How to make Shetland Huffsie

Huffsie (or hufsi) is a traditional Shetland tea loaf that originated on the island of Whalsay. The recipe I use is made with tea-soaked dried mixed fruit, brown sugar, and treacle, but there are many variations. Served ‘klined’ (Shetland dialect for ‘spread’) with butter, it’s a delicious teatime treat whether on land or at sea.

The Island of Whalsay

Whalsay, on the east side of Shetland, is a small 7.6-square-mile island home to one of the Island’s most prolific fishing fleets.

The island has a rich maritime history dating back more than 500 years when the Hanseatic merchants had a trading base in Symbister, the main village on Whalsay.

Evidence of their presence still remains with a human-made shingle beach near the pier which was used for drying cod and ling, Shetland’s main export. In exchange, the German merchants brought rye meal, wheat flour, bread, mead, beer, and spirits, among other things.

In 2015, I visited the island for the second time, researching and writing a food-related article for Promote Shetland’s now-discontinued 60 North magazine.

It was too early in the year during my visit to witness fish being dried, but I was told that there are still folk on the island who dry and cure fish in the traditional way.

One of my objectives for this day trip to the island, in addition to exploring unfamiliar territory, was to learn about food.

“What do folk on Whalsay eat?” I asked.

“Too much!” laughed the ferryman as I paid for my ticket for the half-hour ferry crossing from Laxo to Symbister. “I’m always thinking about food,” he continued in his thick dialect. “Mostly, though, we eat a lot of fish and mutton. A lot of fish.”

“Mostly, though, we eat a lot of fish and mutton. A lot of fish.”

Whalsay ferryman.

One of the homebakes Whalsay is renowned for is huffsie, or hufsi, a traditional Shetland fruitcake whose origins are rumoured to be on the island. During my visit, I was given a few different recipes for this cake.

Hufsi (n): homemade cake, recipe unspecified.

John J. Graham’s Shetland Dictionary

Marian Armitage’s Huffsie Recipe

There are several different huffsie recipes in Shetland, and the one I use (the full, printable recipe is below) is based on Marian Armitage’s recipe, which can be found on the Taste of Shetland website. My only adaptation is that I’ve nearly doubled the quantity of tea, as the loaf was too dry and crumbly with the original quantities. I also soak the dried mixed fruit for at least an hour, leaving the tea bag in to infuse the flavour into the fruit.

Served ‘klined’ (Shetland dialect for ‘spread’) with butter, it’s a delicious teatime treat whether on land or at sea.

I regularly make this huffsie recipe to include in the packed lunches for my walking tour guests at the Aald Harbour Hoose and, as the first image on this page shows, for tea breaks when I go off fishing.

Kline (v): to spread, as in butter.

John J. Graham’s Shetland Dictionary

Ingredients for Shetland huffsie

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How to make huffsie – recipe instructions

1. Make a strong cup of tea, leaving the tea bag in it. Pour the hot tea with the tea bag over the mixed dried fruit and leave the fruit to soak for at least an hour. Do not drain the liquid. 
2. Heat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. 
3. Weigh the flour, baking powder and mixed spice in a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.  
4. Lightly beat the eggs in a separate small bowl. 
5. Weigh the brown sugar, butter, and treacle into a small saucepan. Add the mixed dried fruit and tea that hasn’t soaked into the fruit. Bring the ingredients slowly to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.  
6. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Add the eggs and beat well.  
7. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined. 
8. Transfer immediately to the prepared loaf tin and cook for 45 minutes, until it is well-risen and golden brown. You can test its readiness by inserting a skewer – if it comes out clean, it’s baked.  
9. Cool in the tin.  

Mary Hutchison’s Huffsie Recipe

Mary was born at the Knowe in Whalsay, and both she and her mother were bakers. I bumped into her granddaughter, Donna Polson, at the island charity shop ‘Da Shoard’, where we chatted about food.

Donna explained, “Both my grandmother and great-grandmother were bakers, “as were all of the women at that time. The ‘steamer’ only came by Whalsay three times a week, so there was no fancy food available, and baking was an integral part of life. Sharing baking with friends and family was also a key component of Whalsay life, as it was all over Shetland.”

Mary’s huffsie recipe is slightly different from the others I’ve seen. In most recipes, the dried fruit (usually raisins, sultanas and/or currants) is boiled in a little water and bicarbonate of soda before being added to the dry ingredients. In Mary’s recipe, the dried fruit is added straight to the dry ingredients with a spoonful of vinegar and a shredded apple, the latter of which gives the bake a lovely, moist consistency.

To make Mary’s recipe, cream together 1/2 lb butter and 1/2 lb brown sugar. Add 3 eggs, beat well and then add 10 oz plain flour, 1/2 – 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp each cinnamon, ginger and mixed spice and 1 tbsp vinegar. Mix well, and if required, add a little milk. Add 1 shredded apple, 2 oz mixed peel, 1/2 lb raisins and 1/2 lb currants. Mix well. Spoon into a 9-inch greased and papered tin and bake slowly (what temperature?) for 2.5 hours.

This fragrantly spiced cake pairs very well with an afternoon cuppa.

Maggie Leask’s Huffsie Recipe

Put 1 cup raisins, 1 cup sultanas, 1 cup sugar, 5 oz butter and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda into a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool and add 2 eggs and 2 cups of plain flour. Spoon into two greased and lined loaf tins and bake at 170 degrees Celcius for 60 minutes.

Whalsay boiled mutton wedding feast

Another rather interesting food-related tradition that came to light over my Whalsay charity shop counter chat was to learn of the Whalsay Boiled Mutton Wedding Feast, a community tradition handed down through the generations that is still prevalent on the island today.

“A big wedding needs maybe ten sheep and ten bags of peat,” a volunteer at the charity shop explained, “It’s the men who cook the mutton. The men cut up the mutton the night before the wedding and get it ready. There is always one designated head cook in charge of 12 men, and the mutton is boiled in large pots with wooden lids over an open peat fire, the traditional way. The key is in the seasoning – salt and pepper and many pounds of onions.”

Pots of boiled mutton are shipped to the village hall from the north end of the island to the south. Twenty women cooks serve the mutton at the wedding supper, which starts at 8:30 p.m. The Supper is served in sittings of sixty people at a time, and there are usually six sittings in total.

Another part of the tradition is that the bride and groom organize what men (and women) do the cooking for their supper and visit them before the wedding to collect the fancies and bannocks served alongside.

Exploring Whalsay

The rest of my day trip to Whalsay was spent climbing the Ward of Clett, Whalsay’s largest hill at 119 metres, and rambling along the coastline around Britain’s most northerly 18-hole golf course in Shaw, at the north end of the island, baking under the sun on a perfect windless, cloudless day.

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