Silverdale Fruit loaf

[Mad Cook]

In the couple of months between leaving college and taking up my first teaching post I had job as the cook in an old people's home. As well as cooking meals I did the baking for tea. This was one of the favourites of the old dears and remains so in my household. I use a 7 oz coffee mug (thes cake is the only time I don't weigh!) and a 2lb loaf tin

Silverdale Fruit Loaf

Put the following in a large bowl, stir well and cover. Leave for 1 hour or overnight (it's very forgiving)

1 level mug "All Bran" cereal (Kellogs or supermarket's own brand)
1 level mug brown sugar (I like Demerara sugar but use what you have)
1 level cup mixed dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants, mixed peel, etc.)
1 cup milk (any sort - I've used soya milk when baking for a vegan friend)

When ready to bake it, turn on the oven to gas mark 4 (if you're British) or 180C/350F and grease and line the loaf tin with greaseproof paper, baking parchment or baking foil.

Sift the flour into the soaked ingredients and mix well. Turn into the loaf tin, level off the top and bake in the oven for one & a half hours until the top of the cake gives slightly when gently pressed with a finger.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin, then turn out. Can be eaten when thoroughly cold, with or without butter, or if wrapped in greaseproof paper or baking parchment and stored in a tin for a week or longer * (it's very obliging) it will become nice and sticky like the malt loaf once loved by British children. (Remember the advert "What about the 'Soreen', Doreen" on UK television when we were small?)

* It well but leave it for a few days first to allow the stickiness to develop.

Enjoy!

 

[Kayelle]

Looks good MC, but I'm confused. How much flour do you use?

 

[Mad Cook]

Looks good MC, but I'm confused. How much flour do you use?

Dur-r-r! Sorry. The same mug filled to the top with self-raising/self rising flour.


And the last line should begin "It will freeze well...."


My only excuse is that I was tired and losing the plot a bit. Sorry.

 

[Kayelle]

MC, I hardly ever bake, and don't have self raising flour. Mr. Google said to add 2 tsp of baking powder to 1 cup all purpose flour.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Thanks for the recipe, MC!

Using a ceramic cup to measure the ingredients reminds me of my grandmother. She had a chipped cup or cup without a handle in each of the various crocks and bins that she kept her baking supplies in and she used a variety of spoons or point of a paring knife to measure the spices, etc...

I will give this a try it may become my new scaled down version of a Christmas fruitcake.

 

[Mad Cook]

MC, I hardly ever bake, and don't have self raising flour. Mr. Google said to add 2 tsp of baking powder to 1 cup all purpose flour.

Sorry, Kayelle, I'd forgotten that SR flour isn't very usual in the US. Your all purpose flour is "stronger "than our plain flour and less "strong" than our strong bread flour. I think our baking powder is a little different too. My coffee mug uses 7ounces of flour up to the rim. If I were you I'd work on the amounts of raising agent you'd use to that amount of all-purpose flour with a similar type of cake.

Talk about "2 countries divided by a common language"