
Although this resembles the Italian Christmas cake, pandolce genovese, it’s still a top British cake. You can find recipes for it in many 19th-century cookbooks. This version is based on Robert Wells’s recipe from ‘The Bread and Biscuit Baker’s and Sugar-Boiler’s Assistant’ from 1890. He gives instructions to make a square cake, but I find a loaf shape more convenient.
Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 2 hours
SERVES
Six to 10
INGREDIENTS
- 200g butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
- 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 200g white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 150g glacé cherries
- 150g currants
- 150g candied orange peel
- Blanched almonds, to decorate
- Candied fruit and/or apricot jelly, to decorate (optional)
METHOD
Recipe from Oats in the North, Wheat from the South: The history of British Baking, Savoury and Sweet (Murdoch Books, £25). Order your copy from books.telegraph.co.uk
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