I made meatloaf last week and it looked like fruitcake… Yesterday I made fruitcake and it looked like meatloaf! Go figure!
Despite it looking like meatloaf this was an excellent 1940s recipe… moist and tasty and comforting and more-ish! Didn’t taste like meatloaf at all, just tasted like Autumn with a bit of Christmas thrown in for good measure!
It was a HIT with all the family.. I did eat 4 slices yesterday and two today and yesterday it fed the girls and one visitor for dinner and still enough for their dessert today…. I think the 1940s family would have made sure it lasted a little longer!
Eggless Fruit Cake
- 10 oz self raising flour (or plain flour with 3 teaspoons of baking powder added)
- 1 teaspoon of mixed/all spice
- 1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- pinch salt
- 1/2 pint of well strained tea
- 3 oz margarine
- 3 oz sugar
- 3 oz dried fruit
Grease and flour a 7 inch cake tin or a large loaf tin
Sift the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and spice together into a bowl
Pour the tea into a saucepan and add the sugar, margarine and dried fruit
Heat until the fat and sugar melt and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring
Set aside to cool a little
Pour over flour mixture and beat well and spoon into cake tin
Bake in the centre of oven at 180 C for about an hour
Remove and leave to cool for a while before removing from tin
The texture of mine was rather like a tea bread… totally lovely by itself or served sliced and buttered if you wish