon’s worth) to them for the second batch, and they’re just about perfect.

    Reply
  35. Ruby says
    April 1, 2013 at 11:41 pm

    I followed the recipe from the cookbook for the Elizabethan lemon cakes and the measurements were off. There wasn’t enough liquid. I had to add an extra egg, lemon juice and a little milk to create the texture of a cookie dough. Moreover, you need 2 cookie sheets, not one, to make the 36 cakes that the recipe yields. We made about 16 large ones one one sheet but they definitely needed more surface area to end up in a nice shape. They did turn out great with a little improvisation.

    Reply
    • Chelsea M-C says
      April 2, 2013 at 10:32 am

      Agreed, all around! I think I must have used enormous eggs when testing the recipe for the cookbook, because you are not the first person to run into this problem. I usually just add a dash of lemon juice or water until the dough comes together, as you did, so nice save! :)

      Reply
      • Vinz says
        April 2, 2013 at 10:44 am

        I’m relieved, I thought I made a mistake. I added a dash of lemon juice too and it was ok, but the dough didn’t spread a lot while baking. I had to press the dough’ balls on the baking sheet to have rather flat cookies.
        They were quite hard under the teeth when cold, but really good though.
        I think I’ll try to add an egg next time.

        Reply
        • Chelsea M-C says
          April 2, 2013 at 4:25 pm

          There’s a delicate line to toe with the dough consistency, amount of flour, and temp/time. I find it’s also tough to try and stay on track with creating a redaction for historical recipes. Their eggs would have been smaller than what we use today, though, so it makes one wonder…

          Reply
  36. PatW says
    April 2, 2013 at 2:31 pm

    My efforts with the Elizabethan version gave me a very nice result. Perhaps a little dense for some, but soft. I used the lemon zest and a drop of lemon flavoring oil, and the lemon flavor was perfect. Despite the yeast, they don’t really rise. I may go for a bit more liquid or a bit less flour next time so they’re lighter. They did disappear quickly, so I must have done something right!

    Reply
  37. PatW says
    June 10, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    I continue to make the Elizabethan version with the aforementioned tweaks. Used cheap beer instead of ale, since that’s what I usually have in the house for cooking purposes. I used the full flour measurement and then added enough beer to make a thick cake batter consistency thing, rather than a dough. I baked it in a cupcake/muffin pan for around 25 minutes. Got 11 cakes. Again, the lemon flavoring oil, plus the juice and zest makes them plenty lemony. My son, who previously claimed to dislike lemon, loves them.
    .

    Reply
  38. Sarah DeYoung says
    December 15, 2013 at 7:27 pm

    I tried the Elizabethan version with orange juice & zest instead of lemon… The result is delicious!

    Reply
  39. Sakura says
    April 6, 2014 at 4:03 pm

    For the Elizabethan cakes I found when creaming the butter and sugar together I needed probably 40g more to get the proper consistency but other than that they came along well. I also veganized them by using earth balance and flax to replace the eggs.

    Reply
  40. Brianne says
    December 9, 2014 at 12:32 pm

    I have to say that I have the book and I made the modern lemon cakes from it. They are divine! I’ve never tasted a better lemon cake. I made them for a GoT feast over the weekend and the cakes were the star of the show. Everyone loved them. My husband and I gobbled up the leftovers. Excellent job with the recipes! Everything I’ve made from the book has been delicious.

    Reply
  41. Nina Colon says
    June 11, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    I thought that sugar wasn’t available in the middle ages…

    Reply
    • Chelsea M-C says
      June 19, 2018 at 9:33 pm

      That’s a common misconception, actually. Sugar was very expensive throughout most of Europe until pretty recently, but was definitely present from roughly the 12th century onward. The 18th century also saw a boom in sugar production, presumably resulting in the rise of proto-dentistry…

      Reply
  42. Rhiannon Lynn says
    December 27, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    Another way of making something very similar (and really healthy, too!) – https://holisticsquid.com/sourdough-lemon-poppy-seed-muffins/

    If it’s of interest….

    Reply

Leave a comment

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made something?`

If you’ve made a recipe from the blog, be sure to tag your tasty creations with #GameofFood!

Support the Blog!

If you love the content here, please consider becoming part of our Patreon community!

Support the blog by becoming a patron!

Affiliate Disclaimer

Please bear in mind that some of the links on this website are affiliate links, meaning that if you go through them to make a purchase I may earn a small commission. I only include links to my own books, and products I know and use.

CyberChimps WordPress Themes

All content copyright 2024
Go to mobile version