Chef's mission to bring back forgotten 1500s recipe

Mike Counsell said it was important to him to pass on ancient recipes

A chef is trying to encourage children into the kitchen by bringing back a long-lost recipe synonymous with the north west of England.

Mike Counsell from Preston says tosset cakes are similar to Goosnargh cake and are associated with the village of Stalmine, in Wyre.

He said it was believed they dated back to the 16th or 17th Century when shortbreads were created by Mary Queen of Scots.

"It's basically a shortbread and they're absolutely lovely," he said.

Tosset biscuits are a shortbread with coriander and caraway seeds

Mr Counsell, who works as a chef in Blackburn, said: "Shortbread is basically a flour, a butter and a sugar, and each place that you go to does it a bit different.

"Everybody's got their own little version.

"Tossets are very short, so there's a lot of butter and a lot of flour and that's what makes them unique to Stalmine."

The 49-year-old said the name could be from ancient festivals for St Oswald evolving into t'Oswald, then tosset.

He said: "They were made for Wake Festivals, which was about laying wreaths on church grounds, getting rid of the old wreaths and laying new ones, so it was like a funeral, but they prayed the night before."

Mr Counsell said tossets smelled and tasted very floral because they had coriander and caraway seeds in them.

"Goosnargh's exactly the same," he said. "Just a little less butter and only caraway seeds."

The chef said it was important to him to pass on ancient recipes, and the best way was to get children involved.

"In this country, we've such a big history with food, but because we've had such an influx of people from different areas, our traditional food is dying out," he said.

"We just sort of stopped doing it because supermarkets sell everything.

"But it's nice to make these, they're things you can do at home with the kids - just throw it all in bowl and mix it with your hands and that's it.

"I don't want our foods to go, it's nice to keep them going."

Mike Counsell's tosset recipe

• 325g plain flour

• 325g salted butter

• 125g caster sugar

• 1 tsp caraway seeds

• 2 tsp coriander seeds (crushed slightly)

1. Add all ingredients into a mixer or bowl and combine until a dough is formed.

2. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1.5cm thickness.

3. Cut out the biscuits and chill for 20 minutes before baking in the top of an oven at 180°C (350F) for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges just slightly start to brown.

4. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sugar and allow to cool.