So, I have every Friday off of uni at the moment so I have been going back into the last school I taught at, and working with Year 3 so that I don't go mad with boredom! I have now started a bit of a tradition at school that every Friday I will bring in some form of home baked goods as a 'pick me up' for the staff. I was searching for an idea the other day of something that I could bake that would be quick to make and popular to eat as well as easy to transport it into school on the bus! Then I remembered that Andy's mum is known for her cherry loaf and is asked to make one every Christmas for his sister, instead of Christmas cake. So, we rang her up and I got the recipe!!
***
Ingredients(Fits a 2lb Loaf Tin)
9oz Self Raising Flour
3 Eggs (beaten)
6oz Sugar
6oz Butter
6oz Cherries (floured)
3tbsp Milk
1tsp Vanilla essence
1. Preheat the oven to 16odegreesC. Grease your loaf tin/line it with a paper case if you have a metal tin. (I have a silicone one, so my cakes easily pop out.)
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until soft and smooth.
3. Add the beaten egg and vanilla and mix until all the ingredients are combined.
4. Sift in the flour and stir all of the ingredients.
5. Chop the cherries in half (or keep them whole/chop them smaller if you like) and lightly dust them in some flour. This helps the cherries go through the mixture without them all grouping together and sinking to the bottom. Add them to the cake mix and make sure they are spread fairly evenly.
6. Spoon in the milk to make the mixture softer and lighter. If the mixture looks too dry, add a little more, but do not make it too sloppy. Pour into the loaf tin. Spread and flatten with the back of a spoon.
7. Place in the oven and bake for 45mins or until the cake is golden. A good way to test if it is ready is to get a sharp, clean knife and stab the cake in the middle. If it comes out clean, it is ready, if not just place it back in the oven and use your best judgement to see how much longer it will need.
***
This cake really went down a treat at school! It had all gone by 11.30 which is always a good sign (I'm really sorry Mrs Dawson that you didn't get a slice...I am planning something just for you next week!!) It was super light and fluffy, despite it not having risen very much (perhaps over stirred the mixture). It was perfectly golden on the outside and went down lovely with a cuppa. Nothing particularly luxurious, but always great to have the ingredients in the cupboard for days when you fancy something sweet that isn't chocolate, or sickly! Next time, I think I might have a go at adding some dessicated coconut to it, just for an extra little kick!
Bon Appetit!!
I'm going to try a vegan-ize this recipe, but for it to be truly festive I'll have to add some alcohol, maybe some cherry brandy or amaretto! Don't you think that would be lovely?
ReplyDeletep.s You could make this even easier by sticking it in your bread maker
Love Shuzzy x x
Ooo definitely add a bit of amaretto!! That would be lovely. Very festive indeed ;-) How can you vegan-ize this recipe? What do you use instead of eggs and milk?
ReplyDeleteI'm not brave enough with the bread maker to make cakes in it :-( Do you just mix it in there, or cook it as well?
Let me know how it goes when you do try it :-)
Love you xxx