Cakes were always a big thing for Epiphany, Twelfth Day, Twelfth Night, or whatever. It might be the fifth of Jan, the sixth of Jan, or really, whenever you fancy. Confused by when to count the first day of Christmas, by whether to celebrate on the eve or the evening of Epiphany, or even by some diehards celebrating Old Christmas Day on the 6th of Jan after calendar reforms, it's best just to throw up your hands and seek refuge in a cake.
Cakes are really the traditional English Twelfth Night food. In some households the person who got a bean in their portion would become the president or captain of the evening's festivities; earlier in wealthy households this took the form of a carnivalesque inversion of authority, a 'Lord of Misrule' who ensured everyone got drunk. Much later, there are stories of mischievous urchins nailing the clothes of those peering in bakers' windows to the wall, as the queuing public stood in static admiration of the cakes on sale.
Whatever the history, here is our first baking recipe for 2010. It's for a kind of bun loaf for which you'll need a tin of around 16cm diameter - we used a circular one with a removable base which worked just fine. The basis for the recipe is a ferment and dough given by Andrew Whitley in Bread Matters, as we mentioned here. The book's well worth looking out, as we've said numerous times before..
Night Before:
On the day:
The baking takes about three and a half hours from start to finish.
First make the ferment in a small bowl:
The dough:
2. Add egg and the ferment. Work into a dough and knead for about 1 minute. You can do this in a mixer with a dough hook.
3. Add butter and knead for 10 mins (by hand) or for 5 mins if you're using a mixer. You should end up with a soft and sticky dough. Wet your hands a bit if you're kneading by hand!
4. Cover with a polythene bag and leave somewhere warm for 1 hour.
5. Drain the fruit from the soaking liquid and pick out the whole spices. Fold the soaked fruit into the dough pretty thoroughly.
6. Line your tin with baking parchment so that it comes over the sides a bit. Drop in the dough (don't be too rough with it), cover it with a polythene bag, and leave somewhere warm to prove for 30 mins.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 180c
8. Brush the top with a bit of beaten egg and bake for 35-45 minutes - check with a skewer to make sure there aren't any squidgy uncooked bits in the middle.
Whatever the history, here is our first baking recipe for 2010. It's for a kind of bun loaf for which you'll need a tin of around 16cm diameter - we used a circular one with a removable base which worked just fine. The basis for the recipe is a ferment and dough given by Andrew Whitley in Bread Matters, as we mentioned here. The book's well worth looking out, as we've said numerous times before..
Night Before:
180g mixed dried fruit: raisins, currants, sultanas - the usual suspectsSoak overnight in 250ml of tea. Strong black tea is fine - we used strong red bush tea.
45g brown sugar
spices: cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice berries, grated lemon zest, whatever you fancy
On the day:
The baking takes about three and a half hours from start to finish.
First make the ferment in a small bowl:
5g sugarMix together well and leave somewhere warm for 1 hour.
5g fresh yeast, or 3g dried yeast
60g milk, warmed slightly
50g wholemeal flour
The dough:
30g sugar1. Mix sugar and flour together.
60g strong white bread flour
50g wholemeal flour
1 egg
120g of the ferment
50g butter
2. Add egg and the ferment. Work into a dough and knead for about 1 minute. You can do this in a mixer with a dough hook.
3. Add butter and knead for 10 mins (by hand) or for 5 mins if you're using a mixer. You should end up with a soft and sticky dough. Wet your hands a bit if you're kneading by hand!
4. Cover with a polythene bag and leave somewhere warm for 1 hour.
5. Drain the fruit from the soaking liquid and pick out the whole spices. Fold the soaked fruit into the dough pretty thoroughly.
6. Line your tin with baking parchment so that it comes over the sides a bit. Drop in the dough (don't be too rough with it), cover it with a polythene bag, and leave somewhere warm to prove for 30 mins.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 180c
8. Brush the top with a bit of beaten egg and bake for 35-45 minutes - check with a skewer to make sure there aren't any squidgy uncooked bits in the middle.
9. Remove it from the tin and the paper and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Here's what it looks when it comes out of the oven:
Here's what it looks when it comes out of the oven:
And it tastes very nice indeed.
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