Lardy Cake With Venison Sausage

Lardy cake is an enriched bread from Southern England.  Various counties lay claim to the origin.  Typically it is served for afternoon tea, but at Ledge Rock Grille we are serving it as an appetizer.  We have soaked dried fruit in rum and are serving it with venison sausage, Dijon mustard, and lingonberries.  The layering of the berries, lard, and sugar gives this cake a rich, dense, and flakey texture perfect for soaking up the fat from the sausage.

The cake is made by layering thinly rolled dough with other ingredients. After the cake is cooked it is turned upside down to make sure the lard soaks through the entire cake. Doesn’t that sound good?

1. Put the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl and rub in 30 g of the lard with your fingertips until you have fine breadcrumbs.
2. Add the milk and mix with your hands until the dough is smooth and soft and not sticking to the side of the bowl.
3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
4. Put in a bowl, cover, and leave to rise until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Once risen, turn out onto a floured surface and roll out a neat rectangle to a size of 8″ x 20″.
6. Cut the remaining lard and butter into thirds, use one-third of each to dot little pieces all over the dough. Follow with a third of the sugar and a third of the fruit.
7. Pick up the long end, fold down a third, and then fold the other end up a third. This will roughly make a square.
8. Make a quarter turn with the square and roll out again, repeating the whole process twice until you have used up the sugar, fat, and fruit.
9. Grease a 9″ round cake tin with lard.
10. Form the dough into a round shape to fit the tin.
11. Cover with cling film and leave to rise again for another half an hour.
12. Preheat oven to 400°. If you have a fan turn it on.
13. Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown.
14. Leave to cool a little before turning out.

For the dish:

Brown venison sausage in a heavy bottom pan.  You can use any sausage you like. Once brown remove sausage and brown a thick slice of lardy cake.  Take care, the cake will brown quickly. Remove from pan and serve with Dijon mustard and lingonberries.