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Notsimilarreally Yes it is wheat flour, half plain, half fine wholewheat. It's traditional English recipe and other flours were, and are, not much used for cake making. I suppose one could make it with other flours but I've never tried. It should work with the gluten free flours that are specifically made for cake baking.
Here's the recipe.
Good Housekeeping page 363
Ingredients:225 g (8 oz) wholemeal flour
225 g (8 oz) plain flour
5 ml (1 level tsp) mixed spice. I used 10 g allspice (allehånde)
5 ml (1 level tsp) bicarbonate of soda 5 g.
175 g (6 oz) butter
225 g (8 oz) sugar
100 g (4 oz) sultanas
100 g (4 oz) raisins, stoned
45 ml (3 tbsps) candied peel, chopped I used 40 g sukat
1 egg, beaten
300 ml (1/2 pt) milk I used 300g plus 40 g.
MethodGrease and flour a 20.5-cm (8-in) tin. Sift the flours, spice and bicarbonate of soda. Rub the fat into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, fruit and peel. Make a well in the centre, pour in the egg and some of the milk and gradually work in the dry ingredients, adding more milk if necessary to give a dropping consistency; put the mixture into the tin and level the top. Bake in the oven at 170°C (325°F) mark 3 for about 2 hours, until firm to the touch. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
Notes:
- I usually don't grease and flour the tin, instead I line it with baking paper or a reusable silicone baking sheet.
- I often replace some or all of the sugar with whatever jam I have in nearly empty jars, adjust the milk down a bit to allow for the water in the jam.
- Sometimes I use a finely chopped or grated apple instead of some of the sugar. I don't bother peeling it.
- It works fine, or at least it suits me, with the sugar cut by half or more
- If you can't get the specific fruit and candied peel just use 240 g of whatever dried fruit you have, chopped if necessary to raisin size.
- Mixed spice isn't available here (Norway), seems to be a specifically English thing. One day I'll mix up my own.
- It does work with all plain flour but the texture is a bit different. It's a long time since I made it without wholewheat so I'm not sure I remember exactly how different.
