The real Pontefract Cakes are made to a special recipe, but here is the basic process.  

The liquorice roots are cleaned, ground and then boiled.  

Sugar is added, along with a thickening agent (usually starch, although Gum Arabic was used originally).  

This raw mass is allowed to dry and cool for about a week, then cut into blocks weighing around seven kilograms each.

These blocks are pulled out into a long strand, which is chopped into small rounds by a machine. The rounds are then placed in a press where they are flattened in a mould that applies the traditional Pontefract Cake stamp.

Until the mid 20th century all Pontefract Cakes were hand-stamped by a team of 45 women workers who were each able to press between 20 and 25 thousand cakes a day.