In the first in our new series of regional cake recipes, Julie Duff of Church Farmhouse
Cakes shows Anna McNamee her recipe for Ale Cake. Originally commissioned by a broadsheet
newspaper to send to the Radio 4 cricket commentators and players in the West Indies,
Julie's cake is equally suited for consumption with coffee or tea, or served warm as
a pudding.
225g raisins
225g sultanas
350g currants
75g citrus peel
250ml strong English
ale
225g butter
225g dark brown muscovado sugar
1 tablespoon black treacle
4 large eggs,
lightly beaten
225g plain flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas
Mark 4
In a large bowl, steep the fruits and the citrus peel in the ale, leaving it
for at least 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter
and sugar together until light and fluffy, beat in the treacle and then slowly add
the eggs, flour and spice, a little at a time until thoroughly mixed together. Stir
in the steeped fruits and pile the mixture into a greased and lined 20cm round cake
tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for one hour, reducing the temperature to 120C/250F/Gas
Mark 1/2 for a further 2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out
cleanly. Because of the quantity of liquid used in making this cake, it may take
a little longer to cook, but don't worry, this is perfectly normal.
Cover with a cloth
and leave the cake in the tin to become cold, then turn it out and peel the greaseproof
paper away.
Ale Cake
In the first in our new series of regional cake recipes, Julie Duff of Church Farmhouse
Cakes shows Anna McNamee her recipe for Ale Cake. Originally commissioned by a broadsheet
newspaper to send to the Radio 4 cricket commentators and players in the West Indies,
Julie's cake is equally suited for consumption with coffee or tea, or served warm as
a pudding.
225g raisins
225g sultanas
350g currants
75g citrus peel
75g cherries
30g flaked almonds
250ml strong English ale or 270g red winr
225g butter
225g dark
brown muscovado sugar
1 tablespoon black treacle
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
225g plain
flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
In a large bowl,
steep the fruits and the citrus peel in the ale, leaving it for at least 24 hours,
stirring occasionally.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until
light and fluffy, beat in the treacle and then slowly add the eggs, flour and spice,
a little at a time until thoroughly mixed together. Stir in the steeped fruits and
pile the mixture into a greased and lined 20cm round cake tin. Bake in the centre
of the oven for one hour, reducing the temperature to 120C/250F/Gas Mark 1/2 for
a further 2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out cleanly. Because
of the quantity of liquid used in making this cake, it may take a little longer to
cook, but don't worry, this is perfectly normal.
Cover with a cloth and leave the
cake in the tin to become cold, then turn it out and peel the greaseproof paper away.
Note
Bake in large loaf tins 1kg per cake
Instructions
Place the fruit in a large bowl, pour in the brandy, stir, and cover and leave overnight.
Prepare whatever you are sing to bake cake in.
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (use an electric mixer with a beater fitted if you have one),
Gradually add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between each addition to prevent curdling. If the mixture does curdle add 1tbsp flour, beat until smooth, and then continue to add the eggs.
Gently fold in the flour and spices with a metal spoon. Fold in the nuts, lemon and orange zest and the soaked fruit mixture until well mixed.
Carefully spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin, levelling the surface with the back of a spoon. For extra protection, tie a double thickness band of brown paper around the outside of the tin to prevent the cake from cooking too quickly around the edges.
Stand the cake tin on a couple of sheets of brown paper on a baking tray and place
in a preheated oven 140ºC, gas mark 1 for about 3-
Allow the cake to cool in the tin. When cold, remove from the tin and wrap in greaseproof
paper or foil and store in an airtight tin. For a really moist cake, feed with 1tbsp
brandy every 2-
David’s Note
Used all the mixture in wooden frame.
2 18/02/2016
Baked for 4.5 hours 140°C .
No black treacle.
08/08/2017
Baked for 4.25 hours 140°C .
No black treacle.
Tips:
You'll need to plan ahead when making this cake as the dried fruits are soaked in brandy overnight and cooking time is 3½ hours. When making the cake; the eggs, butter and black treacle should be at room temperature
SHOPPING LIST
USE THIS
100 Sherry
56 Glycerines
400 200g Greek Currants
200 100g Australian Sultanas
200 100g Cape Raisins
170 85g Glacé Provençal Cherries, quartered
80 40g Italian Cut Mixed Peel
150 75g Ready-
100 50g Haven Glacé Pineapple Wedges, roughly chopped or what ever
350 2 PACKS 175g unsalted butter
350 175g Caster Sugar
2tbsp 1tbsp black treacle
6 eggs 3 large eggs, beaten
350 175g Plain Flour, sifted
½tsp ¼tsp ground nutmeg
1tsp ½tsp mixed spice
100 50g Ground Almonds
50 25g Flaked Almonds
2 each Zest of lemon and orange
2 tsp Almond essence (put with fruit)
Total
6.3 2840
Traditional Christmas cake
Ingredients
Sherry
Glycerines
Currants
Sultanas
Raisins
Glacé Cherries, quartered
Cut Mixed Peel
Ready-
roughly chopped
Haven Glacé Pineapple Wedges,
roughly chopped Or what ever
Almond essence (put with fruit)
Unsalted butter
Caster Sugar
large eggs, beaten
Plain Flour
Ground nutmeg
Mixed spice
Ground Almonds
Flaked Almonds
Zest of lemon and orange
Total
grams
100
56
400
200
200
170
80
150
100
2tsp
350
350
6
350
1/2tsp
1tsp
100
50
2 each
2840
Parkin
Ingredient
Method
Pre heat the oven to 140℃. In a sauce pan over a medium heat gently melt the lard, syrup and sugar.
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, oatmeal, ground ginger, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt .Gradually stir in the melted syrup mixture and mix together until thoroughly blended.
Test the dropping consistency of the mixture by seeing if it falls from the spatula. Add a splash of milk.Pour the mixture into a prepared cake tin and bake at 140℃ for 1 hour 45 minutes.Cool the Parkin in the tin for 30 minutes and then turn out.When cool keep the Parkin in an airtight container for 2 to 3 weeks before use.
Tips and techniques from Matthew Benson-
1. You put the lard and the syrup in a pan and melt then all the other ingredients
go into a bowl. I'm making my great granny's Yorkshire Parkin recipe -
2. The oatmeal gives the grainy texture. The oats in the Parkin recipe will absorb a lot of the cake's moisture when baking. Some of the popular versions of Parkin are the ones that are dark and rich. They've used the black treacle or molasses. The Lancashire Parkin is lighter. You need to make sure the cake mixture is 'wet' enough when fully mixed, add a little extra milk in if it needs it.
3. The key point in making Parkin is that it is left for at least a week before it is eaten. I like to give it 3 weeks to get the best taste. The stickiness of the Parkin comes through at the top and bottom and sticks to the top of the roof of your mouth.
4. You can turn it into a pudding. I would heat it up and serve it with something like salted caramel ice cream.
Note
First bake took 2.5 hours (if not more).
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Ingredients:
8 oz/220g soft butter
4 oz/110g soft, dark brown sugar
2oz / 55g black treacle/molasses
7oz / 200g golden syrup/ corn syrup
5oz/ 120g medium oatmeal
7 oz/ 200g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spice
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tbsp milk
Preparation:
Heat the oven to 275°/140°C/gas 1
Grease an 8" x 8"/ 20cm x 20cm square cake tin.
In a large heavy-
In a large, spacious, baking bowl stir together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the melted butter mixture stirring to coat all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Gradually, beat in the eggs a few tablespoons at a time. Finally add the milk and again stir well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 1 ½ hours until firm and set and a dark golden brown.
Remove the parkin from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Once cool store the Parkin in an airtight tin for a minimum of 3 days if you can resist eaten it, you can even leave it up to a week before eating and the flavours really develop and the mixture softens even further and become moist and sticky. The Parkin will keep up to two weeks in an airtight container.
Notes
First bake took 2 hrs 10mins
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins
Ingredients
225g/8oz self raising flour
pinch of salt
55g/2oz butter
25g/1oz caster sugar
150ml/5fl oz milk
60g/2ox fruit
Method
1. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Mix together the flour and salt and rub in the butter.
3. Stir in the sugar and then the milk to get a soft dough.
4. Turn on to a floured work surface and knead very lightly. Pat out to a round 2cm/¾in thick. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out rounds and place on a baking sheet. Lightly knead together the rest of the dough and stamp out more scones to use it all up.
5. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk. Bake for 12-
6. Cool on a wire rack and serve with butter and good jam and maybe some clotted
|
Lard |
8oz |
|
Golden syrup |
1lb |
|
Demerara sugar |
8ox |
|
Plain flour |
1lb |
|
Medium oatmeal |
1lb |
|
Ground ginger |
1tsp |
|
Bicarbonate of soda |
1tsp |
|
Pinch of salt |
|
|
Milk splash as required |
|
|
|
ozs |
g |
g |
|
flour |
16 |
454 |
113 |
|
fat |
8 |
227 |
57 |
|
sugar |
3 |
85 |
21 |
|
water |
4 |
113 |
28 |
|
salt |
0.25 |
7 |
2 |
Work quickly when stretching the dough, because it dries out quickly.
Ingredients
300 Gram Strong plain flour (11 oz)
1 Teaspoon Salt
40 ml Vegetable oil (1 1/2 fl oz)
200 ml Warm water (7 fl oz)
Melted butter -
Method
Sift the flour and salt. Add the oil and water. Work into a ball. Knead for 5-
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, cover with a damp tea towel and allow to rest
for 15 minutes.Transfer to a sheet-