Readers have shared their memories of one childhood delicacy from Liverpool that "you haven't lived if you haven't baked."
The Liverpool ECHO recently took a look back at the Wet Nelly cake - a treat modelled after a Nelson cake, a traditional Lancashire fruit cake. According to Speke Hall, the Wet Nelly started out life as a bun loaf.
Years ago, shopkeepers are said to have put the bun loaf in the shop window, trickling treacle over it, with heat from the sun making the treacle run. The longer it stood, the wetter it became - hence the name Wet Nelly.
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Sometimes made from the likes of compressed pastry remnants, dried fruit was later added and the whole mixture was soaked in syrup. Historically, it was Liverpool's answer to bread and butter pudding - and many have since been sharing their fond memories of enjoying it in the city and beyond.
On our Liverpool ECHO What's On Facebook page, Elspeth Carr commented: "Oh, my mum used to wax lyrical about a wet Nellie....have never actually seen it. This made me smile." William Cross wrote: "Posh name for it Nelson Cake a great Liverpool cheap filling meal. Not had it for a good few years. Cake Shop by the Docks used to do it."
Clare McDermott said: "Definitely called it Wet Nelly, but haven’t seen it on sale for years!." Carol Longworth commented: "My Dad used to love wet Nelly. I remember it being soggy cake which had a pastry top and bottom cut into squares."
Mandy Lloyd said: "I despise Scouse/Stew, but Wet Nelly is amazing stuff. The only place I’ve seen it being sold these days in is the café at Speke Hall." Colette Moss said: "My dad loved wet Nelly. It was also called dockers wedding cake."
Suzanne Blundell posted: "You haven’t lived if you haven’t baked Wet Nelly. Yummy favourite in our house." Carol Devine posted: "I had a Saturday job in the oven door bakery, St John’s market. These were very popular."
Debi Hawkins commented: "My mum and dad loved this. Always known as wet nelly. There is/was a bakery in Towyn North Wales that made this. That's when I first tasted it as a child, many years ago." Hilary Letts commented: "Make this often. Great with cream or custard. Recipe I use includes a chopped apple."
Bernadette Power said: "I used to buy slabs of this in a cake shop on the way home from school and we called it Wet Nelly - and I’m a Scouser… and yes - as described in the article - the slabs of cake at the bottom of the pile were wetter and stickier and they were the chunks we loved best… wish I could remember the cake shop… it was on Westminster Road not far from Melvilles chemist… happy days!."
Karen Williams commented: "My nan used to make this.. Loved it." Terry Haines commented: "I walked to town on a Saturday with a mate. We got mug of tea and a bread pud from the kiosk frequented by the bus crews. Bliss."
Sheila Duncan posted: "Omg, I was only thinking about this last night, but couldn't remember the name. It was bloody lovely." Jillian Prescott posted: "I remember a wet nelly being a mixture of the bakery's leftover cakes from the day mixed together for the next day to sell."
Donna Morris commented: "My Dad used to call this pudding cake." Christine Shapley commented: "I used to love this."
Susan Phillips posted: "My Mam used to make it. Delicious." Sylvie Osborne commented: "My dad loved wet Nellie's and we were all born and bred in Liverpool. He also liked 'connie onnie' butties and Eccles cakes."
Susan Taylor said: "My nana made this( from Liverpool) in the 60's when I was growing up and we always called it Bunloaf. Never heard of Wet Nelly. It was bloody lovely!." Marion Kelsall commented: "Dad, who was from Liverpool used to talk about this."
Mary Robbins commented: "I first had it at Walton Hospital Liverpool in 1966 I loved it have not had it since." Alan Hose posted: "Cafes on the Dock Road Liverpool use to sell it as well especially Stan Waters cafes."
Owen Kennard Snr commented: "Could just eat that right now..Used to have it about twice a week when I was a young boy....can taste it just by looking at the picture....and the smell was boss." Ian Sitges said: "I made wet nelly the other day, my 95 year old mum loves it."
Annie Edwards posted: "I'm from Liverpool and love Wet Nelly, and so different to bread pudding except for the fruit." And David Beckham-Doyle commented: "Not had Wet Nelly for years now...Satterthwaites was the last place I found selling it."
Have you tried a Wet Nelly? Let us know in the comments section below.
Many readers also referred to Wet Nelly as "bread pudding" and shared variations that could be found elsewhere in the UK. Val Bodels commented: "Wet Nelly, haven't seen it for years. Think it's called Stotty cake in the North East."
Maureen Ball said: "Our village has something very similar known as Buckby Feast Pudd'n ,(but without any pastry !)a competition is held at every summer Feast Day to find the best example . It is delicious and a fairly close cousin of the traditional Bread Pudding ." Gillian Mayda CIna commented: "I make it from my mum’s recipe, she called it bread pud. She put marmalade in it."
Angie Griffin said: "My mum used to make it but call it "Dockers Doorstep "Fruit soaked in cold tea, flour, sugar. It was wet looking when cooked but tasted gorgeous and with bit butter spread on a slice was scrummy.... ahhh good memories."
Mandy Burke said: "My nan made this and she wasn't Scouse or from Liverpool having lived in London and Hastings. It was called bread pudding and was made by using pieces of stale bread and dried fruit which was soaked in enough milk to cover the bread and make it soggy overnight. The next day the bread and fruit was then mixed with mixed spice, brown sugar, eggs and butter so it was like a very stodgy batter and put in a loaf tin or square tin to bake. I first saw wet Nelly in a bakers in St Johns market in 1982 when I moved to Liverpool and it tasted just like my Nan's bread pudding."
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Barbara Cummins said: "I'm from Liverpool but have never heard of wet nellly. Always called it bread pudding." Joanne Griffiths commented: "My mother frequently made this, known as Bread Pudding in Birmingham."
Maggie Lee said: "Always called it bread pudding, a wet nellie was a roller in a little reservoir of water, for wetting envelopes and stamps to seal them, this was a long time ago, before self-adhesive!." Sylvia Shilliam posted: "Down in the south it is known as bread pudding, soggy on the inside and crispy on the outside……delicious!."
Jean Moss Joslin said: "Yes my mum made that from stale bread buttered with dried fruit and spices but we called it bread pudding never heard of wet Nelly." Julie Measures commented: "My Nan and mum used to make this. We called it bread pudding. Love it."
Carol Wishart commented: "Loved it, my mums was the best. Hot with custard, cold the next day, my mouth is watering. We called it Bread pudding." Bill Dawson commented: "It’s just called bread pudding in the North East."
Adele Robinson posted: "Bread pudding, didn’t know it was called Wet Nelly until I visited the café in Speke Hall." Sue Clements commented: "I used to love bread pudding! Why do we never see it any more?."
And Susan Mills commented: "Yep in South Wales it's bread pudding, which was stale bread soaked overnight in water which was squeezed out the following morning. Bread and butter pudding was nice too layers of buttered bread,sugar,dried currants or sultanas soaked in milk/egg before cooking. We loved both as children in the 50's/60s growing up nothing went to waste which was fantastic."
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The Wet Nelly was a cheaper substitute for wedding cake, due to its rich flavour and having a similar taste. In poverty stricken Liverpool after WWII, people would ice it for decoration for the wedding celebrations.
As a result, it later became fondly known as 'Docker's Wedding Cake.' Sometimes served with custard or lemon, many remember this Scouse delicacy from their childhood.
But Wet Nelly does still live on in Liverpool today. Sally Middleton, food and beverage manager at Speke Hall, said: "There are many versions of ‘Wet Nelly Cake’ and our rich version consists of dried mixed fruit, bread, brown sugar, butter and eggs and of course our secret ingredient, which makes it so delicious.
"Wet Nelly has been a firm favourite here at Speke Hall for many years. The dish continues to be sought after and very well received by our visitors, including international travellers visiting the Liverpool City Region.
"Many of our more local and regular customers often comment on it as they remember this dish well from their childhood; with family recipes often being passed down generations. We are delighted to be able to continue serving up this historic dish here at Speke Hall, and will no doubt introduce this ‘slice of Liverpool history’ to even more guests and visitors to our wonderful City. If you haven’t tried it, Speke Hall is open seven days a week, so please do come and visit us."
To find out more and visit Speke Hall, click here.
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