Helen, I know that tastes every bit as delicious and decadent as it looks. I wonder how much sugar and fat? Marshmallow Fluff and now Nutella, my goodness, we've certainly put on our play clothes, haven't we. As you seem to be in a position to know, what on earth are digestive biscuits, why would something so named be appealing, please? And boiled fruitcake, really? or is it steamed rather? One more cross-cultural clarification, I'm not familiar with tayberries, either. Lovely bread, thanks for sharing.

Hi Browndog - wow what a lot of questions!

here goes

• cocoa bread -  a large 2lb loaf has 1 egg, 1 oz butter, 2 oz sugar
• digestive biscuits -  AKA "McVities" (an English brand) VERY NICE! wholemealflour, oats, little muscavado sugar, little butter - slightly sweet, slightly savoury, crumbly, can be eaten with cheese, good for dunking.
• boiled fruit cake - you "boil" (simmer really) dried fruit in sugar, butter and water for 20 minutes before adding egg and flour/spices .  Also known as saucepan cake.  Very moist, tender fruit cake.  Relatively low fat/sugar.
• tayberries - a hybrid of blackberries and raspberries that grow annually on long canes bent over wires.  lovely raspberry flavour with a bit of "depth" from the blackberries - start now carry on till end August.  Best cooked in pies or puddings, great frozen

Hope this helps

helend :) 

PS - digestive biscuits were so named by a Scotsman (I think) looking to make a more nutritious (digestible?) biscuit and therefore added oats (a staple grown easily in Scotland's damp climate)  I THINK!!! I am sure someone will help out if I am off the mark with this explanation

 This brings back memory's, my mum made boiled fruit cake, when we first moved into this house we didn't have an oven, but we do have an open fireplace.

 my mum made boiled fruit cake with the aide of the fireplace, it was good.   This was a fruit cake made traditional way and cooked like a steamed pudding on the trivet in  fire place. qahtan

Thanks, Helen and Qahtan. Beautiful looking cakes, I'm hankering for a big slice of either one. I used to make fruitcake every year right after Thanksgiving, the kind that bakes a few hours in a slow oven, they were always full of nuts, dates, figs, pineapple, apricots, eggs, sugar and butter; then a good dose of brandy every week til Christmas. They took forever and a day and you had to save up a month just to afford ingredients, but they were fun. Haven't made one in ages---these look more efficient and grand, even though it's hardly Christmas but a very sweaty day in June.

One year I finally said, I'm going to make a fruit cake! I bought all the expensive ingredients, measured them out and put them in individual bowls to get ready to go and....we started nibbling on the ingredients and before you know it we ate them all. Well, not the butter or eggs. I never tried again.

I hear there is really only one fruit cake in all the world...it just keeps getting passed around :=). weavershouse

I know what you mean about the ingredients Weavershouse - but there must be at least two fruitcakes because the eagle-eyed will have spotted the differences between mine and Qathan's. 

At least my fruitcake recipe is quick - if you tip the fruit into the saucepan fast enough you won't have time to nibble!

Helen

and so we are..ha ha..I love a good fruitcake and get tired of all the snickering..FRUITCAKES CAN BE YUMMY!! I have a really good Alton Brown recipe for a different kind of fruitcake..currants, raisins, cranberries, blueberries, apricots, cherries, ginger, rum and brandy for basting. Ok..had my say..I know this is supposed to be about yeast, flour and water : )

But Paddyscake - there are some truly scrumptious fruit cakes out there using the above three hallowed ingredients! One of my favourites is adapted from a Terence Stamp wheat, dairy and sugar free recipe and can be made using a single dried fruit eg apricots, plums or sultanas.

My wheat version (note dairy option) here as follows:

• 2 tsp easy-blend yeast
• 6 oz white or wholemeal flour (spelt in my case)
• 3 tsp mixed spice
• pinch salt
• 3 oz ground almonds
• 3 tbs rapeseed oil or melted butter
• 1 grated eating apple
• 1 grated carrot (or small courgette)
• 8 oz dried fruit
• approx 6 fl oz water or milk

Preheat oven to 170c (fan oven). Line a 7" round cake tin.

Sift flour, spices and salt into a large bowl. Stir in yeast and almonds, then grated apple, carrot and dried fruit.

Drizzle ove oil, then use enough water or milk to make a soft dropping consistency mixture.

Turn into tin, level and bake for approx 1 hour until skewer comes out clean. Take out, wrap tightly in tea towl and leave until completely cool.

To take in to work on my birthday I made this using dried plums cut small and shaken with 2 oz sugar, a tsp almond essence and whole almonds on the top - oh and a good splash of Amaretto liqueur. It seemed to go down well!

Enjoy

Helend