Week 6 - Wigan FC - Goosnargh Cakes

Another irresistible name....

A little bit I learned about Wigan Football Club (full title - Wigan Athletic F.C)

Their home ground since 1999 is JJB Stadium named after principal sponsor JJB sports (due to be renamed DW Stadium August 2009). Whate happened to the days when a stadium was named after the town or person - it bugs me that the name of a stadium is used for advertising AND changes every few years!!! Before this they played at Springfield Park for 67 years...
As of 07/08 season Wigan FC were the youngest club in the Premier League, having only been formed in 1932.

Goosnargh cakes originated in the village of Goosnargh in Lancashire, more like a shortbread style biscuit. I didn't have any carraway seeds in the house (partly because a strongly dislike them..) so I substituted cumin seeds which had the advantage of being a more subtle flavour. I quite liked the aromatics of these biscuits combined with the saltiness and sweetness (I use salted butter...) of the sugar topping. They were very well received. . .

225g unsalted butter (hmmm I used salted...)
125g golden castor sugar (I used ordinary with a bit of brown sugar & dusted with demerara sugar)
350g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds (as mentioned I used cumin seeds)

i. preheat oven to 180C. Grease 2 baking sheets.
ii. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
iii. Sift flour over the butter and sugar mixture, add the coriander and caraway seeds, mix with wooden spoon until mixture resembles breadcumbs.
iv. Using your hand to form a smooth paste. Take out of the bowl and onto a floured surface and knead gently until dough is smooth and ready to roll out.
v. Roll out to about 1/4" thickness, and using a cicular cutter (mine was about 2" with scaloped edges), cut out circular dics of dough.
vi. Place the discs onto prepared baking trays & sprinkle with castor sugar.
vii. Cover with plastic wrap and place in your fridge - leave for 30min to 1hr until well chilled.
iix. Place trays into the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until just golden brown. Keep and eye as they can get dark v quickly.
ix. remove from the oven and sprinkle with more castor sugar. Leave to cool slightly and transfer to a wire rack.

I reckon the mixture made about 20-24 biscuits...


thanks to the following blog for image and recipe - for more information about the cakes follow the link...
http://bakingforbritain.blogspot.com/2005/09/goosnargh-cakes-from-lancashire.html