As we near Christmas, chef owner of the Roost Restaurant in Bridge of Earn Tim Dover shares a delicious family recipe for his mum’s fruit and nut loaf.
With Christmas upon us, we are now rushing about trying to plan for the festivities.
Soon, everybody will be up to the standard panic buying and worrying about what food offerings they are going to prepare for friends and loved ones throughout the festive period.
This can become labour intensive even to the most seasoned cook. My advice is keep it simple and try to find recipes with a wow factor that don’t take up too much time and allow you to enjoy the company around you. Even better, prepare them in advance.
With this in mind, I have decided to share my mother’s fruit and nut loaf recipe with you. It is spiked with festive flavours, easy to prepare, can be made in advance and tastes absolutely fantastic.
Mum’s fruit and nut loaf
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 227g pecan nuts
- 170g pitted dates
- 115g canned pineapple (chopped)
- 115g glacé cherries
- 70g plain flour (sifted)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 fresh eggs
- 50g golden caster sugar
Method
- Mix the nuts and fruits with the flour and baking powder.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar until light and creamy in texture, add this and the nuts to your fruit mix.
- Cover this mixture and set aside at room temperature for one hour, preheat your oven to 120C Fan/140C/257F/Gas Mark 1.
- Line your loaf tin with silicon paper and pour in mixture.
- Smooth over the top with a spatula and place the loaf tin on to a tray and bake for 90 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and check it is cooked by inserting a skewer. Cool in the loaf tin on a wire rack till completely cooled.
- Using a carving knife, slice the fruit and nut loaf into 1cm slices and serve alongside your desired drink.
