Wiltshire Lardy Cake

Wiltshire Lardy Cake by Charlotte

Lardy cake - a reminder of buying cakes on Saturday with my dad from a bakery in Gloucester, Jane's Pantry, a place that all Gloucester folk know well. What joy when I opened my favourite book, British Regional Food by Mark Hix, to find a recipe for Wiltshire lardy cake.

This recipe will not disappoint; it is gooey, fruity, doughy and sweet - great with a coffee on Sunday morning. It will definitely make you want to visit your local bakery too, which is always a good thing. And, if you cook and bake regularly, you may find you have most of the ingredients already...

200g lard, softened

50g butter, softened

200g mixed dried fruit (I used up old currants and a few tunisian sultanas that were festering in the back of the cupboard!)

75g mixed candied peel (I used some candied ginger and glacier cherries)

200g granulated sugar

for the dough:

650g strong white bread flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp caster sugar

7g sachet yeast

400ml warm water

First make the bread dough: in a warm bowl mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Add the warm water and mix to a soft dough. Knead by stretching and folding the dough for about 10 mins on a lightly floured surface.

Then mix the lard, butter, fruit, peel and granulated sugar together.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to roughly three times as long as wide. Spread two thirds of the length with a third of the fruit mix, then fold both ends of the dough into the centre and press the edges firmly with your fingers. Repeat this process twice, using up the fruit mix, then roll the dough out to its original size.

Line a shallow baking tray with baking paper and turn the dough over, onto the tray. There should be enough room for the dough to rise again. Let the dough prove for 30 mins.

Pre-heat the oven to 190C and bake for about 45 mins. Turn the cake upside down and cool a little. Sprinkle with caster sugar and serve warm.