Preddy's Lardy Cake
Lardy cakes are Wiltshire celebrities: spiced bread dough layered with currants, sugar and lard. As the dough bakes in the oven, the sugar and lard drip down to create a sticky pool at the bottom of the pan which, when turned out, hardens into a delicious toffee crackling.
I have named my recipe after the bakery that inspired so much of my own baking: Preddy's. Mrs Preddy's lardy cakes were renowned far and wide: US and Canadian servicemen in the war, stationed in my village, would even come to buy a few to take home, and Mrs Preddy received many airmail letters from America praising her lardy cakes. She was interviewed once for BBC's Down Your Way, a radio series which visited towns and villages across the UK to speak to local residents. Her daughter, Wendy, kindly invited me in one day and played the recorded broadcast to me. I listened intently, through the crackles of the decades, to Mrs Preddy as she described how to make lardy cake, instructions which I have sought to follow here. Her guidance focused on method rather than quantities, so I have experimented and come up with my own version of lardy cake here. Shop-bought lardies bear little resemblance to the traditional bake: too thin, pale and lamentably lacking that toffee crackling. This, here, is the real deal.
I use fresh yeast, for authenticity and flavour. Local, traditional bakeries often have yeast for sale, if you ask. It's very cheap to buy and you should aim to use it as soon as possible following purchase.
Makes two medium lardy cakes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
1. To make the traditional bread dough, mix the fresh yeast with 1 teaspoon caster sugar until runny.
Lardy cakes are Wiltshire celebrities: spiced bread dough layered with currants, sugar and lard. As the dough bakes in the oven, the sugar and lard drip down to create a sticky pool at the bottom of the pan which, when turned out, hardens into a delicious toffee crackling.
I have named my recipe after the bakery that inspired so much of my own baking: Preddy's. Mrs Preddy's lardy cakes were renowned far and wide: US and Canadian servicemen in the war, stationed in my village, would even come to buy a few to take home, and Mrs Preddy received many airmail letters from America praising her lardy cakes. She was interviewed once for BBC's Down Your Way, a radio series which visited towns and villages across the UK to speak to local residents. Her daughter, Wendy, kindly invited me in one day and played the recorded broadcast to me. I listened intently, through the crackles of the decades, to Mrs Preddy as she described how to make lardy cake, instructions which I have sought to follow here. Her guidance focused on method rather than quantities, so I have experimented and come up with my own version of lardy cake here. Shop-bought lardies bear little resemblance to the traditional bake: too thin, pale and lamentably lacking that toffee crackling. This, here, is the real deal.
I use fresh yeast, for authenticity and flavour. Local, traditional bakeries often have yeast for sale, if you ask. It's very cheap to buy and you should aim to use it as soon as possible following purchase.
Makes two medium lardy cakes
Ingredients
- 30g fresh yeast
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 310-320ml just-warm water (approx. quantity - the exact amount depends on the batch of flour)
- 500g strong plain flour
- 1 level teaspoon salt
- 220g lard
- 240g currants
- 300g granulated sugar
- 6 teaspoons mixed spice
- Extra lard for greasing
- 6 teaspoons caster sugar, for dusting the tins (3 teaspoons per tin)
Equipment
- Two deep Victoria sandwich tins, greased fairly liberally with lard
- Stand mixer
Method
1. To make the traditional bread dough, mix the fresh yeast with 1 teaspoon caster sugar until runny.
2. Add the just-warm water (not hot, or it will kill the yeast) to the yeast mixture and stir. Leave for about 4 minutes for it to react - you'll notice a 'bloom' or bubbles on the surface.
3. Put the flour and salt in the large bowl of a stand mixer and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture into the centre and then mix in the stand mixer for a few minutes until it's mostly come together. Stop the mixer and check whether or not it needs more water. If it's looking a little dry (it will depend on the batch of flour), add a very small amount of water (see third picture below). Add any further amount very gradually, mixing between additions to see if you have added sufficient to bring it together. Once you've got a good consistency, knead using the dough hook on the stand mixer for 5 minutes at medium speed. You are looking for smooth and elastic dough (fourth picture below).
4. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
5. Once risen, knock the dough back (knock the air out of it by hand) and knead for a further 5 minutes by hand.
6. Divide the dough into two equal parts. On a lightly floured surface, hand stretch and roll each piece into a rectangle about 1cm thick (it won't be a precise shape as the elastic dough will want to spring back once stretched, so don't worry). Aim to spread about 35g of lard over the top two thirds of each rectangle (leave the bottom third naked). On each rectangle, sprinkle with about 50g granulated sugar, about 40g currants, and 1 teaspoon mixed spice. Essentially you are dividing the filling mixture (lard, currants, granulated sugar, mixed spice) by six. You may wish to divide the mixture up precisely beforehand or, as a compromise, divide the total fillings by two in advance, so you know how much to use for each lardy (110g lard, 120g currants, 150g granulated sugar, 3 teaspoons mixed spice).
6. Divide the dough into two equal parts. On a lightly floured surface, hand stretch and roll each piece into a rectangle about 1cm thick (it won't be a precise shape as the elastic dough will want to spring back once stretched, so don't worry). Aim to spread about 35g of lard over the top two thirds of each rectangle (leave the bottom third naked). On each rectangle, sprinkle with about 50g granulated sugar, about 40g currants, and 1 teaspoon mixed spice. Essentially you are dividing the filling mixture (lard, currants, granulated sugar, mixed spice) by six. You may wish to divide the mixture up precisely beforehand or, as a compromise, divide the total fillings by two in advance, so you know how much to use for each lardy (110g lard, 120g currants, 150g granulated sugar, 3 teaspoons mixed spice).
7. Bring up the bottom (naked) third to the middle of the filled section, and then bring the top third down to the bottom edge. Tuck in the edges to secure the filling and then turn the dough 90 degrees and roll out the dough into another rectangle. Repeat the process again (three lots of fillings in total).
8. Prepare the tins by greasing them fairly liberally with lard and sprinkling three teaspoons of caster sugar into the base of each tin - aim to coat the base evenly. After folding the dough for the third time, use a rolling pin to roll it into a thick circle. Don't worry if it's not precise: place it smoothest side down into the prepared tin and press the dough into a more precise circle, aiming for an even depth throughout. Score the tops of each lardy using a knife and a diamond pattern. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for about 20-30 minutes until visibly risen (exact time will depend on the temperature of your room). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C (fan).
9. Bake at 200°C (fan) for about 1 hour. Halfway through the bake, turn the oven down to 170°C (fan). Turn the lardy cakes out onto a cooling tray placed over a baking tray, to catch the drips. Drizzle over the cakes any sugary lard remaining in the base of the tin. The tops should set hard, with a toffee-like crust. Serve fresh and, preferably, still warm or warmed through.