Are you a Grantchester fan? Grantchester, now in its 9th season on Masterpiece Mystery! - PBS, is a British Mystery Series. If you've been watching Season 9, you may have been baffled by Mrs. C's mention of selling Lardy Cakes for the Church fundraiser in Episode 4. Lardy Cakes are not common on this side of the Pond. I had heard of them because they were a bake on the Great British Bake-Off one season, but I've never made them. So I did some digging.
Lardy Cakes date back to mid-nineteenthcentury England and, simply put, lard is used instead of butter to enrich a white dough. The dough is sweetened, spiced, and filled with dried fruit, then rolled out and dotted with lard. Next, it’s folded or rolled so that while baking, it forms distinct, flaky layers. Once you know lard actually has less saturated fat than butter, you realize this cake just has a branding problem!
According to the Great British Bake-Off, where I first heard of Lardy Cakes, the Lardy Cake bake is a cross between a Danish pastry and a bread. As mentioned above, it combines sugar, lard, butter, and fruit, and it's a British Classic.
So maybe you want to make a Lardy Cake to accompany your viewing of the next episodes of Grantchester? Here's Paul Hollywood's recipe from Series 14 of the Great British Bake-Off. Glad I wasn't a contestant on that episode. You can't go wrong with Paul Hollywood --and Grantchester!
Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water, plus more if needed
1 pinch white sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons lard, divided
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sultana raisins
1/2 cup dried currants
1/4 cup thin strips of orange zest
1/4 cup white sugar
Directions
Sprinkle yeast into warm water, then add a pinch of sugar. Let stand until frothy, about 15 minutes.
Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in 1 tablespoon lard with two knives or pastry blender. Make a well in the center and pour in yeast mixture. Beat with an electric mixer until a dough forms and starts to pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl, adding more warm water if necessary.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place into a clean bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Turn risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Dot 1/3 of the remaining lard over the surface, then sprinkle with 1/3 each of the raisins, currants, orange zest, and sugar. Fold the bottom third of the dough up, fold the top third down, then give the dough a quarter turn on the work surface. Repeat the process twice more, starting with the rolling.
Grease an 8x10-inch pan with lard and butter.
Roll out the layered dough to fit and place into the pan. Cover and leave in a warm place until puffy, about 30 minutes.
Score the top in a criss-cross pattern with a knife.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Bake in the preheated oven until well risen and golden brown, about 30 (+) minutes. You want a nice golden color, but you don't want the fruit to burn or the the centre to be raw.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately or leave to cool on a wire rack.
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Enjoy Grantchester and this very British treat!
