Vinegar Loaf

Before you click off and go look at something else, give me a second to explain and trust me on this one.

Recently I was given a cake from the OH Grandma who from what I can gather and from the evidence of this particular cake is an excellent baker of the traditional sense. The cake was a vinegar cake, sounds appetising doesn't it? However what the cake is in fact is a fruit loaf. The vinegar refers to the raising agent inside the cake which is an old war time standard when eggs were sparse and something was required to provide volume and make the cake rise. The vinegar reacts with the warm milk and soda causing the reaction needed to make the cake rise and trust me you cannot taste the vinegar at all.

I am entering this cake into this months AlphaBakes blogger challenge, hosted by Ros from The more than occasional baker (this months host) and Caroline from Caroline Makes, in which the main ingredient, technique or name of the bake must begin with that months chosen letter which this month is V.

Recipe courtesy of the OH's Grandma
Ingredients
1lb Plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed spice
3oz lard
3oz butter
8oz caster sugar
1 lb mixed dried fruit
2 tsp bicarb
1/2 pint warm milk
2 tbsp malt vinegar

Method
Mix the flour with the spice and salt and then rub in the fats.
stir in the sugar and dried fruit
In a separate bowl add the bicarb and pour over the milk and then add the vinegar, watch it fluff up.
Stir in the dry ingredients until well combined.

Add to a lined and greased loaf tin of your choice, I decided to use 4 little ones.

Bake in a preheated oven at 160C(Fan) for about 40 minutes and a skewer comes out clean.
Serve with a brew

Verdict
Soft, moist, sweet with little tiny kicks of spice, all in all a bloody good and easy to make cake with no vinegar taste before you ask.