It’s Cut and Come Again Cake

 Cut and Come Again Cake

I’ve been asked so many times if Grandma had a recipe for this popular traditional cake. She classed this as a ‘useful’ light fruit cake and made it often but sadly it wasn’t written down in her collection. So, I was over the moon when Sheila gave me her family recipe :

Cut and Come Again Cake

6oz/175g butter

12oz/340g self raising flour

1 tsp mixed spice

4oz/110g soft brown sugar

8oz/225g mixed dried fruit (sultanas, currants, raisins, mixed peel, cherries)

3 eggs (beaten)

3 tbsps milk

Grease and line an 8 inch/21 cms cake tin with baking paper. Rub the butter into the flour until it’s like breadcrumbs.  Add the mixed spice, sugar and mixed dried fruit.  Add the beaten eggs gradually and then the milk until well mixed. Turn the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Bake in the centre of a preheated oven 180C/350F/Mark 4 for about 1¼ hours. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.

Grandma’s baking tip : This is one of those to test with a cake tester or thin cake skewer to see if the mixture has cooked. Stick it in the centre of the cake and if there is no mixture on it when the tester is taken out, the cake is cooked. If there are traces remaining on the cake tester, then it needs further baking time.

Meryl's tip : I made this in a round cake tin as Sheila suggests but you can make it in a loaf tin and dust with icing sugar if you wish.

This cake is just right with an afternoon pot of tea. I reckon you’ll be cutting and coming back for more with this cake. Let me know what you think!