I found three references to Victoria Buns online, from 1861, 1880 and 1885. In 1861, the recipe for Victoria Buns was almost the same as this one, and was found in a household book for women. Vintage Recipes has this book available for you to peruse in a transcribed format, as well as many other heirloom recipes. 1880 brought us a book called Tasty Dishes with loads of old advertising that is worth clicking over in itself, and the recipe remains similar to this one. The last reference to Victoria Buns was from a Creole cookbook from 1885 and sounds nothing like Maggie Ritchey’s recipe, but you can’t help but browse through just for the sake of looking. I believe these might have been made as tea biscuits.

Victoria Buns

2 oz butter, beaten to a cream with 2 oz pounded sugar, 1 1/2 oz ground rice, 1 1/2 oz currants, a small piece candied peel, 1 egg, a pinch salt, a little flour & 1/2 teaspoonful baking powder. When the butter & sugar are worked to a cream, add the rice flour, then add an egg, beat again, add a little flour sufficient to make it stiff. Clean the currants, drop them in, mix them lightly, throw in the candied peel cut into neat pieces, add the baking powder, mix very lightly again. Drop the mixture on to greased patty-pans & bake in a moderate oven. Sometimes the mixture is made so stiff by flour that it is rolled up into balls & baked on a tin. Bake until firm & a nice brown colour.