The story and recipe of the Port Sunlight Bun

A forgotten century-old recipe, once conceived to rival the iconic Eccles cake and other regional bakes, has been unearthed and brought back to life in the historic village it was named after.

The Port Sunlight Bun, a recipe written in 1929, was an idea originally published in the Port Sunlight News, a magazine for workers at the historic Lever Brothers’ soap factory in Port Sunlight village in Wirral.

Published within the ‘Ladies’ Page’, the article asked for entries to a baking competition to find a rival to Lancashire’s Eccles cake, to be called the Port Sunlight Bun. The eventual winner was one of the factory workers, known as Miss Lee, who worked in the addressograph department.

An original printed copy of the magazine was unearthed by staff at Port Sunlight Village Trust, the charity responsible for looking after the heritage site and community, and they sought the help of popular village café Nettle to bake Miss Lee’s winning recipe back to life so visitors can finally sample it.

What does the Port Sunlight Bun taste like? It resembles a traditional scone with a crumbly texture. Miss Lee’s original recipe (below) included a lot of lard, which isn’t something you find a lot of today, but Nettle worked hard to keep the recipe and method as authentic as possible for their menu. The bun is the perfect accompaniment to a cup of English Breakfast tea and should ideally be served with clotted cream or butter and a zesty jam.

The Port Sunlight Bun is available to purchase at Nettle Café on Greendale Road, Port Sunlight, open every day except Tuesdays.

The original Port Sunlight Bun recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb. plain flour
• ¼ lb. margarine and lard mixed
• ¼ lb. sugar
• A good pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar
• ¼ lb. currants
• ¼ lb. sultanas
• 2 oz. candied peel
• 1 tablespoonful of ground almonds
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoonfuls of milk
• Grated rind of orange or lemon

Instructions

Mix all dry ingredients together, rub in lard and margarine. Now add fruit and bind into a stiff dough with well-beaten egg and milk. Now take a fork full of the mixture and put in lumps on a greased tin, the rougher the better. Cook in hot oven for 15 minutes; turn gas lower after first five minutes.

Send us your bakes

We’d love to see your attempts to bake the Port Sunlight Bun! Email us or share on social media tagging @PortSunlightVillageTrust

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It is thanks to our dedicated Heritage and Conservation team that this long lost recipe was discovered and now enjoyed by countless residents and visitors. 

With your support, we can continue to dive into our archives and provide the right equipment and training to ensure these valuable pieces of history are enjoyed and learnt from for years to come.

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