Shrewsbury Cakes
Unsalted butter, softened, white sugar and egg white come together in this vegetarian — 60 minutes, 7 steps, and the kind of result worth repeating. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and baking sheet. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Beat the softened butter and white sugar together in a large bowl until pale and creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Beat in the egg white until fully combined, then stir in the salt and ground nutmeg.
- Add the flour a little at a time, mixing just until the dough comes together into a soft, slightly stiff mass; gather it into a disc, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 5 mm thickness and cut into rounds with a 6 to 7 cm cutter, re-rolling the scraps.
- Arrange the rounds on the prepared sheets, leaving a little space between each, and sprinkle the tops with the extra sugar.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges are just turning golden, then cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to crisp.
You'll use: Oven · Baking sheet
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
Tips & common questions
How long does Shrewsbury Cakes take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 7 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (¾ the amount). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Shrewsbury Cakes vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Shrewsbury Cakes is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Shrewsbury Royal Infirmary Christmas cakes and decorations (15987432821).jpg (CC0) via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.