Fat rascal
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Fat rascals at Bettys Cafe Tearooms
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| Alternative names | Turf cake (historical) |
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| Type | Cake/biscuit |
| Place of origin | England |
| Region or state | Yorkshire |
| Main ingredients | Currants and candied peel |
A fat rascal is a yummy type of cake or biscuit that's a bit like a scone or a rock cake. It tastes similar and uses similar ingredients. This tasty treat comes from Yorkshire, a region in England. People have been enjoying fat rascals since at least the 1800s! It is also closely related to an older treat called a turf cake.
Contents
The History of Fat Rascals
Fat rascals were first known in the Yorkshire area during the 1800s. They were a type of tea cake made with butter and cream. Some old stories even connect the fat rascal to another treat called the "singing hinny" from Northumberland.
What is a Turf Cake?
A fat rascal could also be baked as a "turf cake." This was a flat, buttery cake cooked in a covered pan. It was often baked among the ashes of a peat fire. Because they were so similar, the names fat rascal and turf cake were sometimes used for the same thing.
Old Recipes and Popularity
In 1973, a Yorkshire cookbook listed plain flour, baking powder, butter, and currants as ingredients for fat rascals. Another cookbook from 1980 said fat rascals were a way to use leftover pastry. These were usually scraps of shortcrust pastry, sweetened with sugar, sprinkled with currants, and rolled into thick, flat cakes before baking.
For a long time, fat rascals were mostly known only in the Yorkshire region. They didn't become widely famous outside of Yorkshire until the 1980s.
Bettys' Famous Fat Rascals
A very well-known version of the fat rascal was created by Bettys Café Tea Rooms. Bettys is a famous tea room in North Yorkshire. They introduced their special fat rascal in 1983.
Bettys' Recipe
Bettys' fat rascal is a plump, fruity scone. It has a cute "face" made from cherries and almonds. This recipe was developed by Helen Frankel, who worked at Bettys. It was based on a rock cake recipe.
After it was launched, the fat rascal quickly became Bettys' most popular bakery item. They sell over 375,000 of them every year! Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate even own the registered trademark for the name 'fat rascal'.
