A holiday cake, traditionally having something special baked within it – a charm or something. In Scotland it was called Black Bun, although it is not a bun. It is a fruitcake inside a pastry case. As it is densely packed with dried fruit it needs to be cooked early so that it has time to mature/settle - anything from three weeks to 10 days before eating - or it will fall apart; the longer the time the better. It was made for either New Year’s Day, or Twelfth Night, celebrations (January 6th). There is some discussion on whether the container used for baking was a loaf tin or a round cake tin.
It is a two stage process: first making the pastry, and line a container; then make the filling, this is then placed in the lined container, put a pastry lid on, and finally the whole thing is baked.
The recipe is based on a version given in Margaret Costa’s book, Four Seasons Cookery Book.
Ingredients:
Pastry mix
Ingredients:
1 1/2C (240g) Buckwheat flour
1/4tsp salt
125g butter (cubed and cold),
1 large egg, beaten, or 1/4C (62.5ml) iced water
1tsp (5ml) cider vinegar
3tbsp (45ml) iced water
Filling
115g (1/2C plus 1/3C) Buckwheat flour
1/4tsp salt
1/2tsp mixed spice (cloves used, as sensitive to mixed spice mix)
1/2tsp nutmeg
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp ginger
1tsp Jamaica pepper (mace used as sensitive to Jamaica pepper)
115g (4oz) raw cane sugar
900g (32oz) mixed dried fruit (currants and raisins)
115g (4oz) ground almonds
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg (beaten)
2tbsp Pineapple juice
3tbsp Maple syrup
Method:
Pastry
Place the butter in the freezer for 15mins to get really cold.
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt, lifting into the air to aerate the flour.
Take the butter out of the freezer, cut into cubes and toss into the flour mix. You need to work confidently and quickly, with light fingertips, pressing the fat gently together in the flour mix, and lifting the flour to aerate it. The ‘rubbed in’ flour with evenly distributed fat will look crumbly, although as there is a lot of fat it will start to bind together into larger pieces. This is acceptable.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with the cider vinegar and iced water.
Stir the egg mix into the ‘rubbed in’ flour using a flat knife to cut, stir and bring the pastry together. When it looks as if it is all evenly distributed use your hands to bring the pastry together into a ball, cleaning up the bowl as you go along. It will seem impossible at first, looking too dry, but it does come together even if you have to make more than one ball and to it, and combining them. The resultant ball of pastry is sticky, more so than traditional pastry would be.
Knead the ball of pastry for 2-3mins with a little buckwheat flour.
Cut the ball into two portions, (one portion for the loaf tin and the other for the lid), flatten, then cover each portion of pastry with clingfilm and place in a fridge for 1 hr (it makes the pastry less elastic and easier to roll).
On removal from the fridge, knead the pastry a little with the heel of the hand.
Lightly flour the pastry board (worktop, etc), the rolling pin, and on the top of the pastry. Take the larger portion, roll the pastry with light, gentle, even pressure. After each roll turn the pastry a quarter turn until you get the desired size, thickness and shape. Keep adding flour to the pastry board and top of the flour as required, as well as when the pastry starts to stick to the rolling pin. It will seem as if it is getting too dry, it’s OK.
Roll out the other portion, and adding any pastry left over from this first portion, to form the lid, after putting the filling in the base.
Lightly grease loaf tin, line with greaseproof paper (double) and form the pastry into it. It handles as well as traditional pastry with either the hands or rolling pin to move it into place. This takes a little (a lot of) care and patience to do. Get the pastry into the base first, press down to cover base, and then move up the sides, the corners will fold in, cut off and mould to corner. Very little, if any, jigsawing, to cover tears is required. It is quite likely that jigsawing is required at the top of the long sides; just press extra pastry in and seal with finger pressure. Ensure pastry goes to the top of, and covers, the upper edge of the loaf tin.
Filling
Sift the flour and salt with all the dried spices into a bowl.
In another large bowl, mix the raw cane sugar, ground almonds with the mixed dried fruit.
Add the flour mix into the fruit mix bowl and ensure that the fruit is well mixed/covered with the flour mix.
In a small bowl mix the beaten egg, Pineapple juice and Maple syrup.
Stir in the resultant fluid mix to the fruit flour mix and thoroughly combine. It is a relatively dry mix.
Spoon the mixture in the pastry lined loaf tin, and pack down hard with a spoon as you go along. It does all fit in, with a small gap at the top of the loaf tin. Flatten and smooth off the top of the mix with a knife.
Finally cover the filling with a pastry lid, sealing it with finger pressure to the pastry on the top edge of the loaf tin, and then cut three slots with the blade of a knife in the lid. Ensure that the slots are clear of the edges, or the pastry may crack out from these to the edges, especially at the corners.
In a preheated oven, 325F / 170C / Gas Mk 3, bake the Black Bun for 2½ hours, or until the cake is baked (a skewer comes out clean when pushed in through the slots in the pastry top. For the last 1½ hr cover the top of the cake with greaseproof paper to stop it burning (the pastry will be quite brown anyway).
Carefully remove from oven, place on a cooling rack and allow to cool, this will take some time as the tin retains the heat. When cold or cool enough to turn out, carefully turn out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper, with a sheet of foil underneath. Allow the cake to cool completely, then cover with the greaseproof paper, and in turn cover that with the foil to seal, and store the Black Bun in an airtight tin in a cool place.
It is a two stage process: first making the pastry, and line a container; then make the filling, this is then placed in the lined container, put a pastry lid on, and finally the whole thing is baked.
The recipe is based on a version given in Margaret Costa’s book, Four Seasons Cookery Book.
Ingredients:
Pastry mix
Ingredients:
1 1/2C (240g) Buckwheat flour
1/4tsp salt
125g butter (cubed and cold),
1 large egg, beaten, or 1/4C (62.5ml) iced water
1tsp (5ml) cider vinegar
3tbsp (45ml) iced water
Filling
115g (1/2C plus 1/3C) Buckwheat flour
1/4tsp salt
1/2tsp mixed spice (cloves used, as sensitive to mixed spice mix)
1/2tsp nutmeg
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp ginger
1tsp Jamaica pepper (mace used as sensitive to Jamaica pepper)
115g (4oz) raw cane sugar
900g (32oz) mixed dried fruit (currants and raisins)
115g (4oz) ground almonds
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg (beaten)
2tbsp Pineapple juice
3tbsp Maple syrup
Method:
Pastry
Place the butter in the freezer for 15mins to get really cold.
In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt, lifting into the air to aerate the flour.
Take the butter out of the freezer, cut into cubes and toss into the flour mix. You need to work confidently and quickly, with light fingertips, pressing the fat gently together in the flour mix, and lifting the flour to aerate it. The ‘rubbed in’ flour with evenly distributed fat will look crumbly, although as there is a lot of fat it will start to bind together into larger pieces. This is acceptable.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with the cider vinegar and iced water.
Stir the egg mix into the ‘rubbed in’ flour using a flat knife to cut, stir and bring the pastry together. When it looks as if it is all evenly distributed use your hands to bring the pastry together into a ball, cleaning up the bowl as you go along. It will seem impossible at first, looking too dry, but it does come together even if you have to make more than one ball and to it, and combining them. The resultant ball of pastry is sticky, more so than traditional pastry would be.
Knead the ball of pastry for 2-3mins with a little buckwheat flour.
Cut the ball into two portions, (one portion for the loaf tin and the other for the lid), flatten, then cover each portion of pastry with clingfilm and place in a fridge for 1 hr (it makes the pastry less elastic and easier to roll).
On removal from the fridge, knead the pastry a little with the heel of the hand.
Lightly flour the pastry board (worktop, etc), the rolling pin, and on the top of the pastry. Take the larger portion, roll the pastry with light, gentle, even pressure. After each roll turn the pastry a quarter turn until you get the desired size, thickness and shape. Keep adding flour to the pastry board and top of the flour as required, as well as when the pastry starts to stick to the rolling pin. It will seem as if it is getting too dry, it’s OK.
Roll out the other portion, and adding any pastry left over from this first portion, to form the lid, after putting the filling in the base.
Lightly grease loaf tin, line with greaseproof paper (double) and form the pastry into it. It handles as well as traditional pastry with either the hands or rolling pin to move it into place. This takes a little (a lot of) care and patience to do. Get the pastry into the base first, press down to cover base, and then move up the sides, the corners will fold in, cut off and mould to corner. Very little, if any, jigsawing, to cover tears is required. It is quite likely that jigsawing is required at the top of the long sides; just press extra pastry in and seal with finger pressure. Ensure pastry goes to the top of, and covers, the upper edge of the loaf tin.
Filling
Sift the flour and salt with all the dried spices into a bowl.
In another large bowl, mix the raw cane sugar, ground almonds with the mixed dried fruit.
Add the flour mix into the fruit mix bowl and ensure that the fruit is well mixed/covered with the flour mix.
In a small bowl mix the beaten egg, Pineapple juice and Maple syrup.
Stir in the resultant fluid mix to the fruit flour mix and thoroughly combine. It is a relatively dry mix.
Spoon the mixture in the pastry lined loaf tin, and pack down hard with a spoon as you go along. It does all fit in, with a small gap at the top of the loaf tin. Flatten and smooth off the top of the mix with a knife.
Finally cover the filling with a pastry lid, sealing it with finger pressure to the pastry on the top edge of the loaf tin, and then cut three slots with the blade of a knife in the lid. Ensure that the slots are clear of the edges, or the pastry may crack out from these to the edges, especially at the corners.
In a preheated oven, 325F / 170C / Gas Mk 3, bake the Black Bun for 2½ hours, or until the cake is baked (a skewer comes out clean when pushed in through the slots in the pastry top. For the last 1½ hr cover the top of the cake with greaseproof paper to stop it burning (the pastry will be quite brown anyway).
Carefully remove from oven, place on a cooling rack and allow to cool, this will take some time as the tin retains the heat. When cold or cool enough to turn out, carefully turn out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper, with a sheet of foil underneath. Allow the cake to cool completely, then cover with the greaseproof paper, and in turn cover that with the foil to seal, and store the Black Bun in an airtight tin in a cool place.
