Andrew Matthews-Owen's Stella's Bara Brith

My late mother, Stella, used to make this delicious boiled cake every other week.

I would come home from school, make a cup of tea and have a slice whilst contemplating how much practice I hadn’t done for my grade exams...

Rhiannon Hoddinott, widow of the great Welsh composer Alun, suggested to me the other day to butter a slice and pop a sliver of strong cheddar on top for “Elevenses”. Plain, buttered or cheesed, this Welsh classic is a joy, and boy do we need as much of that as possible at the moment.

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Recipe:

1 cup currants

1 cup sultanas

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup water

2 cups self-raising flour

2 eggs

3 oz butter

2 0z raisins

2 oz cherries

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons of sherry

Put all ingredients EXCEPT THE FLOUR AND EGGS in a saucepan and being to the boil.Simmer for five minutes. Allow mixture to completely cool then add in the eggs, flour.

Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.Pre-heat oven to 140 and cook for about 1 and a half hours . Test with skewer.

Remove from oven and drizzle with honey whilst still warm. Allow to cool in the tin. Slice fairly thickly and serve with butter and/ or cheese, or just as it is!

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