Jamaican Spice Bun

Ingredients

• 1/2 cupdried cranberries, soaked in beer for 30 minutes
• 1/2 cupraisins, soaked in beer for 30 minutes
• 1/2 cupdried cherries, soaked in beer for 30 minutes
• 250 mlbeer, used to soak fruit, then the beer liquid added to batter
• 380 gall-purpose flour, 2 tbsp reserved for tossing the fruit
• 2 tspbaking powder
• 2 tspground cinnamon
• 1/2 tspsalt
• 1egg, large
• 150 gbrown sugar
• 1/3 cupmilk
• 1/4 cuphoney
• 4 tbspunsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbspmolasses
• 1 tspcaribbean browning sauce, used for deep colour; also known as 'browning' in Caribbean cooking
• 1 tspvanilla extract

Method

1. 1

   Soak the dried cranberries, raisins and cherries in the 250ml beer for 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 165°C (325°F). Grease an 8 × 4 inch loaf pan.

3. 3

   Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

4. 4

   In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, egg, milk, honey, melted butter, molasses, browning sauce and vanilla extract. Add only the soaking beer liquid (not the fruit yet) and mix to combine.

5. 5

   Remove 2 tbsp of flour from the flour mixture and toss the soaked fruit in it.

6. 6

   Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture, stirring until combined. Fold in the floured fruit.

7. 7

   Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50–60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

8. 8

   Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Serve sliced with cheddar cheese.