This old recipe for Jocks Loaf is a type of tea bread, fruit loaf cake, or boiled fruit cake. The original recipe can be found in the book Highland Housewives’ Cook Book, which is a collection of 250 homely recipes collected from Scottish Highland households and published in the early 1970s by The Highland New’s Group, Inverness. The book was sold for 10 shillings or 50p! Jock’s Loaf is a recipe contributed by Mrs. M. Robertson, Weiss Mains, Weiss, Wick, and I can only imagine that Jock was a much-loved relation of Mrs. Robertson.

Jocks Loaf is a type of boiled fruit cake and is similar to tea breads and fruit loaf cakes. Jock used nutmeg and mixed spice [a traditional British spice consisting of a mix of spices such as cinnamon, ginger, coriander, nutmeg, mace and allspice] for his fruit loaf and this combination lends the loaf a Jamaican gingerbread vibe especially seeing as when the fruit loaf is kept the outside crumb goes all sticky and delicious. Also the fruit loaf is perfectly moist and keeps well for a few days despite only having an oz of margarine.

The only changes I made to this recipe were using a 250-gram cup measurer rather than a teacup, and I also used generous heaped teaspoons of spices to add a little extra flavour. I used a cup measurer because it can be tricky to guess the size of the teacup Jock would have used. However, it doesn’t matter whether you use a teacup or a 1-cup measurer as long as you use the same measurer for all the ingredients.

You may be surprised at how runny the loaf batter is once it is mixed, but it does bake fine! The original recipe does not state what size loaf pan to use, so I went with a 1 lb loaf pan. The fruit loaf did bake with a dome in the middle, but that doesn’t affect the texture, flavour, or the loaf in general. However, if you prefer, you can use a slightly larger loaf pan. The weight of the finished fruit loaf is roughly about 760 grams (27 oz).

Jock’s fruit loaf is a fine example of a boiled fruit cake or tea loaf. If you like Jamaican gingerbread cake, then you’ll probably enjoy this bake. For a stronger ginger flavour, you could add a few teaspoons of ground ginger.

I think it’s so important to bring old recipes back to life and to think about who would have enjoyed them in the past. It does make baking so much more special as it connects us to a bygone era and to loved ones who may be gone but certainly not forgotten. Even if we did not know the person, we can still feel a connection and a sense of community in our shared love of a particular bake.

For quite a few breakfasts I enjoyed Jocks Loaf toasted and buttered along with a cup of tea. This fruit loaf is sturdy enough to be toasted in an ordinary toaster machine.

If you love vintage fruit loaf bakes then do have a look at our other old-fashioned much-loved recipes for Farmhouse Tea Loaf and Country Tea Bread. I never get tired of trying out new tea bread type recipes for my family’s afternoon tea and breakfast, so many more will be added.

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Jock’s Loaf [fruit loaf]

Jock's fruit loaf is a fine example of a vintage boiled fruit cake or tea loaf. If you like Jamaican gingerbread cake, then you'll probably enjoy this bake which also becomes nice and sticky as its stored. For a stronger ginger flavour, you could add a few teaspoons of ground ginger.

Enjoy a slice buttered or spread with fruit jam, or eat as it is. Older slices are perfect for toasting for breakfast or for a tasty snack.

Course Afternoon tea, Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword fruit bread, fruit loaf, fruit loaf cake, old-fashioned recipes, Vintage recipes

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 10 -12 slices

Calories 226kcal

Author Leigh

Equipment

• 1-1½ Ib loaf pan
• parchment paper
• saucepan
• sieve
• mixing bowl
• mixing spoon
• cooling rack

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1 oz margarine
• 1 cup caster or granulated sugar
• 1 egg beaten a little with a fork
• 1 cup dried fruit such as mixed dried fruit or raisins, sultanas, dried currants, etc
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice powder or replace with pumpkin or apple pie spice mix or a blend of ground ginger and cinnamon

Instructions

Boil the ingredients:

• Add the water, sugar, margarine, and dried fruit to a saucepan.
  1 ¼ cups water, 1 oz margarine, 1 cup caster or granulated sugar, 1 cup dried fruit
• Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and gently boil for 5 minutes.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and set the pan aside until the mixture has cooled.

Bake the fruit loaf:

• Preheat the oven to 350℃, 180℃, or Gas mark 4.
• Prepare the loaf pan by greasing it with some extra margarine and lining it with parchment paper.
• Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl.
  2 cups plain flour, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
• Add the spices.
  1 heaped teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice powder
• Pour the egg and dried fruit mixture into the mixing bowl and stir everything together. Make sure all the flour is stirred well into the mixture.
  1 egg
• Add the mixture to the loaf pan. The mixture will be quite runny but it will bake fine.
• Bake for about 1 hour or until well risen, golden, coming away from the sides, and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If you use a fan assisted oven your fruit loaf may bake quicker so do keep an eye on it.
• After cooling in the pan for 5-10 minutes carefully remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a cooling rack.

Notes

• I used a 250ml cup measurer for this recipe and I did not sieve the flour before measuring the cupful.
• The original recipe calls for teacup measurements.
• A heaped teaspoon measurement is simply a nice big teaspoonful!
• All-purpose flour can be used instead of plain flour.
• For the dried fruit I used raisins and a few tablespoons of mixed candied fruit peel.
• Jocks Loaf will be good for 4-5 days stored wrapped in kitchen foil and kept in a bread bin or suitable covered container.
• Staler slices can be toasted and spread with margarine or butter, fruit jam, or honey.
• Jocks fruit loaf is a fine example of a vintage boiled fruit cake or tea loaf and if you like Jamaican gingerbread cake then you’ll probably enjoy this bake – though for a stronger ginger flavour you could add a few teaspoons of ground ginger.
• You can replace the water with the same amount of tea.

If you bake this old recipe for Jocks Loaf then I would really love to know how you got on. Do leave a comment below. Thanks!