Sticky Tea Bread - Frugal Food, unlive

This is unbelievably simple to make – it’s dark and sticky and gets much better with a few days’ keeping.

Method

First grease a 1 lb (450 g) loaf tin and line with greaseproof paper, also greased. Then take a large, thick-based saucepan and put into it ¼ pint (150 ml) water, the sugar, sultanas, butter and bicarbonate of soda. Place the pan on a medium heat, stir the ingredients together and bring them up to the boil. Then boil for 10 minutes exactly – but don’t go away, watch it like a hawk, because if the temperature isn’t controlled it might boil over.

When the 10 minutes is up, remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool. Then add the beaten egg, and the baking powder and flour, sifted. Give it a good mix, then place the mixture in the prepared tin and bake it for about 11/2 hours on the middle shelf.