The cake that bears this very interesting name is actually not a cake - it's a sweet yeasted bread. It's from Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book (1894) by Lizzie Heritage and this post was inspired by the TV series I've recently chatted to you about. In the last episode of Bramwell Season two, Nurse Carr promises young Sidney an evening of tea and fruit cake at her place. It's how the story between these characters ends. I hoped to find a recipe by Lizzie Heritage to adapt but she included fewer cakes in her book than other authors. There is apple cake, plum cakes, basic cake dough with various fillings, and shortcake that is halved and spread with fruit. But there is not a fruit cake as such. The nearest version that I found is a mysterious 'school cake', which might be good enough for Nurse Carr's little party even though her young guest had never been to school.
The original recipe:
"School Cake. - This is a very good cake at small cost, useful for sending away to children at school, as it keeps very well. Required: four pounds of flour, twelve ounces of clarified fat, the same of moist sugar, a pound of good raisins (stoned and halved), an ounce of yeast, milk and water to make a pint and a half, a teaspoon of salt, the same of spice, two eggs, and few ounces of candied peel. Cost, about 2s.
The yeast and a portion of the liquid are to be mixed with a little sugar, and put to the flour to form a leaven as for bread: when risen, the fat should be melted in the rest of the liquid, and added to the eggs, &c., to the flour, and the whole mixed and left to rise well, then be baked in a moderate oven. This is preferably made into two cakes, which will want about two and a half hours."
SCHOOL CAKE
My version of the late 1890s 'fruit cake' is filled with only raisins because I didn't have any candied fruit. It's also richer in eggs. Lizzie Heritage suggested baking for a long long time in a medium oven, which is normal considering the amount of fruit she used. The finished loaf must have resembled a Banbury cake. My idea was to halve the amount of fruit and bake in a hot oven, as I do with any yeasted bread.
I n g r e d i e n t s
950g strong flour
1tbsp mixed spices*
a pinch of salt
500ml whole milk
15g fresh yeast
170g clarified butter
170g molasses sugar
4 eggs
200g raisins
250g candied peel
M e t h o d
1. To make the sponge: Cream the yeast with a little milk, add 4-5 tablespoonfuls of flour to make a batter, cover and leave to stand until it bubbles - about 30 minutes. Meanwhile combine the flour, salt and spices in a basin. Also, melt the butter in a saucepan and leave to cool. 2. Gently heat the milk with the sugar until the temperature reaches 35o-38oC. Remove from the heat and stir in the whisked eggs. (Save a little egg for brushing the dough later.) Check if the temperature has dropped below 35oC and if it has, return the mixture to the heat for a little while. 3. To make the dough: Combine the mixture with the sponge, then stir into the flour. Knead but don't expect the mixture to not be sticky. Cover your basin with a towel and leave to stand for 15-30 minutes, depending on the room temperature. (It takes less in a warm environment.) 4. Knead the dough on a well-floured surface, gradually incorporating the melted butter. Shape into a ball, cover and leave to rise for an hour or until doubled in bulk. 5. Knock back the dough, cover, and leave to rise again until nearly doubled in bulk. 6. To assemble the cake: Divide into three parts and make three rolls, filling each roll of dough with one third of the fruit. (Alternatively, make one roll of fruit, or a boule, or a five layered stack, in which two layers of fruit are scattered between three layers of dough. A third option is to knead the fruit into the dough between the first and second risings.) 7. Place the filled dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with a towel and leave to rise for no more than 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 210oC. 8. Add two spoonfuls of milk to the leftover egg and brush the dough with this mixture. Lower the oven temperature to 190oC and bake for 30-35 minutes. Knock the bottom to make sure the centre is baked. (It will sound hollow if everything's all right. Otherwise, bake for another 5 minutes.) 9. Leave to cool on a wire rack and don't slice until the next day.
N o t e s
For the spice mix, choose three of the following: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, allspice, coriander. You'll make a better cake if you replace one half of the milk with buttermilk or full cream or sour cream. The moist sugar in the original recipe could be molasses sugar. If you don't have any, use unrefined cane sugar with a hint of blackstrap molasses. Wash, drain, and soak the raisins in water for 30 minutes. Then strain and put aside until you need them. Follow this recipe to make your own candied peel.
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