Lincolnshire Plum Loaf looks to its past

Lincolnshire Plum Loaf

There’s some confusion about ‘plums’ and ‘plumbs’. A ‘Lincolnshire lass’ (as she proudly described herself) gave me this recipe a few months ago. She asked me to share her Gran’s ‘Plumb Loaf’ as it was a treasured family recipe. She wasn’t sure why she had written ‘Plumb’ so we laughed when I said ‘plumb’ usually referred to lead weight whereas ‘plum’ was a traditional term for any type of dried fruit. However, she may have the last laugh as I found Elizabeth Raffald's recipe for ‘Plumb Loaf’ and ‘White Plumb Loaf’ when researching this Doncaster born cook. 

Elizabeth Raffald's Plumb Cake 

The recipes are similar but the quantities are much greater especially when it comes to eggs! 

Here’s what you need ...

Lincolnshire Plumb Loaf

2 cups/8oz/225g self raising flour

½ cup/2oz/50g butter

1 cup/4oz/110g sugar

2 cups/8oz/225g mixed fruit

2oz/50g ground almonds

2oz/50g glace cherries

1 egg (beaten)

a little milk

How to bake it ….

Preheat the oven 180C/350F/Gas 4 to Rub the butter into the flour well, add the mixed fruit, ground almonds and cherries with the sugar. Then add the egg and milk. The mixture needs to be stiff so don’t add too much milk. Put into a lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes approximately.

Meryl says : When checking up on ‘plums’ and ‘plumbs’ I discovered that ‘plumming’ was a term used in Victorian times to describe dried fruit as it expands. That’s why the Victorians called Christmas pudding ‘Plum Pudding’. Why not try my Great Aunt Emma’s Plum Pudding recipe.