Kendal Mint Cake: Victorian Confectionery for a Modern World

Traditional Sweet Making

You might have guessed by now that we love sweets. We are proud of the range of sweets and confectionery we offer at Quiggin’s. Our name is synonymous with mint cake – as it should be – and it connects us with a rich history of traditional sweet making.

We have been producing confectionery, and our world-famous mint cake, for over 150 years so we thought we would delve back in time to the Victorian era when sweet making became popular.

The Popular Choice

Sweets had always been expensive and were viewed as a luxury only available to the very wealthy. However, the 19th century was a rapidly transformative time that introduced many exciting technological advances. New machines were invented, meaning the mass production of confectionery became cheaper. This, paired with the fact that sugar became less expensive to buy meant companies, such as Quiggin’s, began to make sweets, including many that you still enjoy today.

As towns and cities grew, confectioners found themselves with a new customer: urban factory workers. These were people who were working long hours, six days a week and needed a large number of calories to keep their energy levels high. Sugar was the best way to do this, and they ate sweets by the bagful.

Sweets also became a firm favourite with children, and the Victorians added bright food colouring to make their products more enticing in shop windows. Britain was starting to see the emergence of sweets like wine gums, peanut brittle and jelly beans. Liquorice Allsorts also made their first appearance during this time. All these, plus many more are still available to buy in Quiggin’s online shop.

Confectioners, like Quiggin’s, were setting up across the country to meet the sweet demand and happily, we are still here to continue spreading a bit of happiness.

A Proud History

We remain genuinely linked to our Victorian beginnings. We are one of the oldest producers of Kendal Mint Cake and have worked hard to stick to the same traditional sweet-winning formula people love. We enjoy the fact that we can still provide innovation while remaining true to our past.

We still use traditional methods to make our Kendal Mint Cake. We have always used large copper pans when making mint cake. They are used to heat the sugar. This is because copper is better at conducting heat than iron or stainless steel. It can spread the heat more efficiently, meaning there is less chance of burning the sugar. Copper pans also heat and cool almost instantly, which means our confectioners have complete control. This helps us to achieve the perfect mint cake that has been loved for well over a century.

Having passed down our expertise over six generations, we know that our traditional sweet making skills are second to none. People choose Quiggin’s time and time again because of our experience and know-how. They also love our modern take on classics. We were the first to enrobe mint cake with chocolate and have developed the “recharged” mint cake for an added energy boost. We have something for everybody.

For a timeless choice of sweets and confectionery, visit our online shop.