An assortment of Pomfret Cakes. |
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| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | Pomfret cake, Pomfrey cake |
| Place of origin | England |
| Region or state | Yorkshire |
| Dish details | |
| Main ingredient(s) | liquorice |
Pontefract cakes (also known as Pomfret cakes and Pomfrey cakes) are a type of small, roughly circular black sweets measuring approximately 2 cm in diameter and 4 mm thick, made of liquorice, originally manufactured in the Yorkshire town of Pontefract, England.
The original name for these small tablets of liquorice is a "Pomfret" cake, after the old 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 (the workers who did this were known as 'cakers' and were able to produce upwards of 30,000+ per day), but now they are usually machinery formed. The embossed stamp was originally a stylised image of Pontefract Castle. When the first secret ballot in the Northern Hemisphere was held in Pontefract on 15th August 1872, the ballot box used was sealed using a Pontefract cake stamp from Frank Dunhill’s factory, which shows the image of a castle and an owl.[1]
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.
Healthcare professionals have warned against overindulgence on Pontefract cakes after a 56-year-old woman was admitted to hospital after overdosing on the confectionery.[2]
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