Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.
Traditional Black Bun
Traditional Black Bun is a traditional Scottish recipe for a classic Hogmanay cake of a rich fruit loaf batter baked in a shortcrust pastry crust. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Scottish version of: Traditional Black Bun.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
100 minutes
Total Time:
120 minutes
Serves:
10
Rating: 
Tags : Vegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesBaking RecipesCake RecipesScottish Recipes
Here is a recipe that I found in the Good Fare Christmas pamphlet published in Edinburgh in 1958 that contains a number of Scottish Christmas and Hogmanay recipes.
I have another recipe for
black bun on this site, but this is an older recipe coming from the 1950s, but referencing a Victorian original. Note how highly spiced this version of the black cake is.
Ingredients:
450g plain flour
900g currants
900g seedless raisins
180g blanched almonds, chopped
180g mixed, candied, peel, chopped
180g caster sugar
1 tsp allspice (Jamaica pepper)
1/2 tsp finely-ground black pepper
15g ground ginger
15g ground cloves (or ground cinnamon)
1 tsp (level) bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp
cream of tartar
2 tbsp black treacle (molasses)
1 tbsp brandy
beaten egg (or buttermilk) to moisten
340g plain flour
115g butter
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten, to bind
Method:
Begin with the pastry crust. Sift together the salt and flour into a bowl. Dice the butter, then rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the baking powder then add enough of the beaten egg (about 3 tbsp) to yield a shortcrust-like pastry (dough). Turn the resultant dough onto a floured work surface and roll out large enough to cover the base and sides of a large, greased, loaf tin (reserve enough pastry for a lid).
Line the prepared tin with the pastry, ensuring that the dough is well pressed in at the corners. Dampen and crimp to seal at any joins, then trim the edges neatly. Cover the remaining pastry (for the lid) in clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.
For the filling, combine the currants, raisins, almonds and mixed peel in a bowl. Sift the flour into a separate bowl, then mix half the flour with the fruit mixture. Now stir the sugar and the spices into the fruit.
Sift the remaining flour with the baking soda and the cream of tartar into a bowl, then stir into the fruit mixture.
Heat the treacle in a small pan until liquid, then mix with the brandy. Stir into the fruit mix, then add just enough beaten egg or buttermilk to just moisten the fruit mix (it should be moistened well, but not wet). Pack the fruit mix into the prepared tin and level the surface.
Moisten the edges of the pastry with water or beaten egg, then roll out the reserved pastry to form a lid. Sit this on top, crimp together the edges and trim neatly.
Prick all over the surface with a fork then, using a skewer, make four holes that go all the way down to the bottom of the cake. Brush the top with beaten egg.
Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for about 3 hours, or until the cake is cooked through. The cake is done when a heated skewer, thrust into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack. Set aside to cool completely before storing in an air-tight tin. It should be set aside to mature for at least 10 days before slicing. Prepared with care, it will keep for at least 6 weeks and many keep for several months.
Find more Hogmanay/New Year Recipes Here
