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Cheltenham cakes

Blue and white plate with a Cheltenham bun cut in half. One half spread with butter and jam. Silver knife. Glass pot of jam top left. Wooden bread board with 5 buns on it top right. Postcard of early 19th century illustration of Cheltenham to the right. White tablecloth. For Cheltenham buns recipe.

These are enriched bread baps served at teatime with butter and jam.  What their relationship is with the Gloucestershire spa town of Cheltenham is not clear but presumably they were a local speciality in the 18th century.  This recipe is based on Harriet St Clair’s in Dainty Dishes (1866).

Equipment

  • Weighing scales
  • Measuring jug
  • Baking sheet
  • Small saucepan
  • Large mixing bowls
  • Cling film
  • Clean tea cloth
  • Pastry brush
  • Cooling rack

Preparation method

  • Place the milk in the saucepan and heat to 30C/86F.  
  • Transfer into the measuring jug and whisk in the yeast and teaspoon of sugar.   Leave to stand for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.  
  • Sift the flour into the large mixing bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.  You can do this in a food processor if you want to save time.  If you do, transfer the mixture from the processor to the large mixing bowl for the next step.
  • Beat the eggs into the yeast mixture.  
  • Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast, egg and milk mixture.  
  • Use your hands to bring everything together to a soft, slightly sticky dough.  
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is silky and elastic.  
  • Wash and dry the mixing bowl and lightly oil before placing the dough in it.  Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.  
  • Grease the baking sheet with butter.  
  • Turn the dough out onto the floured work surface, knock back and shape into 8 equally sized buns.
  • Place them on the baking sheet, cover with the clean tea cloth and leave to rise for half an hour until risen.  
  • Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6.  
  • Brush the buns very gently with the beaten egg.  
  • Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until risen and golden on the top.  During baking check to make sure the tops are not burning.  If they are cover with a sheet of kitchen foil.  
  • Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.    
  • Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.  Cut them in half and spread generously with butter and then jam.

Note: I prefer to knead by hand, but you may prefer to use a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer.  Just take off a couple of minutes from the recipe’s kneading time if you use one.
Tip: To ensure your rolls are the same size, weigh the dough and divide by the number of pieces required in the recipe.  Weigh each piece to the same weight.
For tips and advice see my guide on making bread.
More bread roll recipes
Barm cakes
Dorset wiggs
Huffkins
Hyde Park Corner cakes
Lady Arundel’s manchets
Muffins

Georgian

Serves:
8
Prep Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Cooling time 1 hour
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 300 ml whole milk
  • 14 g dried yeast
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 500 g strong white bread flour
  • 30 g unsalted butter, chilled
  • 2 medium eggs, beaten
  • 1 medium egg, beaten for glazing

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Cheltenham cakes
Serving Size
 
120 g
Amount per Serving
Calories
300
Percent of Daily Value*
Fat
 
7
g
11
%
Saturated Fat
 
3.1
g
19
%
Cholesterol
 
74
mg
25
%
Sodium
 
66
mg
3
%
Potassium
 
162
mg
5
%
Carbohydrates
 
48
g
16
%
Fiber
 
0.2
g
1
%
Sugar
 
1.9
g
2
%
Protein
 
13
g
26
%
Calcium
 
65
mg
7
%
Iron
 
3.8
mg
21
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Keywords

Baking, Cheltenham, Georgian

© Dr Caroline Gordon 
2026
Illustrations by Chichi Parish
Site by Anselm Eustace