Nan Byrnes Oxford Lunch Recipe
A few years ago I shared this recipe as a Blog and just yesterday I received a lovely email from a lady saying she could not locate the Blog and could I post it again as she loved to make it at Christmas time to.
So as the story went:
When I first met my husband Joe and we were going out together I have fond memories of coming to tea at Christmas to the Farmhouse. Joe’s Mammy Nan always baked a really tasty Oxford Lunch. Over the years it became an annual treat as she baked one for everyone close to her as a Christmas gift. Today I have baked and Oxford Lunch following her recipe and I wish to share with you this wonderful family favorite – Nan’s Oxford lunch.
Oxford Lunch Ingredients:
350g/12oz Plain Flour
225g/8oz Butter
25g/1oz Ground Almonds
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
675g/1½lb Sultanas
225g/8oz Caster Sugar
5 Eggs (lightly beaten)
Juice and Rind of 1 Orange
125g/4oz Cherries (halved)
125g/4oz Mixed Peel
How to:
Mix together sultanas, halved cherries and mixed peel with the grated zest and juice of one orange. Leave over night for a really tasty cake. Cream butter and sugar together gradually add the beaten eggs then fold in the ground almonds. Sieve in the flour and baking powder then fold into the mixture. Mix the fruit and cake mixture together then place in three lined loaf tins and bake in a preheated oven at 150°C/300°F/Gas 2 for 1.5 hours approx. Check at intervals and reduce heat if necessary. Cool in tin. Remove wrap in parchment paper and cover in tin foil and store in a tin.
It is at its very best if left for a few days to mature before cutting.