Lardy Cake Recipe Paired With H&H 10 Year-Old Malvasia In The Spectator

In a spectator newsletter sent out to members and subscribers, Drinks Editor Johnny Ray chose Henriques & Henriques ten-year-old Malvasia Madeira as the perfect wine match to a lardy cake.

He says, “Nothing beats a fine, mid-morning glass of madeira except a fine mid-morning glass of Madeira alongside Olivia’s soft, spicy, currant-laden lardy cake. Rich, nutty and honeyed, this glorious tipple enhances rather than overwhelms the cake. I’d be surprised if you stuck to just one glass and just one slice.”

For the dough

1 tbsp caster sugar

300g strong white bread flour

30g lard 10g instant yeast

½ tsp salt

200ml whole milk

For the filling and glaze

100g soft light brown sugar

1 tsp mixed spice

100g lard

150g currants

2 tbsp honey, or 3 tbsp marmalade to glaze

1. Place the flour in a large bowl or base of a stand mixer. Rub the 30g lard into the flour until it disappears. Add the yeast, sugar, salt and milk, and knead using a dough hook for 10 minutes, or 15 minutes by hand. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
2. Meanwhile, grease an 8in cake tin with a removable bottom, and line the base of the tin with a disc of greaseproof paper.
3. For the filling, stir together the sugar and spice. Roll out the proved dough into a rough rectangle about half a centimetre thick. Dot with a third of the lard, a third of the spiced sugar mix, and a third of the currants. Press the currants gently into the dough. Fold the top third into the centre of the dough, and the bottom third on top of that. Turn the dough a quarter turn, roll out, and repeat twice more.
4. Roll out the dough once more into a slim rectangle about 50cm long. Roll the rectangle up from the long edge, and then wind the whole thing round in on itself like a snail. Lift up the spiral and place into the prepared cake tin. Cover with a tea towel, and leave in a warm place to prove for an hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 45 minutes until the dough is puffed, proud and dark gold.
6. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then remove the cake from the tin on to a cooling rack. Heat the honey or marmalade (sieved to remove rind) in a pan until warm, and then brush generously on to the top of the cake. Leave to cool completely.

Source: Spectator