Pontefract Cakes

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Pontefract cakes (also known as Pomfret cakes and Pomfrey cakes) are a type of small, circular black sweet (candy) measuring approximately 2 cm in diameter, made of liquorice, originally manufactured in the Yorkshire town of Pontefract.

The original name for these small tablets of liquorice is a "Pomfret" cake, after the Norman name for Pontefract. However, that name has fallen into disuse and they are now almost invariably labelled "Pontefract cakes".

Originally, the sweets were embossed by hand with a stamp, to form their traditional look, but now they are machinery formed.

The liquorice root used in these cakes was exported to Australia for the first time by a member of the famous Carter family who hailed from Pontefract.