In the week I was shopping with my son and he asked for a malt loaf, one of those fruity, sticky loaves wrapped up in a packet, the same brand as my mother used to buy when I was young. When we arrived home, both of us were looking forward to our little treat with a cup of tea, but boy, were we disappointed. Not with the loaf itself which was how I remembered it: still sticky, still difficult to slice without squashing and still delicious with thick smears of butter. But the size! It was so small I could have just put butter on the top and eaten it whole.
Needless to say I decided to make my own and the result was so delicious I would like to share it with you lovely lot. Like most fruit cakes it would probably be even better wrapped and stored or a few days before eating but I can’t see that happening if I’m perfectly honest.
It may be difficult to find malt extract and molasses in a supermarket but they should be readily available in health food shops. If you can’t find molasses, black treacle will be fine.
- 150g Malt Extract plus a little extra for finishing
- 30g Molasses
- 100g Dark Muscovado Sugar
- 150ml Hot Black Tea
- 100g Sultanas
- 100g Raisins
- 100g Soft Dried Prunes, chopped
- 2 Eggs
- 250g Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- Preheat oven to 160C.
- Put the malt extract, molasses and sugar into a medium saucepan and cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour in the hot tea and the dried fruit and mix. Take off the heat and leave for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the eggs.
- Mix the baking powder and and bicarb with the flour then tip into the fruit mixture and beat in until combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour.
- Remove from the oven. Brush the top with a little more malt extract. When cool enough to handle remove from the tin and leave to cool completely before slicing.
- There is probably no need to say serve sliced with thick butter!
