Apricot, Raisin, Ginger and Cardamom Loaf

Here's an old fashioned fruit loaf made with a mixture of apricots, raisins, crystalised ginger and orange rind. I've added a little cardamom to add a spicy note. Serve buttered slices of this loaf with a coffee.We like fruit loaves and they are good keepers.

If the apricots are moist and ready to eat when they come out of the packet I don't bother to soak them.But if they feel dry and leathery I'd pour some boiling water over them, leave them to soak for a couple of hours and then drain them well.

I use ready to eat apricots and put them in my mini chopper with the raisins and ginger. Then it's just a matter of whizzing but stopping when they are in small pieces. You don't want to turn them into a mush.

To save on cleaning up a sticky chopper bowl and blade  and not wasting electricity it would be good to do it by hand. Think of it as an exercise in mindfulness while perfecting your knife skills.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of chopped apricots
1/2 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of crystalised ginger
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
4 oz ( 125 gm) of melted butter
the grated rind of 1/2 an orange
A few cardamom seeds

Method:

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and soda into a bowl.
Add the dried fruits, chopped ginger. and sugar
Use a pestle and mortar to pound the cardamom seeds to a powder and add.
Next add the beaten egg, milk and orange rind
Melt the butter and stir this in also

Put the mixture into a lightly greased loaf tin/ a small cake tin lined with baking paper.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour in a moderate oven.

Allow to cool down in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.