Recipe of the week – Common spice cake

Apologies for being a bit late putting up the recipe of the week, only we spent the weekend putting up the Christmas decorations.

Anyway, here’s a lovely crumbly cake which is delicious eaten when warm. It makes a great alternative the traditional Christmas cake.

• 8oz self-raising flour
• ½ teaspoon of ground mix spice
• 3oz margarine or butter
• 4oz soft brown sugar
• 4oz raisins
• 4oz sultanas
• 2oz mixed peel, chopped
• 2oz glace cherries, chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten
• ¼ pint of milk

Pre-heat oven to 180º c/Gas Mk 4. Fan oven 160ºc

Line a 7 inch/18cm round cake tin with baking parchment.

Sift the flour and mix spice together into a bowl. Rub in the margarine or butter.

Add the sugar, raisins, sultanas, mix peel and cherries to the bowl.

Next add the beaten egg and enough of the milk so that the mixture drops from a wooden spoon when shaken.

Pour into the tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave it in the tin for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

All the weights are in ‘old money’. If you want them in Metric, you’ll have to convert it yourself….