Faced with a recipe called Cacen BythYn Methu (The cake that never fails), I was intrigued to find out if this was the philosopher’s stone of baking. Had I hit the jackpot for the ultimate cake?
My cousin’s family in Chester passed on the recipe from an old Welsh friend. Sadly, she had passed away, so any questions about where it had come from were lost a long time ago. I did a quick search on the internet, and actually found several similar versions of the cake which claims to never go wrong.
Too much sugar?
I took one look at the amount of sugar in this recipe and decided to not to add any at all. I’m going along in Grandma Abson’s tradition of following your instincts when it comes to baking. For me, the amount of dried fruit alongside the pineapple would seem to make it sweet enough. I used the pineapple juice to make the mixture a little softer. But, if you feel the need for a sugar kick, the original recipe says 6oz (175g) soft brown sugar. Add it to the fruit mixture when you are melting the butter in the pan.
Here’s my version:
Cacen BythYn Methu (heb siwgr)
4oz (110g) glazed cherries
4oz (110g) butter
2 eggs
1 small can (220g) pineapple (crushed)
12oz (350g) mixed dried fruit
8oz (220g) self-raising flour (sifted)
Preheat the oven to 170C, 325 F, or Gas Mark 3).
Chop the cherries (I washed and dried them first) and put them in a large pan with the pineapple (chopped or crushed into smaller pieces), butter and dried fruit.
Heat to melt the butter, but DO NOT BOIL.
Leave this mixture to cool.
Beat in the sifted flour and eggs.
Add enough pineapple juice to make the mixture less stiff.
Put in a lined baking tin (I used a 20 cm x 30 cm tin). Bake in the oven for one hour until firm. Remove and place the tin on a rack to cool before removing the cake from the tin.
Meryl’s other tips
I’ve tried this recipe adding other types of dried fruit such as cranberries and apricots in the mix and a chopped apple. They all worked well. It’s a very versatile recipe.
Use a thin cake tester to stick in the cake and check if the cake is baked. I checked after 55 minutes. There should be no trace of the mixture when the cake tester is taken out, but if traces of the mixture remain, then it needs a little more baking time.
A typical Grandma Abson recipe
This cake could easily have been in my Grandma Abson’s repertoire. She was an avid collector of other people’s treasured recipes. I’ve definitely inherited her habit of not sticking too closely to a recipe to make it fit a specific taste – despite my passion for cake, I haven’t got a sweet tooth!
A recipe for success
I‘ve never made a fruit cake with pineapple before but it turned out very well. I wrapped it up and took it on a walk with my railway walking group friends when we tackled a stretch of the renamed Suffragette line (formerly the Gospel Oak to Barking line on the London Overground) in north London. It proved a real treat – perfect for a picnic too! You can read more about Grandma Abson’s life and her passion for baking and recipes and head over to @grandmaabson on Instagram to see Meryl baking with her grandchildren.
