Southern Counties Lardy Cake

I thought we would have a month of fruit cake/ bread recipes don't panic thats only 4, based on dried fruit, toast, butter and traditional baking, so lets start with Lardy cake.

Lardy cake, also known as lardy bread, lardy Johns, dough cake and fourses cake is a traditional rich spiced form of bread found in several southern counties of England, each claiming to provide the original recipe. It remains a popular weekend tea cake in some of the southern counties of England, including Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Dorset. It is unrecorded in the south east counties of Essex and Kent.

This enriched, spiced, sweet bread is layered up with currants, sultanas, apricots and cherries - serve in wedges for a delicious tea time treat

PREP: 45 MINS COOK: 1 HR plus 2 hrs proving EASY SERVES 8 - 10

500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for kneading

140g lard, plus extra for greasing

1 tbsp fast-action dried yeast

200 ml warm milk

2 large eggs, beaten

140g currants

50g sultanas

50g dried apricots, finely diced

50g dried cherries, chopped

200ml hot tea

1 tsp ground mixed spice

50g golden caster sugar, plus extra to serve

2 tbsp icing sugar

In a large bowl, mix together the flour with 2 tsp salt, then rub in 50g of the lard until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Leave the remaining lard at room temperature to soften.

In a jug, mix the yeast, milk and eggs together, then add it to the flour, holding back a little liquid. Mix until it forms a soft dough, adding a splash more liquid if it feels too dry, or a little flour if too wet. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 mins, then put it back in the cleaned mixing bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hr.

Mix the dried fruit in a bowl and pour over the hot tea. Leave to soak for at least 45 mins. Grease a 23cm springform cake tin with a little lard, line the baking parchment and grease the parchment with lard too.

Drain off any excess tea from the fruit, then mix with the remaining lard, the mixed spice and sugar. Roll the dough out to a 40 x 20cm rectangle. Spread half the dried fruit and lard mixture over the surface. With the shorter end facing you, fold the top third of the dough down into the middle, then fold the bottom third up to overlap, sealing in the fruit. Give the dough a quarter turn, roll it out to around the same size as before and spread the dough with the rest of the lard mixture. Fold as before, then turn the dough over

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Put the dough into your prepared tin and press it down gently to shape it to fit the tin. Cover with cling film and leave to prove for 30 mins-1 hr or until doubled in size. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Uncover and bake for 55 mins-1 hr or until golden brown and cooked through. Leave to cool for 5 mins in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack. Mix the icing sugar with 1 tsp water to make a runny icing, then drizzle over the cake. Sprinkle with more caster sugar. Best serves warm with a warm cup of tea.