Fresh Plum Tea Bread
Serves 12
½ tsp vegetable oil
225 g self raising flour
1 pinch salt
125 g caster sugar
50 g polyunsaturated margarine
2 medium eggs
125 ml skimmed milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 small plums, stoned and chopped
Preheat oven to 160°C / 325°F / Gas Mark 3. Grease a 750 g
(1 lb 10 oz) loaf tin with the oil and line it with greaseproof paper or
non-stick baking parchment.
Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl and stir in the
sugar. Rub in the margarine until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Add to the
rubbed-in mixture and stir well. Mix in the plums. Transfer to the prepared tin
and level the surface.
Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a fine skewer
inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10
minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
