Nan's Original Christmas Plum Loaf v Mum's Christmas Plum Loaf
This is the original recipe that my Nan used to use for making the plum bread which she always used to make for family members for Christmas. This is very much a family tradition in our family and following tradition the recipe has been passed down the female line ever since.. Nan never had much by way of real cash (although had plenty of fresh ingredients from the garden and she had a very warm heart) and so she used to bake presents for family members. I know she used to make two of these loaves for our family, herself, my uncle and my aunt and her husband. It is very handy to have in the tins in the Pantry/Larder as it is basically a cut and come again loaf and ideal to bring out if you have an unexpected visitor to serve with butter and a nice cup of hot tea.
Later on Nan also used to make for a few years my Christmas cake (laced liberally with whisky) and they were superb. That cake meant so much as she had taken the time and the effort to do something from herself, keep herself occupied and not bored in the winter months when the nights were long and dark and she was on her own.
In later life Nan ended up using a recipe that my uncle's wife used to make which she passed on to my mum. I am going to trial these against each other and see how they come out. If they come out alright I will make some for my brother to see which recipe he prefers. I would mention that the Plum Loaf is very much a custom in our family something that we have grown up with and all love.
I would say however that the loaves do need a sitting time before cutting for the loaf to "give" and settle down. I find that with fruit cakes of any kind. Once completed the Plum Loaf is stored in a tin, first wrapped in greaseproof paper and then overwrapped with foil in the pantry. The colder the pantry the better. My pantry is not really cold and is what I call a "dry" pantry but under the stairs is cooler so my Christmas Cakes, Pudding and the Plum Loaves will be stored under the stairs in the Jam store.
Later on Nan also used to make for a few years my Christmas cake (laced liberally with whisky) and they were superb. That cake meant so much as she had taken the time and the effort to do something from herself, keep herself occupied and not bored in the winter months when the nights were long and dark and she was on her own.
In later life Nan ended up using a recipe that my uncle's wife used to make which she passed on to my mum. I am going to trial these against each other and see how they come out. If they come out alright I will make some for my brother to see which recipe he prefers. I would mention that the Plum Loaf is very much a custom in our family something that we have grown up with and all love.
I would say however that the loaves do need a sitting time before cutting for the loaf to "give" and settle down. I find that with fruit cakes of any kind. Once completed the Plum Loaf is stored in a tin, first wrapped in greaseproof paper and then overwrapped with foil in the pantry. The colder the pantry the better. My pantry is not really cold and is what I call a "dry" pantry but under the stairs is cooler so my Christmas Cakes, Pudding and the Plum Loaves will be stored under the stairs in the Jam store.
The original recipe calls for:
12 oz self raising flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
4 oz butter or dripping
6 oz currants
3 oz sultanas
3 oz stoned raisins
2 oz glace cherries
2 oz chopped candied peel
6 oz sugar
1/2 pint milk
1 oz fresh yeast or 1/2 oz dried yeast
You need a 2lb loaf tin or 2 x 1lb loaf tins. This needs to be greased and I then sprinkle a little of the flour in the base, shake the tin and distribute the flour round the tin.
Sieve the flour, salt and nutmeg into a bowl. Rub in the butter or dripping until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Stir in the currants, sultanas and stoned raisins.
Chop the cherries and stir into the mixture with the peel and the sugar.
Heat the milk to lukewarm and stir in the crumbled fresh yeast or sprinkle on the dried yeast leave until it is frothy and bubbly then pour onto the dried ingredients and beat well.
Pour mixture into tin and cover with a piece of greaseproof paper
Bake at 300 degrees F/150 degrees C or Gas mark 2 for 2 to 2 1/4 hours. After the first hour or so remove the greaseproof top cover.
Turn out on to a cooling rack and leave to cool. Leave for 2 days or so to enable the loaf to give then serve either plain or as I do with butter, a hunk of cheese and an apple. The apple and cheese (we use a strong cheddar or stilton) somehow complement each other.
Mum's recipe for the Christmas Plum Loaf is here:
So we shall see what we shall see; I suspect that mum's version may well be the winner on paper but the original version of Nan's Plum Bread is an old recipe (think it had been passed through the female line over at least a couple of generations on my Nan's side before us. Sadly there are no girls after me to receive the original recipe and the second recipe, but it will be passed on to my two nephews in due course. Both of them love this in any event and it is part of their family tradition.
Recipes like this are to be cherished and shared hence me posting here for you all to have a go if you so wish.
So let the battle of the giants commence. Will pop back with the results once completed.
********Please note that the yeast used within the recipe is not the new style yeast but original fresh yeast or the original dried yeast that you can buy in little metal cans.*******
Catch you soon.
Pattypan
xx
P.S. We love both of them. The original recipe is an old one. I know that my Great Grandmother used to make this which is where my Nan got the original recipe from.
Great.
ReplyDelete