- NFMK
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.
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!