makes
1
prep
30 minutes
cook
30 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
1
serves
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
30
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 300 ml lukewarm water
- 15 g fresh yeast
- 450 g (3 cups) strong plain bread flour, plus extra, for dusting
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 225 g dried mixed fruit
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus 1 tsp extra
- 50 g unsalted butter, softened
- 225 g lard, softened
- 100 g caster sugar
- 25 g granulated sugar
Resting time 2 hours
Instructions
Lightly grease a 20 cm x 25 cm baking tin.
Place the warm water in a jug, crumble in the yeast and stir until dissolved. Stand for 5 minutes or until foamy.
Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and 1 tablespoon of oil and combine until a soft dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and stand in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down to knock out the air, then turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for another couple of minutes or until smooth. Roll out into a rectangle about 1 cm-thick and dust with extra flour.
Place the mixed spice, cinnamon and dried fruit in a bowl and toss to combine. Spread one third of the butter and one third of the lard over the top of the dough. Sprinkle one third of the caster sugar over the top, followed by one third of the dried fruit mixture. Bring the bottom third of the dough up towards the centre, then bring top third down and place on top of that layer and press gently.
Give the dough a one half turn so that one of the short open ends is facing you and roll out into a rectangle again. Repeat the process twice more using the remaining butter, lard, sugar and dried fruit mixture. Place the dough in the baking tin, cover with a plastic bag and stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Brush the cake with the extra oil and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Score the top in a criss-cross fashion and bake for 30 minutes (or 45 minutes if cooking in an Aga) or until brown and sticky on top. Remove from the oven and serve warm.
starts Thursday 14 May 2015 at 8pm on SBS ONE and finishes 2 July 2015. Visit the website to catch-up on episodes online, scroll through or find out more .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
