Tunis cake

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Tunis cake
Tunis Cake KG Christmas 2021.jpg
Tunis Cake (Mary Berry recipe)
Type Madeira cake
Region or stateUnited Kingdom
Main ingredientsChocolate icing, marzipan
Cross-section of a Tunis Cake (Mary Berry recipe) Tunis Cake Cross-Section KG Christmas 2021.jpg
Cross-section of a Tunis Cake (Mary Berry recipe)

A Tunis cake is a Madeira cake topped with a thick layer of chocolate and decorated with marzipan fruits. It is traditionally eaten at Christmas. [1]

It is thought that the origins of the cake are Edwardian. [2] The Scottish bakery Macfarlane Langs produced commercial Tunis Cakes in the 1930s, and when they merged with McVitie & Price in 1948 to form a company called United Biscuits (which still owns the McVitie's brand), the recipe passed to the new company. [3] McVitie's produced a Tunis cake until the mid 1980s. [3] [2] The updated recipe used by McVitie's is said to have been created by Elizabeth Ewing of Inverness, whose husband was a baker at McVitie's. Her husband had eaten a similar cake whilst stationed in Tunisia during World War II. [4]

It is now sold seasonally by some supermarkets in the UK. The cake is usually topped with marzipan fruits. [5] [6] Some recipes, such as the BBC Good Food and Mary Berry recipe, top the cake with marzipan holly leaves and berries instead of marzipan fruits. [7] [5] An early recipe does not include the chocolate and marzipan topping. [8]

The port city of Tunis was known for exporting North African fruits. [5] In March 1934 the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser printed a recipe including the North African fruits dates, figs, walnuts and prunes. [5] In 1936 Garratt's Bakers of Lichfield included honey, dates and walnuts in their recipe, plus topping the cake with chocolate icing. [5]

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References

  1. "Christmas 2011 order form" (PDF). 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  2. 1 2 Creative, Venn. "Traditional Tunis Cake". Warrens Bakery. Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  3. 1 2 "Tunis Cake pt II | Epicurean's Answer".
  4. JPC-DESIGN, whychristmas?com /. "Recipe: Tunis Cake (United Kingdom) - WhyChristmas.com". www.whychristmas.com. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Foods of England - Tunis Cake". www.foodsofengland.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  6. "Tunis Cake A Great British Christmas Tradition". How to plan a perfect Christmas. 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  7. "Mary Berry's Tunis Cake". The Great British Bake Off. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  8. Frederick T. Vine (1907). Saleable shop goods for counter-tray and window. Office of the Baker and Confectioner. p.  77 . Retrieved 2011-12-16. tunis.