Recipes on this page
are taken from Tin
Can Cook by Jack
Monroe, out now.
Published by
Bluebird (£6.99).CAKE HEAVENWWW.FOODHEAVENMAG.COM NOVEMBER baking heaven 31
Fruit cocktail cake
SERVES 6-8
250g (9oz) butter, plus extra to
grease the cake tin
200g (7oz) caster or granulated
sugar
3 free-range eggs
200g (7oz) tin of fruit cocktail, drained
200g (7oz) self-raising flour
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark
4 and lightly grease a 20cm (8in) round
or square cake tin.
2 Beat the butter and sugar together in
a mixing bowl with a fork or wooden
Piña colada bread
MAKES 1 ENORMOUS LOAF
2 tsp dried active yeast
1 x approx 400g (14oz) tin of
pineapple chunks, drained (retain
the juice for another time)
500ml (18fl oz) coconut milk (or
1 x 400g (14oz) tin of coconut
milk plus 100ml (3½fl oz) water)
750g (1lb 7oz) self-raising flour, plus
extra for dusting
butter or oil, for greasing
1 First, activate your yeast; give it a lit tle
warm bath to encourage it into life. Don’t
make it too hot, though; the optimum
temperature is somewhere around
40°C/104°F, or just comfortably warm.
Too hot and you’ll kill off the yeast, which
means your bread will sulk and refuse to
rise. So pop it into a small cup with 50ml
(2fl oz) warm water, and leave it for a few
minutes, to start to bubble and grow.
2 In the meantime, blitz the pineapple
chunks and coconut milk in a blender.
This step is not strictly essential; if you
don’t have a blender you can use the
pineapple chunks whole, which makes
for a different result, but still a deliciously
pleasant one. However you use it, tip the
coconut milk and pineapple into a large
mixing bowl. Add half the flour and the
warm yeast mixture, then mix swiftly,
but firmly, to form a batter.
spoon until well combined. Break in
the eggs and mix together, beating
until smooth.
3 Add the fruit cocktail to the mixing
bowl and stir through quickly. Add the
flour and mix well to combine into a
soft, sweet batter.
4 Pour the batter into the tin and bake in
the centre of the oven for around
45 minutes – depending on the size of
your tin. A shallow tin will cook faster,
whereas a deeper tin will take its time.
5 To check if it is cooked through, inser t
a sharp knife into the centre of the cake.
If the knife comes out clean, the cake is
ready. Allow to cool in the tin forCAKE HEAVENWWW.FOODHEAVENMAG.COM
3 Gradually incorporate the remaining
flour into the mixture, a large heaped
spoonful at a time, until a dough is
formed. I have made many loaves of
bread over the years and have found that
a non-serrated butter knife is the best
implement to bring a dough together, as
it doesn’t stick awkwardly to any edges.
If you don’t have one, the well-oiled
handle of a clean wooden spoon works
just as well. It will feel a little odd at first,
but it works!
4 When you have a soft, squashy dough,
heavily flour your worktop and tip the
dough carefully onto it. Knead it for
around 5 minutes, pushing it away from
you with the palm of your hand, then
folding it in half, giving it a quarter turn,
and repeating, getting faster as you gain
a little confidence with it. You should feel
a change in the texture of the dough as
you knead it; it will become springy and
slightly buoyant to touch – this is when
you need to stop and leave it alone!
Scoop it back into the mixing bowl and
cover with clingfilm or a loosely plonked
plastic bag, with the handles tucked
beneath the bowl so no air can escape
and dry out the dough.
5 Leave it to rise for 2 hours in a warm
place, or 3 hours in a not-so-warm one. If
your kitchen is generally cold, wrap the
base of the bowl in a thick towel to
snuggle it and get it going.
6 When risen, the dough should bedoubled in size. Shape it into a round or a
log, pop it onto a greased baking tray or
into a large, greased cake tin (I like to use
a 1-litre bundt tin or 900g (2lb) loaf tin).
Leave it for another hour to prove – that’s
a second rise.
7 Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark
3 about 10 minutes before the proving
hour is up, and make sure there is a shelf
positioned just below the middle of
the oven.
8 Pop the bread in the oven for 1 hour,
until risen and golden. Remove from the
tray or tip out of the tin and allow to cool
on a wire rack. Enjoy warm, or cool. Store
any leftovers in an airtight bag or
container for up to 3 days, or in the
freezer, in slices, for up to 6 months.10 minutes before turning out and
slicing. Enjoy hot or cold. Leftovers
freeze well for up to 3 months, wrapped
in foil or popped in a freezer bag.