My mother-in-law was a resourceful woman…she had to be raising twelve children in Ireland in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. All her life she lived the adage “waste not want not” and passed it down to her daughters and me before she left this world.
But in all the years Mama taught us to be thrifty at home, especially in the kitchen, she never mentioned Gur Cake…which in hindsight is so strange because she taught us to make fresh pressed apple juice, homemade Irish soda bread, thick and hearty vegetable soup, and so much more.
Gur Cake, also known as Chester Cake, Donkey’s Gudge, and Gudge Cake, depending on what part of Ireland you come from, is a speciality of Irish bakers and has been around since the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In recent years, it’s fallen out of favour, having been replaced by muffins, Mars Bars biscuits, custard slices and the like, but it’s still deeply ingrained in the Irish food-psyche.
The ingredients for this cake are as they have always been: stale bits of bread and/or cake mixed with spices, dried fruit, brown sugar, and tea. The filling is rich and delicious and the smell is reminiscent of Christmas.
Gur Cake is a perfect year round treat that is simple to make and a pleasure to eat, especially with a hot cuppa tea. So, the next time you’ve got stale baked goods in your cupboards…don’t throw them out…get thrifty and turn them into something wonderfully Irish. You’ll be glad you did!
~ XoK
Gur Cake
Serves 8-10 Slices
Ingredients
8 level tablespoons/75g/3oz plain flour {self-raising flour}
8 slices of stale bread or cake/350g/12oz {crusts removed from bread and icing removed from cake}
cold water
1 level teaspoon baking powder
1 cup+1 tablespoon/225g/8oz brown sugar
4 tablespoons/50g/2oz butter
2 tablespoons/1 dessertspoon mixed spice {pumpkin spice}
1+1/2cup/254g/9oz raisins
1 large egg {lightly beaten}
2/3 cup/150ml milk
zest of a small orange
2 sheets of shortcrust pastry
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Lightly grease a 22cm {9″ square} baking tin with softened butter, then lightly flour the surface, and set aside.
2. Cover the bread with cold water and allow to stand while making the filling and prepping the pastry.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, butter, mixed spice, beaten egg, milk and orange zest. Mix well.
4. Squeeze the bread dry of the water, add it to the flour mixture and stir well.
5. Cut two pieces of shortcrust pastry just big enough to fit inside the baking tin. Line the bottom of the baking tin with one piece of pastry, pour over the fruit mixture and spread it level. Then cover with the second piece of pastry.
6. Prick the top pastry with a fork or score it three or four times across with a knife.
9. Bake for about an hour. Leave in the tin to cool completely. Cut in squares and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Additional Notes, Related Articles & Credit:
* The name “Gur Cake” is said to have come from the Irish slang word “gurrier“, which has been used to describe young lads from the city centre who frequently skip school and are said to “be on the gur“.
** It is said that the gurriers running around the streets of Dublin often had just enough money to buy a fruit slice which, over time, became known as Gur Cake.
*** If you’d like a slice of Gur Cake and don’t want to make it yourself, head into Mannings Bakery in Dublin where they’ve been making it since they first opened in 1945.
**** Recipe based on one found at Odlums.ie
In an Irish Home 