Cornish Saffron Cake

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

9 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 2 loaves servings

Nutritional Info
Per slice: about	-
cal	156156 cal
pro	3 g3g pro
total fat	6 g6g total fat
sat. fat	3 g3g sat. fat
carb	24 g24g carb
fibre	1 g1g fibre
chol	22 mg22mg chol
sodium	33 mg33mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	22 calcium
iron	99 iron
vit A	55 vit A
folate	2424 folate

Saffron is said to have arrived in England with the Phoenicians, who traded it for Cornish tin. In the past, when ingredients such as eggs were expensive, saffron was used to give rich yellow colour to this bread, once traditionally served at Easter.

Ingredients

3/4 cup warm milk 3/4 3/4cup cupwarm milk
1/2 tsp saffron threads , crumbled1/2 1/2tsp tspsaffron threads, crumbled
1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 1/4cup cupgranulated sugar
1/2 cup warm water 1/2 1/2cup cupwarm water
1 pkg active dry yeast 1 1pkg pkgactive dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour 4 4cups cupsall-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt 1/4 1/4tsp tspsalt
2/3 cup unsalted butter , cubed2/3 2/3cup cupunsalted butter, cubed
1 egg , beaten1 1eggeggs, beaten
3/4 cup currants 3/4 3/4cup cupcurrantcurrants
1/4 cup candied mixed peel 1/4 1/4cup cupcandied mixed peel
Glaze:
1 tbsp milk 1 1tbsp tbspmilk

Preparation

Stir milk with saffron; let stand for at least 10 or up to 20 minutes.

In small bowl, dissolve 1 tsp (5 mL) of the sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, remaining sugar and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until in crumbs with a few larger pieces. With wooden spoon, stir in yeast mixture, saffron mixture and egg to form soft dough.

Turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead for 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough; knead in currants and candied peel. Divide in half; knead each into ball. Cover with tea towel; let rest for 5 minutes.

Press each half into 12- x 8-inch (30 x 20 cm) rectangle. Starting at narrow end, roll up into cylinder; pinch along bottom to smooth and seal. Fit into 2 greased then parchment paper–lined 8- x 4-inch (1.5 L) loaf pans. Cover loosely; let rise for about 1 hour or until 1/2 inch (1 cm) above rim and dough does not spring back when lightly pressed.

Glaze: Brush tops with milk. Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven for about 45 minutes or until golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottom. Remove from pans; let cool on racks.

Additional information : Bread Machine Cornish Saffron Cake (for dough only): Stir milk with saffron; let stand for 10 minutes. Into pan of bread machine, add (in order): water, saffron mixture, sugar, salt, egg, butter, flour and yeast. Choose dough setting. Turn out dough and knead in currants and peel. Continue with recipe.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: April 2007