Back when the The Dairy Book of Home Cookery was one of my only cookbooks I used to bake this cake a lot. Then we got a bit bored so I stopped making it and wIth newer more interesting cookbooks I didn’t go back to it. However it occurred to me it would make a good cake to put in lunch boxes. I realised when making it that it’s also a good cake for winter as it only uses one egg. (The chickens are already down to 3 eggs a day and that will reduce further as the days get shorter so I’ll need to adjust what I bake to reduce the numbers of eggs I use). It’s a very slightly worthy cake with it’s wholemeal flour, but that helps make it a very pleasant low guilt treat with a cup of tea and it keeps for a few days. I put crushed up sugar cubes on top because I had some in the cupboard (no idea why, I must have had a plan at the time) but you really don’t need them. I also used to make it in a round tin. Square is easier to cut for lunch boxes, I think it looks nicer as a round cake.
Ingredients
- 225g/8oz plain flour
- 10ml/ 2 tsps mixed spice
- 5ml/1tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 225g/8oz wholemeal flour
- 175g/6oz butter
- 225g/8oz soft brown sugar
- 225g/8oz sultanas
- 1 egg, beaten
- About 300ml/0.5 pt milk
- 10 sugar cubes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas mark 3.
- Grease and base-line either a 20cm/8in square or a 23cm/9in round cake tin.
- Sift the plain flour, mixed spice and bi-carb of soda into a large mixing bowl. Add the wholemeal flour and stir to mix.
- Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and stir in the sugar and sultanas.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the egg and the milk. Beat gently until well mixed and of a soft dropping consistency.
- Turn into the prepared tin.
- Roughly crush the sugar cubes and scatter over the cake.
- Bake in the oven for about 1hr 40mins until cooked (a cake skewer should come out clean). Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
100 Cook Books 