I have been on a clearing out mission lately. I started in the kitchen, and was happy to get rid of a big box of utensils and bits and bobs that I no longer needed. As for the rest of the house... the clearing out process has been going much, much slower than I would prefer. I am talking one shelf a day slow. Still, it is better than nothing I suppose. As part of "project declutter" I have also been delving into the deep freezer, cautiously prying open tupperwares from the depths and playing "guest the contents" with various unlabelled ziplock bags.
This recipe came about in an effort to use up some of these bits and pieces. I wanted to finish off a bag of wheat bran and some dried cake mix from the back of the pantry, but rather than whip up a batch of bran muffins (probably the reason I had these ingredients in the first place) I decided to make a fruity wholewheat loaf cake instead.
On first appearance this loaf cake looks quite plain, but I was so pleased with the delicious fruity flavour and soft texture. The recipe is simple to mix up and makes a great holiday cake to bake with the kids or as a tea time treat. It is ideal for serving a crowd, but I like to slice the loaf up and pop it in the freezer (I am starting to see the root of the deep freezer problem!) for a tasty snack.
Speaking of holidays, we are in the middle of quite a long school break at the moment. Fortunately the weather has been quite good on the whole which has meant plenty of time outdoors for my two. They are at their happiest in the garden - toes in the sand, making daisy studded mud cakes, watching lizards sunning themselves or (the cutest) chilling on the swing bench together. They are even happier when they can do it with a slice of fruity loaf cake in one hand.
This fruit loaf will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container. Serve as is or with butter and always with a cup of tea!
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FRUITY WHOLEWHEAT LOAF CAKE
Step 1.) Preheat your oven to 180 ° C. Grease a 22cm loaf tin and line the base with some baking paper.
Step 2.) Beat the eggs and castor sugar together for a minute or two, until pale and creamy. Add the melted butter, milk and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
Step 3.) Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the bran and cake mix. Mix until everything is just combined.
Step 4.) Pour the mixture into your prepared tin. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing and slicing.
