This is an old recipe that uses vinegar, as well as baking powder, as a raising agent. Don’t underestimate the power of vinegar. If you ever want to see something fizz and pop, just combine vinegar and baking powder with a drop of water. Add that fizz and pop to a burnt saucepan, let it soak in, and then clean it, and hey presto, one bright unburnt saucepan!
But I digress. This recipe was in a 1930’s recipe book, but I bet it was around long before that.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (225g) plain flour
- 4 oz (113g) dripping or lard (not butter)
- 2 oz (55g) currants
- 2 oz (55g) raisins
- 2 0z (55g) brown sugar
- 2 oz (55g) candied peel
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon malt vinegar
- ½ a teaspoon baking powder
- Teacup of warm water
Method
- Warm the flour and rub the dripping/lard in. Add the dried fruit and baking powder, spice, sugar, and stir in well
- Make a well in the centre and add the warm water with the vinegar added to it, but do it slowly, mixing as you go
- When you have a stiff paste, stop adding the water, and transfer the mix to a greased baking tin and bake in a moderate oven for about an hour. Test it with a skewer to see it is cooked – if the skewer comes out clean, you’re there! If not, leave it in the oven until it is cooked.
Source: Your Own Book of Recipes, compiled by Miss Franklin, Keighley, March 1930. (From Keighley Local History Library archives)
3 Responses to Yorkshire Spice Loaf
Hi Colin,
I make this cake each Christmas. The recipe past from my grandmother. So dating back to mining families around turn of last century, we love it . I make it in my grandmother’s baking bowl too .
How do you warm the flour..?
In the past, and maybe still now, cooks would put the flour and mixing bowl on the top of their oven/range to warm. You could put it in a microwave proof bowl in the microwave these days on a warm setting for a minute. Or put in your warm airing cupboard or other place for an hour or so.