PITCHY CAKE

“Take some dough of bread, after it has risen”, so starts the recipe for this old Cornish cake. I love yeast cookery, so this is right up my street!

“and work in [i.e. “pitch” in] some goodness [fat]. currants and sugar. Let it rise again for a short time and bake”

That’s it. No quantities or method, of course, but by this time I am used to that! I just use my Cornish common sense and it has not let me down yet!

I made my bread as usual [1lb flour] and after the first rise, spilt it in two - one half for the Pitchy Cake and the other for a small loaf. I generally use Paul Hollywood’s basic White Loaf recipe for day to day use and find it easy and reliable. I am also very lucky to own a KitchenAid that does all my kneading for me.

Knocking back the bread, after that first rise, I flattened it as best I could, then dotted over about a good ounce or more of softened butter. Sprinkled over a large tablespoon of caster sugar and then currants to cover, probably a couple of ounces. [see photo on Blog]

I brought the ends to the middle and turned it over, making sure all the currants were sealed inside, then gave a light knead to distribute the filling, then smooth it out into a circle and placed it in a lightly oiled 6” cake tin for the second rise.

My fan oven is turned to 210 C for the bread and I presume I bake it alongside that.

I always brush the top of my loaves with cold water and dust with flour before placing it in the oven so went ahead and did that too, with a dish of cold water in the bottom of the oven to create a steamy atmosphere, then put the timer on for 30 mins as usual.

As I type, I am awaiting the result! 

Well, what do I say…. my husband popped back for lunch and ate ¾ of the cake….. [he has a dreadful sweet tooth]. Nuff said!! I will be making this regularly from now on. Why did it die out?

I think I will try it again soon, trying light brown sugar. Cannot see why not. But caster is good.