The Sugar-Free Cake Challenge

So.

A week or so ago, a friend challenged me to produce a cake with no added sugar. I did, of course, accept the challenge- not to have done so would have been rude and also somewhat pathetic (rather like Simon Cowell, methinks). The subject- sugar-free cake, not X-Factor judges- brought back memories of Food Tech at secondary school, a subject at which I did not excel, to put it mildly. The fact I didn't know how to work a conventional cooker at that point didn't help- the one (and only, as far as I can see) disadvantage of growing up with an Aga is a persistent tendency to forget to switch the oven on. One of the barely-edible monstrosities I produced in Food Tech lessons, alongside lemon meringue wallpaper paste and nasty pizza (yes, it is possible to muck up pizza!) was a sugar-free sponge cake. It was, to put it bluntly, VILE.

Haunted by the memory of the Food Tech sponge (it would, I feel, have been more successful as a discus than as a dessert), I was not entirely sure where to start.

And then I sat down and had a cup of tea, and everything was ok again.

TEA LOAF!

No added sugar. Virtually no fat (although I usually compensate for this by slathering the slices in butter, but that's a matter of personal taste). Tea. Can't be bad...

Here's the recipe:

Big heap of dried fruit (about 500g or just over 1 lb, for those who, like me, still use imperial measurements- I like them, it makes me feel all powerful like Darth Vader). Most of this is usually raisins or something raisin-related, with whatever else happens to be knocking round the dried fruit box. Apricots are good, figs are good, dates are wonderful. You could also use various nuts but not too many because they don't soak up the tea and the cake goes soggy. Dried pineapple and glacé cherries are also acceptable but I find it tends to get a bit too sweet- both are treated with sugar and that's not really what we're aiming for here, now, is it?
Slosh of orange juice (slosh= about a mouthful. Can't think of any other way to describe it)
1/2 pint, or about 225 ml, hot tea, plus enough for an extra mug
12 oz, or 300g, self-raising flour (or normal flour with 6 tsp of baking powder)
1 egg

Instructions:
1. Pour self mug of tea.
2. Tip rest of tea and orange juice on fruit. Drink your tea while the fruit enjoys its bath. Ideally you would leave the fruit to soak overnight. I'm rarely that organised. Failing that, leave it as long as you can.
3. Tip in flour and egg. The mixture should be quite dense. If you're not struggling to move the wooden spoon, add a bit more flour.
4. Dollop into loaf tin or other suitable receptacle. Stick in oven at Gas Mark 2 (erm... about 100°? In any case, low enough that you don't need to worry about pre-heating) for a good hour and a half. At the end of this time, poke it a bit, and if it wobbles, stick it back in the oven for a while. 'Tisn't critical. If you feel that way inclined, you could brush the top of the loaf/cake with a small amount of honey let down with hot water. If you don't, then don't. No big deal.

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of this one, for the simple reason that I'm not allowed to make any more desserts until we get through all the stuff Mam and I made this weekend. I miss ze boy, he never complains about having too much food.