Easy Lardy Cake

9 standard portions

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Ingredients

• 500 g Strong White Bread Flour
• 7 g Fast Action Dried Yeast (1 standard sachet)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 200 ml Whole Milk (lukewarm)
• 140 g Lard (melted (plus a bit extra for brushing the dough))
• 2 Eggs
• 4 tbsp Caster Sugar
• 300 g Dried Fruit
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tbsp Demerara Sugar
• 1 tsp Icing Sugar (optional)

Method

1. Place the flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer (or mixing bowl if you are kneading the dough by hand).
2. Whisk together the lukewarm milk and melted lard (which has cooled a little) in a jug, then beat in the eggs and half (2 tbsp) of the caster sugar. Pour the mixture into the flour and knead with a dough hook attachment for eight minutes (or 12 minutes by hand).
3. Place the soft dough in a clean bowl and cover with clingfilm. Put the bowl in a warm place and leave to prove for two hours.
4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a size of 40cm x 20cm.
5. Brush the top of the dough with a little more melted lard (1 tbsp) then sprinkle over the dried fruit, cinnamon and remaining caster sugar.
6. Roll the dough up tightly so you form a long sausage roll and cut into 9 equal slices. Place the slices in a greased 23cm round cake tin (I use a springform tin).
7. Cover the tin with clingfilm and prove for a further 1 hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 200°c (180 fan) and brush the top of the rolls with more melted lard and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Allow the cake to cool a little before running a palette knife around the edge of the tin. Turn (or release if using a springform tin) the cake out and dust with icing sugar.