Makes a (2lb) 8½ × 4½ inch loaf
This is the unsung hero of our cake counter. It is plain-looking compared to the others, and none of the ingredients has the sex appeal of chocolate, say, or fresh fruit, but if you eat it toasted with butter and whole orange marmalade (here), as we serve it, you will understand its popularity. Every so often we get a call asking us to reserve a whole loaf. We know who it is for: a friendly group of pensioners from a village in Devon (quite a posh village, I suspect) who had it once on a visit to London. Now, whenever one of them is in town, they pick up a loaf and a jar of marmalade for the rest of the group. We love the thought of slices of our cake being passed around from house to house, like contraband, in a quaint village halfway across the land.
We got a lot of grief for not including this in our previous book, so here it is now, humble and glorious. The secret to its success is the use of candied orange peel. You can either candy it yourself (here) or, if you can’t be bothered, use the best quality you can buy. Alternatively, just come to us before noon for a freshly toasted slice of this loaf; we promise always to have it on our menu.
120g/ml whole milk
120g honey
40g unsalted butter
75g granulated sugar
75g light brown sugar
230g self-rising flour (or 230g all-purpose flour plus 2¼ tsp baking powder)
4 tsp sweet spice mix (here)
½ tsp table salt
75g walnuts, roughly chopped
75g dried figs, each cut in 4 pieces
75g candied orange peel (here or shop-bought), cut in strips
1 egg
30g demerara sugar to sprinkle
Preheat the oven to 350°F/325°F convection. Butter an 8½ × 4½ inch loaf tin and line with a sheet of baking parchment to cover the base and long sides, allowing a little overhang so that this can be used to help lift the loaf out later.
Warm the milk, honey, butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar together in a large saucepan until the sugars have dissolved and the mixture is just starting to boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour, spice and salt. Mix in the walnuts, quartered figs and candied orange peel, then add the egg and combine thoroughly before transferring the batter to the lined tin. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the demerara sugar.
Bake in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, then turn the tin around for an even bake and leave for another 30 minutes. At this stage it should still be a little soft to the touch, but stable and with a lovely thick crust. You can’t really test this cake with a toothpick as it contains so much fruit, but if you push down a little with the tip of your finger in the center and it doesn’t sink, remove from the oven. If you feel there is still quite a bit of softness there, bake for another 10 minutes, but do take it out after that. Allow to cool in the tin.
This is lovely just as it is, but at Honey & Co we serve thick slices with salty butter and orange marmalade. It keeps well for a couple of weeks in an airtight container and, once you think it is losing its luster, simply toast it.