EASY FRUIT LOAF

“Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses, a box where sweets compacted lie.” - George Herbert
 

To tempt the sweet-toothed, and be in keeping with the sweetness of the season, here is an easy recipe for a cake that is relatively healthful and not overly sweet, but at the same time easy to make. The yoghurt topping is optional, but it does give an extra hint of sweetness and is quite creamy, if you really do like your cakes sweeter.
 

Easy Fruit Loaf
Ingredients
 

1 cup toasted rolled oats
1 cup chopped mixed fruit (apricots, dates, sultanas, citrus peel)
1 packed cup brown sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup of milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 tsp ground cloves
1/3 tsp ground nutmeg
 

Method
Preheat oven to 160-170˚C.
Mix together the dry ingredients and spices.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk.
Mix well and pour into a lined and greased loaf tin.
Bake 45 minutes to an hour, until a skewer driven into the cake comes out clean.
The cake mixture is wet and the slower you cook it, the moister it remains.
You may ice the cake with a yoghurt topping:
 

Topping
3 cups icing sugar
¼ cup softened butter
170 ml plain low fat yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla essence
Crushed walnuts
Mix butter and sugar, stirring in yoghurt and vanilla essence until smooth. Decorate with crushed walnuts.
 

This post is part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part fo the Food Trip Friday meme.