Lardy Cake

Ingredients

Strong white bread flour

500g

Fast action yeast

7g

Salt

1 teaspoon

Caster sugar

100g

Lard

150g, divided

Milk

300ml, warm

Mixed dried fruit

200g

Mixed spice

1 teaspoon

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the strong white bread flour, fast action yeast, salt, and mixed spice, ensuring that the yeast and salt do not touch each other directly.
2. Rub in half of the lard (75g) until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar.
3. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the warm milk. Mix together to form a soft dough, then turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, approximately 30 x 20cm. Dot the top two-thirds of the dough with one-third of the remaining lard (50g), then sprinkle over one-third of the sugar (about 33g) and half of the mixed dried fruit (100g).
5. Fold the dough into thirds, like a business letter, then give it a quarter-turn and roll it out again. Repeat the process, adding the remaining lard (25g) and sugar (33g) along with the rest of the mixed dried fruit (100g) during the second and third folds.
6. After the final fold, place the dough into a greased 900g loaf tin. Cover it with a clean tea towel and leave it to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
7. Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan) or gas mark 5. Bake the loaf for 45 minutes, or until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Allow it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.