Railway Cake
Our mum Bridie wasn’t the best of cooks.
Maybe it was having to cook for seven of us every day ? But I tend to think she just couldn’t be arsed.
We’ve often joked about leaving a plate of her signature ‘instant potato, fried corned beef and pickled beetroot’ on her grave on mothers day. Or possibly a Frey Bentos steak and kidney pie with grated carrot followed by tinned peaches and evaporated milk ?
Very occasionally she would feel the urge to bake and we would all be delighted with an apple pie, some scones and a sort of currant loaf. It was all great when it was straight out of the oven but everything turned rock hard the next day. Some Irish curse perhaps ?
I was leafing through a Rachel Allen cookery book and came across ‘Railway Cake’ or ‘Spotted Dog’ and recognised that very same currant loaf.
I’m not sure why it was called ‘Railway Cake’. It’s basically an Irish soda bread with a handful of dried fruit thrown in. It was probably a bit of a treat - currants, sugar and eggs were luxuries. Here it is:
Railway Cake
450g plain flour
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
110g sultanas, raisins, currants
1 egg
375 ml buttermilk or soured milk
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Sift flour, bicarb and salt into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and dried fruit, making a well in the middle.
Beat egg and buttermilk together and pour most of it in. (You might need less liquid than this so use your judgement....it’s supposed to be a sticky mix).
Bring the flour and liquid together. It doesn’t really need kneading. It should be softish, but not too wet.
Turn onto a floured board and bring together into a round, about 5cm high.
Cut a deep cross, dust with flour and bake on a greased tray for 10mins at 220C, then reduce to 200C for another 30 mins.
You can use the mix to make scones - cut 3 cm deep and bake 15mins at 230C.
It’s delicious with loads of butter warm, or toasted for breakfast the next day.
My friend Cathy might have it with pate. But you don’t have to go there.
