Lardy Cake

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Lardy Cake

Postby Oddley » Sun Mar 27, 2005 11:08 am

My old mum is staying with us for Easter. She said to me a couple of weeks ago she would love to have a Lardy cake. She had not seen one about for years.

So I had a search round the Internet and found this recipe. She said it was spot on. So for anybody that wants to give it a try here it is.


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Wiltshire Lardy Cake

Warm or cold, this recipe is sweet, filling and delicious.

Lardy cake originates from Wiltshire, and in the West Country local bakers still make it to their own recipes, cramming in as much lard, sugar and fruit as they or their customers choose.
Ingredients

15 Gram Yeast fresh (1 1/2 tsp dried + pinch of sugar) (1/2 oz)
300 ml Water, warmed (1/2 pint)
450 Gram Strong white flour (1 lb)
1 Teaspoon Salt
75 Gram Lard, diced (3 oz)
75 Gram Butter, diced (3 oz)
175 Gram Mixed sultanas and currants (6 oz)
50 Gram Chopped mixed peel (2 oz)
50 Gram Sugar (2 oz)


Method

Makes 12 slices

Preheat oven to 220 �C / 425 �F / Gas 7. Grease a 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 inch) roasting tin. Blend the fresh yeast with the warm water. If using dried yeast, sprinkle it into the warm water with the pinch of sugar and leave for 15 minutes until frothy.

Put the flour and salt in a bowl and rub in 15g ( 1/2 oz) of the lard. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast liquid. Beat together to make a dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean, adding more water if necessary. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead well for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a clean bowl. Cover with a clean tea-towel and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.

Turn the dough on to a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle about 0.5 cm ( 1/4 inch) thick. Dot one-third of the remaining lard and butter over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle over one-third of the fruit, peel and sugar. Fold the dough in three, folding the bottom third up and the top third down. Give a quarter turn, then repeat the process twice more.

Roll the dough out to fit the prepared tin. Put in the tin, cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes, until puffy. Score the top with a criss-cross pattern with a knife, then bake for about 30 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown. Turn out and serve immediately or leave to cool on a wire rack. Serve plain or with butter.
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Postby sausagemaker » Sun Mar 27, 2005 11:37 am

Hi Oddley

Looks really good, You can still buy them around Bournemouth, but it's a far to go for me so I will try your recipe.

Cheers
Happy Easter

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Postby aris » Sun Mar 27, 2005 12:32 pm

Yes, that looks fantastic. Looking at the recipe, I would think it tastes a bit like hot-cross buns?
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Postby Wilf » Sun Mar 27, 2005 4:30 pm

Hi Oddley, I can remember when staying with people near Cheltenham about 25 years ago we used to have dripping cakes which was a local thing from a traditional bakers, and they were delicious, sweet soggy on top inch think squarish cakes with currants in, so may try this one as I havent had one for years
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Postby deb » Mon Mar 28, 2005 5:45 pm

I made Lardy Cakes a while back and the lard leaked out all over the oven. The cakes were lovely but I don't think the cleaning up was worth it.
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Postby Oddley » Mon Mar 28, 2005 6:38 pm

deb you are supposed to put it in a tin. Then you can use any butter or lard that leaks, to brush over the top of the cake, to give a nice sheen.
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Postby deb » Tue Mar 29, 2005 12:53 pm

That would explain why I ended up with such a mess.
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